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{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{featured article}}
{{Redirect|Obama||Obama (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Senator<!-- please do not edit infobox; it is now correct -->
| name = Barack Obama<!-- PLEASE DO NOT EDIT THIS NAME; SEE TALK ARCHIVES - In Wikipedia, the intro paragraph usually has the full legal name while the info box has the name as the person is commonly known or as they sign it. See Bill Clinton for an example. -->
| nationality = [[United States|American]]
| image name =ObamaBarack.jpg
| jr/sr = Junior Senator
| state = [[Illinois]]<!-- please leave this alone -->
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| term_start = [[January 3]] [[2005]]
| alongside = Richard Durbin
| preceded = [[Peter Fitzgerald]]
| succeeded =
| state_senate2 = Illinois
| state2 = [[Illinois]]
| district2 = 13th
| term_start2 = 1997
| term_end2 = 2004
| preceded2 =
| succeeded2 = [[Kwame Raoul]]
| date of birth = {{birth date and age|1961|08|4}}
| place of birth = [[Honolulu, Hawaii]], [[United States of America|USA]]
| spouse = [[Michelle Obama]]
| alma_mater = [[Columbia College of Columbia University| Columbia University]],</br> [[Harvard Law School]]
| religion = [[Christian]] ([[United Church of Christ]])
| signature = Barack Obama signature.png
}}
'''Barack <!--"Hussein" is Barack Obama's middle name — please do not modify or delete it in this first sentence-->Hussein<!-- see talk page archives--> Obama''' ({{pronEng|bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə}}<ref>{{cite news | title=How to Pronounce Barack Hussein Obama | url=http://inogolo.com/pronunciation/d455/Barack_Obama | work=Inoglo | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For more about Obama's middle name and its use by political opponents and the media, see: {{cite news | first=David | last=Wallis | title=Malice in the Middle: Barack Hussein Obama and the History of Bad Middle Names in Politics | date=[[December 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.slate.com/id/2155434/pagenum/all/ | work=Slate | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>) (born [[August 4]], [[1961]]) is the [[Senate seniority|junior]] [[United States Senate|United States Senator]] from [[Illinois]] and a leading candidate for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nomination in the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]].<ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news | title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref><ref>For national polling data, see: {{cite news|url=http://www.pollingreport.com/wh08dem.htm |title=White House 2008: Democratic Nomination |accessdate=2008-01-14 |work=Polling Report }}{{cite news | title=2008 National Democratic Presidential Primary | url=http://www.pollster.com/08-US-Dem-Pres-Primary.php | work =Pollster.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> <!--

The following sentence is a compromise that was reached at the talk page (see the archives). Please do not modify it without discussion.

-->He is the fifth [[African American]] Senator in [[History of the United States|U.S. history]], the third to have been popularly elected, and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate.<ref> {{cite news|url=http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/history/h_multi_sections_and_teasers/Photo_Exhibit_African_American_Senators.htm |title=Breaking New Ground: African American Senators |accessdate=2008-01-14 |work=U.S. Senate Historical Office }}</ref>

Obama was born in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]] to a [[Kenya]]n father and an [[United States|American]] mother. He lived most of his early life in the [[Pacific islands|Pacific island]] U.S. state of [[Hawaii]]. From ages six to ten, he lived in [[Jakarta]], [[Indonesia]]. A graduate of [[Columbia College of Columbia University| Columbia University]] and [[Harvard Law School]], Obama worked as a [[community organizing|community organizer]], university [[lecturer]], and [[civil rights]] [[lawyer]] before running for [[public administration|public office]]. He served in the [[Illinois Senate]] from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] in 2000, he launched his campaign for U.S. Senate in 2003.

Obama delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] while still an Illinois [[state legislature (United States)|state legislator]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Randal C | last=Archibold | title=The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere | date=[[July 29]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E7DB103DF93AA15754C0A9629C8B63 | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with a [[landslide victory|landslide]] 70% of the vote in an [[United States presidential election, 2004|election year]] marked by [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] gains.<ref name=2004genelection>{{cite news |title=America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois | url =http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html | work =CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> As a member of the Democratic minority in the [[109th United States Congress|109th Congress]], Obama co-sponsored the enactment of [[conventional weapon]]s control and [[transparency (humanities)|transparency]] legislation, and made official trips to [[Eastern Europe]], the [[Middle East]], and [[Africa]]. In the [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]], he has sponsored legislation on [[lobbying in the United States|lobbying]] and [[electoral fraud]], [[mitigation of global warming|climate change]], [[nuclear terrorism]], and care for returned [[military of the United States|U.S. military]] personnel.

Since announcing his [[Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008|presidential campaign]] in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the [[Iraq War]], increasing [[Energy policy of the United States| energy independence]], and providing [[Health care in the United States| universal health care]] as major priorities.<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected? | url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/issues/candidates/barack-obama/#top-priorities | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Michael | last=Falcone | title=Obama's 'One Thing' | date=[[December 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/obamas-one-thing/ | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He married in 1992 and has two daughters. He has written two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth titled ''[[Dreams from My Father]]'', and ''[[The Audacity of Hope]]'', a personal commentary on U.S. politics.<ref>{{cite news | first=Carol | last=Memmott | title=Obama's Books Drive Talk of '08 Presidential Run | date=[[January 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2007-01-29-obama-prez-books_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Early life and career==
{{seealso|Dreams from My Father}}
<!-- please do not edit the way his name is rendered in this first sentence; see Talk -->
Obama was born on [[August 4]] [[1961]] in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]], [[Hawaii]] to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in [[Nyanza Province]], [[Kenya]], of [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] ethnicity) and [[Ann Dunham]] (born in [[Wichita, Kansas|Wichita]], [[Kansas]]).<ref>{{cite news | title=Meet Barack | url=http://www.barackobama.com/about/ | work=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1. Throughout his early years, Obama was commonly known at home and school as "Barry Obama." {{cite news | first=Kirsten | last=Scharnberg | coauthors=Kim Barker | title=The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth | date=[[March 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-youth-story,0,5069625.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}} </ref> His parents met while both were attending the [[University of Hawaii at Manoa]], where his father was enrolled as a [[international student|foreign student]].<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see {{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Creation of Tales|date=[[November 1]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-2212.html | work=East African | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced.<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: {{cite news | first=Tim | last=Jones | title=Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas | date=[[March 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703270151mar27,1,3372079.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> His father went to [[Harvard University]] to pursue [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] studies, then returned to Kenya.<ref name=ObamaSr> Obama's father died in an auto accident in 1982. {{cite news | first=Kevin | last=Merida | title=The Ghost of a Father | date=[[December 14]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/13/ST2007121301893.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Ochieng | title=From Home Squared to the US Senate: How Barack Obama Was Lost and Found | date[[November 1]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-11.html | work=East African | accessdate=2008-01-04}} Obama (1995), pp. 5–11 and 62–71. In August 2006, Obama flew his wife and two daughters from Chicago to join him in a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near [[Kisumu]] in rural western Kenya. {{cite news | first=Nico | last=Gnecchi | title=Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya | date=[[August 27]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-08/2006-08-27-voa17.cfm | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Ellis | last=Cose | title=Walking the World Stage | date=[[September 11]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/45558 | work=Newsweek | accessdate=2008-01-04}} {{cite news | first=Michela | last=Wrong | title=Africa: Kenya Glimpses a New Kind of Hero | date=[[September 11]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200609110024 | work=New Statesman | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an [[Indonesia]]n foreign student, and the family moved to [[Jakarta]] in 1967.<ref>Obama's stepfather and Ann Dunham divorced in the late 1970s, and he died of a liver ailment in 1987. {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Lolo Soetoro | date=[[September 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/familytree/545455,BSX-News-wotreegg09.stng | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}} They had one daughter together, Maya Soetoro, Obama's half-sister. On his father's side, Obama has two half-sisters and five surviving half-brothers. {{cite news | first=Michael | last=Sheridan | coauthors=Sarah Baxter | title=Secrets of Obama Family Unlocked | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article1267352.ece | work=Sunday Times (UK) | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 2 and Chapters 15–19 (Part 3: Kenya).</ref> Obama attended local schools in Jakarta from ages 6 to 10, where classes were taught in the [[Indonesian language]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Kirsten | last=Scharnberg | coauthors=Kim Barker | title=The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth | date=[[March 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-youth-story,0,5069625.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Kim | last=Barker | title=Obama Madrassa Myth Debunked | date=[[March 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-070325obama-islam-story,0,7180545.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-04}} {{cite news | first=Trish | last=Anderton | title=Obama's Jakarta Trail | date=June 2007 | url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/weekender/6reporter.asp | work=Jakarta Post | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: Obama (1995), p. 154, and Obama (2006), p. 274.</ref><ref>Citing comments made by Indonesia's ambassador to the U.S., ''TIME'' magazine reported in December 2007 that Obama "still speaks passable Bahasa, the language spoken in Indonesia and Malaysia." {{cite news |first=Jay |last=Newton-Small |title=Obama's Foreign-Policy Problem |url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1695803,00.html |work=TIME |date=[[December 18]] [[2007]] |accessdate=2008-01-03}}</ref> He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending [[Punahou School]] from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979.<ref>Obama writes: "For my grandparents, my admission into Punahou Academy heralded the start of something grand, an elevation in the family status that they took great pains to let everyone know." Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4. See also: {{cite news | first=B. J | last=Reyes | title=Punahou Left Lasting Impression on Obama | date=[[February 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://starbulletin.com/2007/02/08/news/story02.html | work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | accessdate=2008-01-04}} </ref> Obama's mother died of [[ovarian cancer]] a few months after the publication of his 1995 [[memoir]], ''[[Dreams from My Father]]''.<ref>Obama (1995), Preface to the 2004 Edition, p. xi. See also: {{cite news | first=Julia | last=Suryakusuma | title=Obama for President... of Indonesia | date=[[November 29]] [[2006]] | work=Jakarta Post | url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20061129.F03 | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref>

In the memoir, Obama describes his experiences growing up in his mother's [[American middle class]] family. His knowledge about his African father, who returned once for a brief visit in 1971, came mainly through family stories and photographs.<ref name=ObamaSr /> Of his early childhood, Obama writes: "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind."<ref>Obama (1995), pp. 9–10.</ref> The book describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his [[multiracial]] heritage.<ref>Obama (1995), Chapters 4 and 5. See also: {{cite news | first=Richard A | last=Serrano | title=Obama's Peers Didn't See His Angst | format=paid archive | date=[[March 11]] [[2007]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1230439131.html?dids=1230439131:1230439131&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+11%2C+2007&author=Richard+A.+Serrano&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=A.20&desc=THE+NATION | work=Los Angeles Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> He wrote that he used [[alcoholic beverage|alcohol]], [[cannabis (drug)|marijuana]], and [[cocaine]] during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind".<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Gets Blunt with N.H. Students | date=[[November 21]] [[2007]] | publisher=Boston Globe | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/11/21/obama_gets_blunt_with_nh_students/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-04}} In ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama writes: "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it." Obama (1995), pp. 93–94. For analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager ("When I was a kid, I inhaled."), see: {{cite news | first=Lois | last=Romano | title=Effect of Obama's Candor Remains to Be Seen | date=[[January 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010201359.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-04}} {{cite news | first=Katharine Q | last=Seelye | title=Obama Offers More Variations From the Norm | date=[[October 24]] [[2006]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E2DB173FF937A15753C1A9609C8B63&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref>

After high school, Obama moved to [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], where he studied at [[Occidental College]] for two years.<ref>{{cite news | title=Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83 | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.oxy.edu/x2526.xml | work =Occidental College | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Larry | last=Gordon | title=Occidental Recalls 'Barry' Obama | format=paid archive | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1204378961.html?dids=1204378961:1204378961&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jan+29%2C+2007&author=Larry+Gordon&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=B.1 | work=Los Angeles Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> He then transferred to [[Columbia College of Columbia University|Columbia University]] in [[New York City]], where he majored in [[political science]] with a specialization in [[international relations]].<ref name='CCTJan05'>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url=http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work=Columbia College Today|accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Obama received his [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree in 1983, then worked at [[Business International Corporation]] and [[New York Public Interest Research Group|NYPIRG]] before moving to [[Chicago]] to take a job as a [[community organizing| community organizer]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say | date=[[October 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: Obama (1995), pp. 135–139.</ref> As Director of the Developing Communities Project, he worked with low-income residents in Chicago's [[Roseland, Chicago|Roseland]] community and the [[Altgeld Gardens, Chicago|Altgeld Gardens]] public housing development.<ref>{{cite news | first=Bob | last=Secter | coauthors=John McCormick | title=Portrait of a Pragmatist | date=[[March 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30,1,282774.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Ryan | last=Lizza | title=The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education | format=alternate link | date=[[March 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.pickensdemocrats.org/info/TheAgitator_070319.htm | work =New Republic | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> He entered [[Harvard Law School]] in 1988.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Levenson | coauthors= Jonathan Saltzman | title=At Harvard Law, a Unifying Voice | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=John | last=Heilemann | title=When They Were Young | date=[[October 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://nymag.com/news/features/39321/ | work=New York Magazine | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> In 1990, ''The New York Times'' reported his election as the ''[[Harvard Law Review]]'s'' "first black president in its 104-year history".<ref>{{cite news | first=Fox | last=Butterfield | title=First Black Elected to Head Harvard's Law Review | date=[[February 6]] [[1990]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260&n=Top%2FReference%2FTimes%20Topics%2FPeople%2FO%2FObama%2C%20Barack | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice | date=[[January 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> He completed his [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] degree ''[[Latin honors|magna cum laude]]'' in 1991.<ref name=CV>{{cite news | url=http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html | title=Curriculum Vitae | work=University of Chicago Law School | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> On returning to Chicago, Obama directed a [[voter registration drive]].<ref name=CV /> As an associate [[lawyer|attorney]] with Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 1996, he represented community organizers, [[employment discrimination law in the United States|discrimination]] claims, and [[Voting Rights Act|voting rights]] cases.<ref>{{cite news | title=Law Graduate Obama Got His Start in Civil Rights Practice | date=[[February 19]] [[2007]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/20/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Attorney-at-Law.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> He was a lecturer of [[constitutional law]] at the [[University of Chicago]] [[University of Chicago Law School|Law School]] from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.<ref>{{cite news | first=Abdon M | last=Pallasch | title=Professor Obama was a Listener, Students Say | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/253391,CST-NWS-prof12.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref>

==State legislature==
In 1996, Obama was elected to the [[Illinois Senate|Illinois State Senate]] to serve the state's 13th District in the south-side Chicago neighborhood of [[Hyde Park, Chicago|Hyde Park]].<ref>{{cite news | first=David | last=Jackson | coauthors= Ray Long | title=Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot | date=[[April 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-070403obama-ballot,1,57567.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In 2000, he made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] seat held by four-term incumbent candidate [[Bobby Rush]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama | date=[[September 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002, officially resigning in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-01-14 | date=[[August 24]] [[2000]] | work=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000824102110/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html |archivedate=2000-08-24 }} {{cite news | url=http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | title=13th District: Barack Obama | format=archive | accessdate=2008-01-14 |date=[[October 9]] [[2004]] |work=Illinois State Senate Democrats | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20041009213335/http://www.senatedem.state.il.us/obama/index.html | archivedate=2004-10-09}} {{cite news | first=Jodi S | last=Cohen | title=Obama's Springfield Seat Goes to Lawyer | date=[[November 7]] [[2004]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/731233451.html?dids=731233451:731233451&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | format=paid archive | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> As a state legislator, Obama gained [[bipartisanship|bipartisan]] support for legislation reforming [[political corruption|ethics]] and [[health care reform|health care]] laws.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol | date=[[February 9]], [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020802262.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics | date=[[January 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/politics/main2369157.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | title=In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career | date=[[February 9]], [[2007]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://video.chicagotribune.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?clipid1=1226539 | work=CLTV | format=video | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He sponsored a law enhancing [[tax credit]]s for low-income workers, negotiated [[welfare reform]], and promoted increased subsidies for [[child care]].<ref name=Scott20070730>{{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Rick | last=Pearson | coauthors=Ray Long | title=Careful Steps, Looking Ahead | date=[[May 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0705030101may03,1,7439904.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama also led the passage of legislation mandating videotaping of homicide interrogations, and a law to monitor [[racial profiling]] by requiring police to record the race of drivers they stopped.<ref name=Scott20070730 /> During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, he won the endorsement of the Illinois [[Fraternal Order of Police]], whose president credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting [[capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]] reforms.<ref>{{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | coauthors= and Aaron Blake | title=Obama’s Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals | date=[[March 14]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/obamas-crime-votes-are-fodder-for-rivals-2007-03-13.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms | date=[[November 12]] [[2007]] | publisher=International Herald Tribune | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/12/america/NA-POL-US-Obama-Death-Penalty.php | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He was criticized by rival [[pro-choice]] candidates in the Democratic primary and by his Republican [[pro-life]] opponent in the general election for a series of "present" or "no" votes on [[late-term abortion]] and [[minors and abortion|parental notification]] issues.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eric | last=Zorn | title=Disparagement of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up | archiveurl=http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/12/disparagement-o.html | archivedate=2007-12-04 | date=[[March 9]] [[2004]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/573751701.html?dids=573751701:573751701&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | title=Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views | date=[[August 9]] [[2004]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Sam | last=Youngman | title=Abortion Foes Target Obama Because of His Vote Record on Illinois Legislation | date=[[February 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/abortion-foes-target-obama-because-of-his-vote-record-on-illinois-legislation-2007-02-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention==
{{seealso|2004 Democratic National Convention}}

Obama wrote and delivered the keynote address at the [[2004 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], while still serving as a [[State legislature (United States)|state legislator]].<ref>For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: {{cite news | first=Shira | last=Boss-Bicak | title=Barack Obama ’83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party? | date=January 2005 | url =http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct/jan05/cover.php | work =Columbia College Today| accessdate =2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Bernstein| title=The Speech | date=June 2007| url=http://www.chicagomag.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=8642F5EFCEA14A939100AB7214F31861&nm=Archives&type=PubPagi&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle+Title&mid=61BFC65300D24DB58350C761094153A1&tier=4&id=864D9B81ECE746529042D982A9FED8A3 | work=Chicago Magazine| accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a [[World War II]] veteran and a beneficiary of the [[New Deal|New Deal's]] [[Federal Housing Administration|FHA]] and [[G.I. Bill]] programs, Obama said:

<blockquote>No, people don't expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. They know we can do better. And they want that choice.</blockquote>

Questioning the [[George W. Bush's first term as President of the United States|Bush administration's]] management of the [[Iraq War]], Obama spoke of an enlisted [[United States Marine Corps|Marine]], Corporal Seamus Ahern from [[East Moline, Illinois|East Moline]], [[Illinois]], asking, "Are we serving Seamus as well as he is serving us?" He continued:
<blockquote>When we send our young men and women into harm's way, we have a solemn obligation not to fudge the numbers or shade the truth about why they're going, to care for their families while they're gone, to tend to the soldiers upon their return, and to never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world.</blockquote>

Finally, he spoke for national unity:

<blockquote>The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into [[Red state vs. blue state divide|Red States and Blue States]]; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the Red States. We coach [[Little League]] in the Blue States and yes, we got some gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.<ref name=keynote>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention | date=[[July 27]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2004/07/27/keynote_address_at_the_2004_de.php | work=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://link.brightcove.tv/services/link/bcpid900718856/bclid900554575/bctid791793079 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref></blockquote>

The speech was Obama's introduction to most of America. Its enthusiastic reception at the convention and widespread coverage by national media gave him instant celebrity status.<ref>{{cite news | first=Richard | last=Wolf | title=Illinois' Obama Revisits Idea of 2008 Run for White House | date=[[October 22]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-22-obama-president_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Columnist [[Jimmy Breslin]] predicted Obama would run for President. <ref>{{cite news | first=Amy | last=Goodman | title=Jimmy Breslin: “The Media Should Have Their Licenses Revoked” for Lack of Convention Coverage | date=[[July 29]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.democracynow.org/2004/7/29/jimmy_breslin_the_media_should_have | work=Democracy Now! | accessdate=2008-01-25}}</ref>

==Senate campaign==
{{Main|United States Senate election in Illinois, 2004}}

In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate [[open seat]] vacated by [[Peter Fitzgerald]]. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic [[Primary election|primary]], Obama trailed [[millionaire|multimillionaire]] businessman [[Blair Hull]] and Illinois [[Comptroller]] [[Dan Hynes]].<ref name=Mendell20040317>{{cite news | first=David | last=Mendell | title=Obama Routs Democratic Foes; Ryan Tops Crowded GOP Field|date=[[March 17]], [[2004]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0403170332mar17,1,1737252.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> However, Hull's popularity declined following allegations of [[domestic violence|domestic abuse]].<ref name=Mendell20040317 /> Obama's candidacy was boosted by an advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor [[Harold Washington]] and the late U.S. Senator [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]]; the support of Simon's daughter; and political endorsements by the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' and ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Obama's Appeal Spans Racial Lines | date=[[March 18]], [[2004]] | publisher=at Find Articles | url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20040318/ai_n12537351 | work =Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Christopher | last=Hayes | title=Check Bounce | date=[[March 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=express&s=hayes031704 | work=TNR Online | accessdate=2008-01-14}} ([http://www.chrishayes.org/articles/check-bounce/ alternate site])</ref> Obama received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.<ref>{{cite news | first=Monica | last=Davey | title=From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat | date=[[May 17]] [[2004]] | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E4D61431F934A25750C0A9629C8B63 | work =New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=John S | last=Jackson | title=The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race | date=August 2006 | publisher= Southern Illinois University | url =http://www.siu.edu/~ppi/PDF/papers/Obama.pdf | work =Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His opponent in the general election was expected to be [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] primary winner [[Jack Ryan (Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]]. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following public disclosure of [[child custody]] divorce records containing sexual allegations by Ryan's ex-wife, actress [[Jeri Ryan]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Ryan Drops Out of Senate race in Illinois | date=[[June 25]], [[2004]] | url =http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/25/il.ryan/ | work =CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In August 2004, with less than three months to go before election day, [[Alan Keyes]] accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan.<ref>{{cite news | first=Maura Kelly | last=Lannan | title=Alan Keyes Enters U.S. Senate Race in Illinois Against Rising Democratic Star | date=[[August 9]], [[2004]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url =http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040809-0849-illinoissenate.html | work =Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> A long-time resident of [[Maryland]], Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination.<ref>{{cite news | first=Ford | last=Liam | coauthors= David Mendell | title=Keyes Sets Up House in Cal City | date=[[August 13]], [[2004]] | url =http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/elections/chi-0408130201aug13,1,7640082.story | work =Chicago Tribune | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on [[Stem cell controversy|stem cell research]], [[Abortion in the United States|abortion]], [[Gun politics in the United States|gun control]], [[education voucher|school vouchers]], and [[tax cut]]s.<ref>For debate transcripts and video, see ''Alan Keyes Archives'': {{cite web|url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=367 |title=Alan Keyes and Barack Obama debate, hosted by Illinois Radio Network |date=[[October 12]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web|url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=370 |title=U.S. Senate debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Illinois |date=[[October 21]] [[2004]]}} {{cite web|url=http://www.keyesarchives.com/transcript.php?id=373 |title=Debate sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago |accessdate=2008-01-14 |date=[[October 26]] [[2004]]}}</ref> In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.<ref>{{cite news | title=America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois | url =http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html | work =CNN | accessdate = 2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles | date=[[November 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/12/AR2007111201945.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Senate career==
Obama was sworn in as a senator on [[January 4]] [[2005]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/about/ | title=About Barack Obama | accessdate=2008-01-14 | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}}</ref> Although a newcomer to Washington, he recruited a team of established, high-level advisers devoted to broad themes that exceeded the usual requirements of an incoming first-term senator.<ref>{{cite news | first=Charles | last=Babington | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry | date=[[December 8]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120701755.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-21}} {{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars | date=[[September 17]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-obama_mon_nusep17,1,4819101,full.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-21}}</ref> Obama hired [[Pete Rouse]], a 30-year veteran of national politics and former chief of staff to Senate Democratic Leader [[Tom Daschle]], as his chief of staff, and economist [[Karen Kornbluh]], former deputy chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury [[Robert Rubin]], as his policy director.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10828 | work=The American Prospect | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Perry | last=Bacon Jr. | title=The Outsider's Insider | date=[[August 27]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/26/AR2007082601446.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His key foreign policy advisers include [[Samantha Power]], author on human rights and genocide, and former [[Presidency of Bill Clinton| Clinton administration]] officials [[Anthony Lake]] and [[Susan E. Rice| Susan Rice]].<ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Traub | title=Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny? | date=[[November 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Neil | last=King | title=Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle | date=[[September 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118895877299317784.html | work=Wall Street Journal | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Lynn | last=Sweet | title=Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts | date=[[May 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/379187,CST-EDT-sweet10.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama holds assignments on the Senate Committees for [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Foreign Relations]]; [[United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions|Health, Education, Labor and Pensions]]; [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs]]; and [[United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs|Veterans' Affairs]], and he is a member of the [[Congressional Black Caucus]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/committees/ | title=Committee Assignments | accessdate=2008-01-14 | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office}} {{cite news | title=Member Info | url=http://www.house.gov/kilpatrick/cbc/member_info.html | work=Congressional Black Caucus | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety | date=[[June 26]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-050626obama-race,1,7205709.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

===109th Congress===
[[Image:Coburn and Obama discuss S. 2590.jpg|thumb|right|Senate bill sponsors [[Tom Coburn]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Oklahoma|OK]]) and Obama discuss the [[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 | Coburn-Obama Transparency Act]].<ref>{{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060926.html | work=White House | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>]]

Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved [[Illegal immigration to the United States|border security]] and [[United States immigration debate|immigration reform]]. In 2005, he co-sponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. [[John McCain]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Arizona|AZ]]).<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1033, Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act | date=[[May 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN01033: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He later added three amendments to the "[[Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006|Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act]]", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the [[U.S. House of Representatives]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Immigration Bill Divides House, Senate | date=[[September 22]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-09-22-immigration_x.htm | work=USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/060525-obama_statement_on_senate_passage_of_immigration_reform_bill/index.html | title=Obama Statement on Senate Passage of Immigration Reform Bill | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the [[Secure Fence Act of 2006|Secure Fence Act]], authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the [[Mexico–United States border]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://cbs2chicago.com/local/local_story_324192245.html | work=CBS 2 (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform."<ref>{{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act | date=[[October 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/10/20061026.html | work=White House | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Partnering first with Sen. [[Richard Lugar]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Indiana|IN]]), and then with Sen. [[Tom Coburn]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Oklahoma|OK]]), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar-Obama" expands the [[Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction|Nunn-Lugar cooperative threat reduction]] concept to [[conventional weapon]]s, including [[Man-portable air-defence system|shoulder-fired missiles]] and [[anti-personnel mine]]s.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2566, Cooperative Proliferation Detection, Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006 | date=[[May 25]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02566: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard G. | last=Lugar | coauthors=Barack Obama | title=Junkyard Dogs of War | date=[[December 3]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/02/AR2005120201509.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070111-lugar-obama_non/ | title= Lugar-Obama Nonproliferation Legislation Signed into Law by the President | date=[[January 11]] [[2007]] | work=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}} The Lugar-Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding. {{cite news | url=http://lugar.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=278019 | title=Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law | work=Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office | date=[[June 28]] [[2007]] | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The "[[Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006|Coburn-Obama Transparency Act]]" provides for a web site, managed by the [[Office of Management and Budget]], listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2590, Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 | date=[[April 6]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02590: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | title=President Bush Signs Coburn-Obama Transparency Act | date=[[September 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://coburn.senate.gov/ffm/index.cfm?FuseAction=LegislativeFloorAction.Home&ContentRecord_id=eb582f19-802a-23ad-41db-7a7cb464cfdb | work=Tom Coburn U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the "[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act," marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor.<ref>{{cite news | first=109th Congress, 2nd Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 2125, Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act | date=[[January 3]] [[2006]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:SN02125: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In August 2005, he traveled to [[Russia]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Azerbaijan]]. The trip focused on strategies to control the world's supply of [[conventional weapons]], [[biological weapons]], and [[weapons of mass destruction]] as a first defense against potential [[terrorism|terrorist]] attacks.<ref>{{cite news | first=Christina | last=Larson | title=Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP | date=September 2006 | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0609.larson.html | work=Washington Monthly | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Following meetings with [[Military of the United States|U.S. military]] in [[Kuwait]] and [[Iraq]] in January 2006, Obama visited [[Jordan]], [[Israel]], and the [[Palestinian territories]]. At a meeting with [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] students two weeks before [[Hamas]] won the [[Palestinian legislative election, 2006|legislative election]], Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel."<ref>{{cite news | first=Chuck | last=Goudie | title=Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor | date=[[January 12]], [[2006]] | url =http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3806933 | work=ABC 7 News (Chicago) | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to [[South Africa]], [[Kenya]], [[Djibouti]], [[Ethiopia]] and [[Chad]]. In a nationally televised speech at the [[University of Nairobi]], he spoke forcefully on the influence of ethnic rivalries and [[corruption in Kenya]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud | date=[[August 28]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_1989646,00.html | work=News24.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The speech touched off a public debate among rival leaders, some formally challenging Obama's remarks as unfair and improper, others defending his positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Chris | last=Wamalwa | title=Envoy Hits at Obama Over Graft Remark | date=[[September 2]], [[2006]] | url =http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957666 | work=The Standard (Nairobi) | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Vincent | last=Moracha | coauthors= Mangoa Mosota | title=Leaders Support Obama on Graft Claims | date=[[September 4]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143957752 | work =The Standard (Nairobi) | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

===110th Congress===
In the first month of the newly Democratic-controlled [[110th United States Congress|110th Congress]], Obama worked with [[Russ Feingold]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]–[[Wisconsin|WI]]) to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbyists]] to members of Congress and require disclosure of [[Campaign finance in the United States#Bundling|bundled campaign contributions]] under the "[[Honest Leadership and Open Government Act]]", which was signed into law in September 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel | date=[[November 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/feingold-obama-go-after-corporate-jet-travel-2007-11-15.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Nathaniel | last=Weixel | title=Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation | date=[[December 5]] [[2007]] | url=http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/lawmakers-press-fec-on-bundling-regulation-2007-12-05.html | work=The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=Federal Election Commission | url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2007/20070924travel.shtml | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He joined [[Charles Schumer]] ([[Democratic Party (United States)|D]]-[[New York|NY]]) in sponsoring [[Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act|S. 453]], a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the [[United States general elections, 2006|2006 midterm elections]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Seth | last=Stern | title=Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | publisher=New York Times | url=http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/01/31/cq_2213.html | work=CQPolitics.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007 | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00453: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | title=Honesty in Elections | date=[[January 31]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/31/opinion/31wed1.html | work=New York Times | format=editorial | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama's [[Energy use in the United States|energy]] initiatives scored pluses and minuses with [[Environmentalism|environmentalists]], who welcomed his sponsorship with [[John McCain]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Arizona|AZ]]) of a [[Global warming|climate change]] bill to reduce [[greenhouse gas]] emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting [[Coal#Liquefaction_-_Coal-To-Liquids_.28CTL.29|liquefied coal]] production.<ref>{{cite news | first=Hebert | last=H. Josef | title=Congress Begins Tackling Climate Issues | date=[[January 29]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/29/ap/politics/mainD8MV8LBG0.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Elizabeth | last=Williamson | title=The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still... Coal | date=[[January 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/09/AR2007010901503.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama also introduced the "[[Iraq War De-Escalation Act]]", a bill to cap troop levels in Iraq, begin phased redeployment, and remove all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008.<ref>{{cite news | first=E. Kasak | last=Krystin | title=Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home |date=[[February 7]] [[2007]] | publisher=nwi.com | url =http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/02/07/news/illiana/doc65cc98d8dc6506b28625727b0011edb5.txt | work=Medill News Service | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 | date=[[January 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN00433: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored with [[Kit Bond]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Missouri|MO]]) an amendment to the 2008 [[National Defense Authorization Act| Defense Authorization Act]] adding safeguards for personality disorder [[military discharge]]s, and calling for a review by the [[Government Accountability Office]] following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action | date=[[October 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://bond.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.NewsReleases&ContentRecord_id=5C1EBFEB-1321-0E36-BA7D-04630AEFAD31 | work =Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Dine | title=Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges | date=[[November 30]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/washington/story/1FB9AF3F22D30D72862573A300150578?OpenDocument | work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry,<ref>{{cite news | first=110th Congress, 1st Session | last=U.S. Senate | title=S. 1430, Iran Sanctions Enabling Act | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | url =http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:SN01430: | work=Thomas | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=Adam | last=Graham-Silverman | title=Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran | date=[[September 12]] [[2007]] | url =http://public.cq.com/docs/cqt/news110-000002583189.html | work=CQ Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> and joined [[Chuck Hagel]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Nebraska|NE]]) in introducing legislation to reduce risks of [[nuclear terrorism]]. A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved | date=[[December 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/071220-obama_schiff_pr/ | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the [[State Children's Health Insurance Program]] (SCHIP) to provide one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.<ref>{{cite news | title=Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members | date=[[August 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/press/070802-senate_passes_o_1/ | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office |accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was [[Veto#United States| vetoed]] by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama said "shows a callousness of priorities that is offensive to the ideals we hold as Americans."<ref>{{cite news | first=Tony | last=Pugh | coauthors=Margaret Talev | title=Battles Set After Health Bill Veto | date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20071004_Battles_set_after_health_bill_veto.html | work=Philadelphia Inquirer | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Presidential campaign==
{{main|Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008}}
{{Future election candidate|section|Obama, Barack}}
[[Image:Flickr Obama Springfield 01.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Obama on stage with his wife and two daughters just before announcing his presidential campaign on [[February 10]], [[2007]].<ref>For other photos of this event, see: {{cite news | url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/barackobamadotcom/sets/72157594528136270/show/ | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | accessdate=2008-01-14 |date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | format=photo gallery | work=Barack Obama, Flickr}}</ref>]]

In February 2007, standing before the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site|Old State Capitol]] building in [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]], [[Illinois]], Obama announced his candidacy for the [[United States presidential election, 2008|2008 U.S. presidential election]].<ref name=BBC20070210>{{cite news | title=Obama Launches Presidential Bid | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6349081.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref> Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to [[Abraham Lincoln|Abraham Lincoln's]] 1858 [[Lincoln's House Divided Speech|House Divided]] speech, Obama said: "That is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a house divided to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America."<ref>{{cite news | title=Presidential Campaign Announcement | format=video | date=[[February 10]] [[2007]] | publisher=Brightcove.TV | url=http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=494649996&channel=353512430 | work=Obama for America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Speaking at a [[Democratic National Committee]] meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to [[negative campaigning]]. "This can't be about who digs up more skeletons on who, who makes the fewest slip-ups on the campaign trail," he said. "We owe it to the American people to do more than that."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.democrats.org/a/2007/02/barack_obama.php |title=Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting | format=video | date=[[February 2]] [[2007]] | work=Democratic National Committee | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Full text from [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/05/AR2007020500753_pf.html CQ Transcripts Wire]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]]. See also: {{cite news | first=Paul | last=Harris | title=The Obama Revolution | date=[[February 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2005508,00.html | work=Guardian Unlimited | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Obama's campaign raised [[United States dollar|US$]]58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Malone | title=Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination | date=[[July 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-02-voa52.cfm | work=Voice of America | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than for any other Democratic candidate.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeanne | last=Cummings | title=Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook | date=[[September 26]] [[2007]] | url=http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=3ECB3515-3048-5C12-004D622CB6F4E214 | work=Politico | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His campaign reported adding 108,000 new donors through third quarter fundraising, for a total of 365,000 individual contributors in the first nine months.<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Cooper | coauthors=Aron Pilhofer | title=Democratic Candidates Keep Outraising Republicans | date=[[October 16]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/us/politics/16donate.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Amid concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]] protection to Obama 18&nbsp;months before the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Helen | last=Kennedy | title=Obama Gets Earliest-Ever Secret Service Detail | date=[[May 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wn_report/2007/05/04/2007-05-04_raising_his_guard.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

With two months remaining before the [[Iowa Democratic caucuses, 2008|Iowa Democratic caucuses]] and [[New Hampshire Democratic primary, 2008]], and national [[opinion poll]]s showing him trailing [[Hillary Clinton]], Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jay | last=Newton-Small | title=Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1677121,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Adam | last=Nagourney | coauthors=Jeff Zeleny | title=Obama Rolls Out Aggressive Approach to Clinton's Campaign | date=[[October 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/28/america/obama.php | work =International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Campaigning in Iowa, he told the ''Washington Post'' that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from [[Independent (voter)| independent]] and Republican voters in the general election.<ref>{{cite news | first=Dan | last=Balz | coauthors=Shailagh Murray | title=On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers | date=[[November 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110802459.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> At Iowa's [[Jefferson-Jackson Day| Jefferson-Jackson]] fundraising dinner in November 2007, he expanded the theme, saying that his presidency would "bring the country together in a new majority" to seek solutions to long-standing problems.<ref>{{cite news | title=Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: Iowa Jefferson-Jackson Dinner | date=[[November 10]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2007/11/10/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_33.php | work =BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}} ''C-SPAN'' [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tydfsfSQiYc video] at ''YouTube''.</ref> In January 2008, Obama won the Iowa caucus with 37.58% support, ahead of 29.75% for [[John Edwards]] and 29.47% for Clinton.<ref>http://www.iowacaucusresults.com/</ref> His Iowa lead was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers.<ref>{{cite news | first=James | last=Montgomery | coauthors=Kim Stolz | title=Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus Wins Are Largely Thanks To Young Voters | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579042/20080104/index.jhtml | work=MTV | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Five days later, Clinton won the New Hampshire primary with 39% of the vote to Obama's 37%.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/primaries/results/state/#val=NH | title=Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire | work=CNN | date=[[January 10]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

On January 26, 2008, Barack Obama easily defeated top rival Hillary Clinton in the [[South Carolina Democratic primary, 2008|South Carolina Democratic primary]], in a victory that could reinvigorate his campaign after suffering back-to-back losses to the New York senator. Fox News says, "Returns showed Clinton leading former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards for second place, but Obama held on to a gaping lead. The final results had Obama with 55%, Clinton with 27% and Edwards with 18%." <ref>{{cite news | url=http://youdecide08.foxnews.com/2008/01/26/obama-pulls-big-victory-out-of-south-carolina/ | title=FOXNews You Decide! 2008: Primary Results for South Carolina | work=FOXNews | date=[[January 26]] [[2008]] | accessdate=2008-01-26}}</ref>

==Political advocacy==
{{seealso|Political positions of Barack Obama}}
[[Image:ObamaSouthCarolina.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Obama speaking at a rally in [[Conway, South Carolina]] on [[August 23]] [[2007]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Jessica | last=Foster | title=Obama Impresses Crowd at CCU | date= [[August 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=MyrtleBeachOnline | url =http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/politics/story/167479.html | work =Sun News | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }} [http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1155183011&channel=353512430 Video] at Brightcove.TV.</ref>]]

On the role of government in economic affairs, Obama has written: "We should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic [[free market]] and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and [[social mobility|upward mobility]] [...] we should be guided by what works."<ref>Obama (2006), p. 159.</ref> Speaking before the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]] in April 2005, he defended the [[New Deal]] social welfare policies of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for [[Social Security debate (United States)|Social Security]] with [[social Darwinism]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Ben A. | last=Franklin | title=The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon | date=[[June 1]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonspectator.com/articles/20050601obama_1.cfm | work =Washington Spectator | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }}</ref> In the aftermath of [[Hurricane Katrina]], Obama spoke out against government indifference to growing economic class divisions, calling on both political parties to take action to restore the [[social safety net]] for the poor.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume | date=[[September 12]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509120140sep12,1,5984193.story?coll=chi-news-hed | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate = 2008-01-14}}</ref> Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group [[Families USA]]: "I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country."<ref>{{cite news | first=Nedra | last=Pickler | title=Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years | date=[[January 25]] [[2007]] | publisher=Union-Tribune (San Diego) | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070125-1240-democrats-healthcare.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. {{cite news | first=Karen | last=Tumulty | title=Obama Channels Hillary on Health Care | date=[[May 29]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1626105,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | url=http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/ | title=Creating a Healthcare System that Works | accessdate=2008-01-14 | work=BarackObama.com }}</ref>

Meeting with [[Google]] employees in November 2007, Obama pledged to appoint a [[Chief technical officer| Chief Technology Officer]] to oversee the U.S. government's management of [[Information technology| IT]] resources and promote wider access to government information and decision making.<ref>{{cite news | first=Laura | last=Kurtzman | coauthors= | title=Obama Talks to the Tech Crowd at Google Town Hall | date=[[November 14]] [[2007]] | publisher=SFGate.com | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/14/politics/p182411S74.DTL | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Reaffirming his commitment to [[net neutrality]] legislation, Obama said "once providers start to privilege some applications or web sites over others, then the smaller voices get squeezed out, and we all lose."<ref>{{cite news | first=Roy | last=Mark | title=Obama Promises Federal Technology Czar | date=[[November 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2217653,00.asp | work=eWeek | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Campaigning in New Hampshire, he announced an $18&nbsp;billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities.<ref>{{cite news | first=Shira | last=Schoenberg | title=Obama Shares School Plan | date=[[November 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS01/711210347/1043 | work=Concord Monitor | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Obama's campaign distinguished his proposals to reward teachers for performance from traditional [[merit pay]] systems, assuring unions that changes would be pursued through the [[collective bargaining]] process.<ref>{{cite news | first=Teddy | last=Davis | coauthors=Sunlen Miller | title=Obama Bucks Party Line on Education | date=[[November 20]] [[2007]] | url=http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3894699 | work=ABC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

At the [[Tax Policy Center]] in September 2007, he blamed [[interest group| special interests]] for distorting the [[taxation in the United States| U.S. tax code]]. "We are taxing income from work at nearly twice the level that we're taxing gains for investors," Obama said. "We've lost the balance between work and wealth."<ref>{{cite news | title=A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/events/obama.cfm | work=Tax Policy Center | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal tax cuts said to favor the wealthy, close corporate tax loopholes and restrict offshore [[tax haven]]s, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the [[Internal Revenue Service| IRS]].<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings | date=[[September 18]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/18/obama.taxplan/ | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama said: "Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does, and if we want them to stop polluting it, we have to put a price on all pollution." He proposed a [[emissions trading| cap and trade]] auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10&nbsp;year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay | date=[[October 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Obama was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. In the fall of 2002, before the start of the [[Iraq War]], he addressed an anti-war rally in Chicago, saying:

<blockquote>I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of [[al-Qaeda]]. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars.<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq | date=[[October 26]] [[2002]] | url=http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php | work=BarackObama.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref></blockquote>

Speaking to the [[Chicago Council on Global Affairs]] in November 2006, Obama called for a "phased redeployment of U.S. troops from Iraq" and an opening of diplomatic dialogue with [[Syria]] and [[Iran]].<ref>For audio and text, see: {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=A Way Forward in Iraq | date=[[November 20]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thechicagocouncil.org/hottopics_details.php?hottopics_id=52 | work=Chicago Council on Global Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In a March 2007 speech to [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee|AIPAC]], a pro-Israel [[Lobbying in the United States|lobby]], he said that while the U.S. "should take no option, including military action, off the table, sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions should be our primary means to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons."<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url=http://obama.senate.gov/speech/070302-aipac_policy_forum_remarks/index.html | work=Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: {{cite news | last=Mendell | first=David | title=Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran | format=paid archive | date=[[September 25]] [[2004]] | publisher=Chicago Tribune | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/699578571.html?dids=699578571:699578571&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Detailing his strategy for fighting [[terrorism| global terrorism]] in August 2007, Obama said "it was a terrible mistake to fail to act" against a 2005 meeting of al-Qaeda leaders that U.S. intelligence had confirmed to be taking place in Pakistan's [[Federally Administered Tribal Areas]]. He said that as president he would not miss a similar opportunity.<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Warns Pakistan on Al-Qaeda | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6926663.stm | work=BBC News | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For video and text of the speech, see: {{cite news | title=Policy Address on Terrorism by The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois | date=[[August 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.event&event_id=269510 | work=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For details of the aborted 2005 military operation, see {{cite news | first=Mark | last=Mazzetti | title=Rumsfeld Called Off 2005 Plan to Capture Top Qaeda Figures | date=[[July 8]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/qaeda.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref></blockquote>
[[Image:Capital building and darfur rally.JPG|left|thumb|Obama addressed the [[Save Darfur Coalition|Save Darfur]] rally at the [[National Mall]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] on [[April 30]] [[2006]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Kasie | last=Hunt | title=Celebrities, Activists Rally Against Darfur Genocide | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-04-30-darfurrally_x.htm | work =USA Today | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For excerpts from Obama's speech, see: {{cite news | title=More Must Be Done in Darfur | date=[[April 30]] [[2006]] | url=http://blog.thehill.com/2006/04/30/more-must-be-done-in-darfur/ | work =The Hill | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>]]

In a December 2005 ''Washington Post'' opinion column, and at the [[Save Darfur Coalition|Save Darfur]] rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose [[genocide]] in the [[Darfur conflict|Darfur region]] of [[Sudan]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | coauthors=Sam Brownback | title=Policy Adrift on Darfur | date=[[December 27]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600547.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Jim | last=Doyle | title=Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur | date=[[May 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/01/MNGFBIIFOA1.DTL | work=San Francisco Chronicle | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He has [[divestment|divested]] $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jim | last=Kuhnhenn | title=Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings | date=[[May 17]] [[2007]] | publisher=SFGate.com | url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/05/17/politics/p171906D95.DTL | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Hit Iran Where It Hurts | date=[[August 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/08/30/2007-08-30_hit_iran_where_it_hurts.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In the July-August 2007 issue of ''[[Foreign Affairs]]'', Obama called for an outward looking post-Iraq War foreign policy and the renewal of American military, diplomatic, and moral leadership in the world. Saying "we can neither retreat from the world nor try to bully it into submission," he called on Americans to "lead the world, by deed and by example."<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Renewing American Leadership | date=July-August 2007 | url=http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070701faessay86401/barack-obama/renewing-american-leadership.html | work=Foreign Affairs | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to [[evangelicalism|evangelicals]] and other religious people, saying, "if we truly hope to speak to people where they’re at—to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own—we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse."<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Lerner | title=U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia | date=[[July 3]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.tikkun.org/rabbi_lerner/news_item.2006-07-02.3949597607 | work=Tikkun Magazine | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite web|url=http://www.beliefnet.com/story/194/story_19473_1.html | title=Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | work=Beliefnet | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In December 2006, he joined Sen. [[Sam Brownback]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]-[[Kansas|KS]]) at the "Global Summit on [[AIDS]] and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and [[Rick Warren]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Manda | last=Gibson | title=At Global AIDS Summit, Churches Challenged to Take the Lead | date=[[June 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/HIVAIDSCommunity/StartingAMinistry/churches_challenged_to_take_the_lead.htm | work=PurposeDriven.com | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier.<ref>{{cite news | title=Screaming Crowds Welcome U.S. Senator 'Home' | date=[[August 27]], [[2006]] | url=http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/26/kenya.obama/index.html | work=CNN | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" to show "there is no shame in going for an HIV test."<ref>{{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=Race Against Time—World AIDS Day Speech | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://obama.senate.gov/speech/061201-race_against_time_-_world_aids_day_speech/index.html | work=Obama U.S. Senate Office | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Before the conference, 18&nbsp;[[pro-life]] groups published an [[open letter]] stating, in reference to Obama's support for [[Abortion in the United States|legal abortion]]: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear [[Pro-Life#Term controversy|pro-death]] stance and invite him to [[Saddleback Church]] anyway."<ref> {{cite news | title=Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups | date=[[November 28]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/791771591.html | work=Christian Newswire Press Release | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Van Biema | title=The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy | date=[[December 1]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1565076,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Addressing over 8,000 [[United Church of Christ]] members in June 2007, Obama challenged "so-called leaders of the Christian Right" for being "all too eager to exploit what divides us."<ref>{{cite news | title=Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked' | date=[[June 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS News | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/24/politics/main2971556.shtml | work=Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | }} See also: {{cite news | first=David | last=Brody | title=Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation | date=[[July 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/204016.aspx | work=Christian Broadcasting Network | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[Image:BarackObama-Basketball.JPEG|thumb|right|upright|Obama (center) playing [[basketball]] with U.S. military service members from [[Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa]] during his visit at [[Camp Lemonier]], [[Djibouti]], on [[August 31]] [[2006]]]]
Obama met his future wife, [[Michelle Obama| Michelle Robinson]], in 1988 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of [[Sidley Austin|Sidley & Austin]].<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: {{cite news | first=Eric | last=Tucker | title=Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama | date=[[March 1]] [[2007]] | publisher=ABC News | url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2916437 | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Assigned for three months as Obama's advisor at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to [[Dating (activity)|date]].<ref>Obama (2006), p. 329.</ref> They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married in October 1992.<ref>{{cite news | first=Scott | last=Fornek | title=Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet' | date=[[October 3]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/585261,CST-NWS-wedding03.stng | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1999, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001.<ref>Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: {{cite news | first=Rosalind | last=Rossi | title=The Woman Behind Obama | date=[[January 21]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/221458,CST-NWS-mich21.article | work=Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Applying the proceeds of a $2&nbsp;million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a [[Hyde Park, Chicago]] condominium to their current $1.6-million house in neighboring [[Kenwood, Chicago| Kenwood]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Jeff | last=Zeleny | title=The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year | date=[[December 24]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051224obama,1,1815354.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The house purchase and subsequent acquisition of an adjoining strip of land drew media scrutiny in November 2006 because of financial links with controversial Illinois businessman [[Antoin Rezko]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Peter | last=Slevin | title=Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser | date=[[December 17]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/16/AR2006121600729.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
| author = Jeff Coen and John Chase
| title = Tony Rezko arrested, sources say
| publisher = [[Chicago Tribune]]
| date = 2008-01-28
| accessdate = 2008-01-28
| url = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rezko-arrested_webjan29,1,6986321.story }}</ref>

Obama plays [[basketball]], a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow | date=[[June 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/us/politics/01hoops.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=Neal Karlinsky | last=Dan Morris | title=The 'Rat-Ballers': Obama's High School Crew | publisher=ABC News | url =http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3095109 | work=Nightline | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to [[Smoking cessation|quit smoking]]. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the ''Chicago Tribune''. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I don't succumb. I've been chewing [[Nicorette]] strenuously."<ref> {{cite news | first=Christi | last=Parsons | title=Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking | date=[[February 6]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0702060167feb06,0,373462.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}} </ref> Replying to an ''Associated Press'' survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "[[architect]]" as his alternate career choice and "[[chili con carne|chili]]" as his favorite meal to cook.<ref>{{cite news | title=Questions for the Candidates | date=[[May 15]] [[2007]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2007-05-17-2380332271_x.htm | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good [[poker]] player."<ref>{{cite news | title=Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess | date=[[September 24]] [[2007]] | publisher=CNN | url =http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/24/obama.poker.ap/index.html | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

A theme of Obama's keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and the title of his 2006 book, ''The Audacity of Hope'', was inspired by his pastor, Rev. [[Jeremiah Wright]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Kantor | title=A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith | date=[[April 30]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/us/politics/30obama.html | work =New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: Obama (1995), pp. 292–295.</ref> In Chapter 6 of the book, titled "Faith," Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a [[Muslim]]," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a [[community organizing|community organizer]], came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change." Obama writes: "It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of [[Jeremiah Wright|Trinity United Church of Christ]] one day and be baptized."<ref>Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: {{cite news | first=Barack | last=Obama | title=My Spiritual Journey | date=[[October 23]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html | work=TIME | accessdate=2008-01-14}} See also: {{cite news | first=J. Bennett | last=Guess | title=Barack Obama, Candidate for President, is 'UCC' | date=[[February 9]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.ucc.org/news/barack-obama-candidate.html | work=United Church News | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> He has been a member of Trinity United Church of Christ for over twenty years.

==Books==
[[Image:AudacityofHope.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''[[The Audacity of Hope]]'']]
Obama has written two bestselling books. The first, ''[[Dreams from My Father|Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance]]'', was published after his graduation from law school and before running for public office. In it he recalls his childhood in [[Honolulu, Hawaii|Honolulu]] and [[Jakarta]], college years in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[New York City]], and his employment as a community organizer in [[Chicago]] in the 1980s. The book's last chapters describe his first visit to Kenya, a journey to connect with his [[Luo (Kenya and Tanzania)|Luo]] family and heritage. In his preface to the 2004 revised edition, Obama explains that he had hoped the story of his family "might speak in some way to the fissures of race that have characterized the American experience, as well as the fluid state of identity—the leaps through time, the collision of cultures—that mark our modern life."<ref>Obama (1995), p. vii.</ref> ''Time'' magazine's [[Joe Klein]] wrote that the book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician."<ref>{{cite news | last=Klein | first=Joe | title=The Fresh Face | date=[[October 23]] [[2006]] | work=Time | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546362,00.html | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> The [[audiobook]] edition earned Obama the 2006 [[Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Brooks | last=Boliek | title=Sen. Obama Finally Gets His Grammy | date=[[September 6]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.entertainment-news.org/breaking/54592/sen-obama-finally-gets-his-grammy.html | work=Reuters/Hollywood Reporter | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

His second book, ''[[The Audacity of Hope|The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream]]'', was published in October 2006, three weeks before the 2006 midterm election. It was an immediate bestseller and rose to the top of the [[New York Times Best Seller list]] by early November 2006.<ref>{{cite news | first=Julie | last=Bosman | title=Obama’s New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller | date=[[November 9]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/books/09obam.html | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} </ref> The ''Chicago Tribune'' credits the large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president.<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | coauthors= Christi Parsons | title=Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand' | date=[[June 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-obama_senate_recordjun12,1,48733.story | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Former presidential candidate [[Gary Hart]] describes the book as Obama's "thesis submission" for the U.S. presidency: "It presents a man of relative youth yet maturity, a wise observer of the human condition, a figure who possesses perseverance and writing skills that have flashes of grandeur."<ref>{{cite news | first=Gary | last=Hart | title=American Idol | date=[[December 24]] [[2006]] | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E1D61531F937A15751C1A9609C8B63 | work=New York Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> Reviewer [[Michael Tomasky]] writes that it does not contain "boldly innovative policy prescriptions that will lead the Democrats out of their wilderness," but does show Obama's potential to "construct a new politics that is progressive but grounded in civic traditions that speak to a wider range of Americans."<ref>{{cite news | first=Michael | last=Tomasky | title=The Phenomenon | date=[[November 30]] [[2006]] | publisher=Internet Archive | url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070401154934/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/19651 | work=New York Review of Books | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> An Italian translation was published in April 2007 with a preface by [[Walter Veltroni]], Mayor of [[Rome]].<ref>{{cite news | url=http://store.libreriarizzoli.it/4DLink/4DAction/MostraScheda?Codice=978881701658 | title=L’Audacia Della Speranza. Il Sogno Americano Per Un Mondo Nuovo | accessdate=2008-01-14 | work=Libreria Rizzoli }}</ref> Spanish and German editions were published in June 2007.<ref>{{cite news | first=Annelena | last=Lobb | title=Obama, en Español | date=[[June 19]] [[2007]] | url =http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/06/19/obama-en-espanol/ | work=Wall Street Journal Online | accessdate = 2008-01-14}} {{cite news | title=Riemann - Barack Obama - Hoffnung wagen | date=June 2007 | publisher=Riemann | url =http://www.randomhouse.de/book/edition.jsp?edi=248620 | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Cultural and political image==
[[Image:Flickr Obama Austin 01.jpg‎|thumb|right|Obama supporters at a campaign rally in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], [[Texas]], on [[February 23]] [[2007]].<ref>{{cite news | first=Wayne | last=Slater | title=Obama Reels in Austin Crowd | date=[[February 24]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022407dntexobama.10794.html | work =Dallas Morning News | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }} See also: {{cite news | first=Philip | last=Elliott | title=Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too | date=[[May 28]] [[2007]] | publisher=Boston Globe | url =http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/05/28/obama_measuring_campaign_success_not_just_in_cash_but_crowds_too/ | work =Associated Press | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }}</ref>]]

Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural [[Rorschach inkblot test|Rorschach test]], a neutral persona on whom people can project their personal histories and aspirations.<ref name='ref name=Enda2006'>{{cite news | first=Jodi | last=Enda | title=Great Expectations | date=[[February 5]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10828 | work =The American Prospect | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }} See also: {{cite news | first=Garrett M. | last=Graff | title= The Legend of Barack Obama | date=[[November 1]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1836.html | work =Washingtonian | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first=John | last=Podhoretz | title=Obama: Rorschach Candidate | date=[[December 12]] [[2006]] | url =http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama__rorschach_candidate_opedcolumnists_john_podhoretz.htm?page=0 | work =New York Post | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }}</ref> Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 ''[[The New Yorker|New Yorker]]'' magazine article described as his "[[everyman]]" image.<ref>{{cite news | last=Finnegan | first=William | title=The Candidate: How the Son of a Kenyan Economist Became an Illinois Everyman | date=[[24 May]] [[2004]] | publisher=New Yorker | url=http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/040531fa_fact1 |accessdate= 2008-01-14 }} See also: {{cite news | first=Jonathan | last=Tilove | title=In Obama Candidacy, America Examines Itself | date= [[February 8]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1170922945129720.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 | work=Times-Picayune (New Orleans) | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }}</ref> In ''Dreams from My Father'', he ties his maternal family history to possible [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] ancestors and distant relatives of [[Jefferson Davis]], president of the southern [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]] during the [[American Civil War]].<ref>Obama (1995), p. 13. For reports on Obama's maternal genealogy, including slave owners, Irish connections, and common ancestors with [[George W. Bush]], [[Dick Cheney]], and [[Harry S. Truman| Harry Truman]], see: {{cite news | first=David | last=Nitkin | coauthors=Harry Merritt | title=A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History | date=[[March 2]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/politics/bal-te.obama02mar02,0,3453027.story | work =Baltimore Sun | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Mary | last=Jordan | title=Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own | date=[[May 13]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/12/AR2007051201551.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-14 }} {{cite news | title=Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises | date=[[September 8]] [[2007]] | publisher=CBS 2 (Chicago) | url =http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Barack.Obama.family.2.339709.html | work =Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}{{wikia genealogy|Mareen Duvall (c1630)/tree|Mareen Duvall (c1630) descendants tree|with a tree illustrating the relations of Truman, Obama and Cheney.|nologo=y}}
</ref> Speaking to an elderly [[Jew]]ish audience during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, Obama linked the linguistic [[triliteral|root]] of his [[East Africa]]n first name ''Barack'' to the [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] word ''[[baruch]]'', meaning "blessed."<ref>{{cite news | first=Ron | last=Kampeas | title=Obama, Democrats’ Rising Star, Known for Harmony with Jews | date=[[August 6]] [[2004]] | url =http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/23183/edition_id/462/format/html/displaystory.html | work =Jewish News Weekly of Northern California | accessdate = 2008-01-14 }}</ref> In an October 2006 interview on ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'', Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "Michelle will tell you that when we get together for Christmas or Thanksgiving, it's like a little mini-[[United Nations]]," he said. "I've got relatives who look like [[Bernie Mac]], and I've got relatives who look like [[Margaret Thatcher]]. We've got it all."<ref> {{cite web|url=http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200610/20061018/slide_20061018_284_110.jhtml |title=Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First |accessdate= 2008-01-14 | date=[[October 18]] [[2006]] | work=The Oprah Winfrey Show }}</ref>

With his Kenyan father and American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and [[Ivy League#Social elitism| Ivy League]] education, Obama's early life experiences differ markedly from those of African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the [[African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)| civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Wallace-Wells | first=Benjamin | title=The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama? | date=November 2004 | work =Washington Monthly | url=http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0411.wallace-wells.html |accessdate=2008-01-14 }} See also: {{cite news | first=Janny | last=Scott | title=A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line | date=[[December 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/28/america/obama.php | work=International Herald Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> During his Democratic primary campaign for U.S. Congress in 2000, two rival candidates charged that Obama was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent constituents' concerns.<ref name=McClelland20070212> {{cite news | first=Edward | last=McClelland | title=How Obama Learned to Be a Natural | date=[[February 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/02/12/obama_natural/ | work =Salon | accessdate=2008-01-14 }} See also: {{cite news | first=Richard | last=Wolffe | coauthors= Daren Briscoe | title=Across the Divide | date=[[July 16]] [[2007]] | publisher=MSNBC | url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/33156 | work=Newsweek | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Scott | last=Helman | coauthors= | title=Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb | date=[[October 12]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/10/12/early_defeat_launched_a_rapid_political_climb/ | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> In January 2007, "The End of Blackness" author [[Debra Dickerson]] warned against drawing favorable cultural implications from Obama's political rise. "Lumping us all together," Dickerson wrote in ''[[Salon.com|Salon]]'', "erases the significance of [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]] and continuing [[Racism in the United States|racism]] while giving the appearance of progress."<ref>{{cite news | first=Debra J | last=Dickerson | title=Colorblind | date= [[January 22]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/index_np.html | work=Salon | accessdate=2008-01-14}} For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: {{cite news | first=Gary | last=Younge | title=Obama: Black Like Me | date=posted [[October 27]] [[2006]] ([[November 13]] [[2006]] issue) | url =http://www.thenation.com/doc/20061113/younge | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-01-14 }} {{cite news | first=Stanley | last=Crouch | title=What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me | date=[[November 2]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | work=New York Daily News | accessdate=2008-01-14 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308142850/www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/467300p-393261c.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}} {{cite news | first=Laura | last=Washington | title=Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'? | date=[[January 1]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obamacommentary/193216,CST-EDT-LAURA01.article | work =Chicago Sun-Times | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Clarence | last=Page | title=Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question | date=[[February 25]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | work=Houston Chronicle | accessdate=2008-01-14 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070308133020/www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4580864.html | archivedate=2007-03-08}}</ref> Film critic [[David Ehrenstein]], writing in a March 2007 ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' article, compared the cultural sources of Obama's favorable polling among whites to those of "[[magical negro]]" roles played by black actors in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] movies.<ref>Ehrenstein, David. "[http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-ehrenstein19mar19,0,5335087.story?coll=la-opinion-rightrail Obama the 'Magic Negro']", ''Los Angeles Times'', [[March 19]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].</ref> Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough," Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the [[National Association of Black Journalists]] that the debate is not about his physical appearance or his record on issues of concern to black voters. "What it really lays bare," Obama offered, is that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."<ref>{{cite news | first=Les | last=Payne | title=In One Country, a Dual Audience | format=paid archive | date=[[August 19]] [[2007]] | url =http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/newsday/access/1322008241.html?dids=1322008241:1322008241&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT | work=Newsday | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' opinion column, [[Eugene Robinson (journalist)|Eugene Robinson]] characterized him as "the personification of ''both-and''," a messenger who rejects "either-or" political choices, and could "move the nation beyond the [[culture war]]s" of the 1960s.<ref>{{cite news | first=Eugene | last=Robinson | title=The Moment for This Messenger? | date=[[March 13]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/12/AR2007031200983.html | work =Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | last=Senior | first=Jennifer | title=Dreaming of Obama | date=[[October 2]] [[2006]] | work=New York Magazine| url=http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/politics/21681/index.html |accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Obama, who defines himself in ''The Audacity of Hope'' as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized by [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] commentator [[David Sirota]] for demonstrating too much "Senate clubbiness", and was encouraged to run for the U.S. presidency by [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] columnist [[George Will]].<ref>Obama (2006), p. 10. Sirota wrote that Obama's [[advice and consent|confirmation]] of [[Condoleezza Rice]] as Secretary of State and his reluctant support of a Senate [[filibuster]] opposing President Bush's [[Samuel Alito Supreme Court nomination|nomination of Samuel Alito]] to the U.S. Supreme Court may disappoint "those who see him as a bold challenger of the system". {{cite news | first=David | last=Sirota | title=Mr. Obama Goes to Washington | date=[[June 26]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060626/sirota | work=The Nation | accessdate=2008-01-04}}{{cite news | first=George F | last=Will | title=Run Now, Obama | date=[[December 14]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121301901.html | work=Washington Post | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> But in a December 2006 ''[[The Wall Street Journal|Wall Street Journal]]'' editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," former [[Ronald Reagan]] speech writer [[Peggy Noonan]] advised Will and other "[[The Establishment|establishment]]" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career.<ref>{{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=The Man From Nowhere|date=[[December 15]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110009388 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: {{cite news | first=Peggy | last=Noonan | title=Out With the Old, In With the New | date=[[January 4]] [[2008]] | url=http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110011083 | work=OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal) | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref> Echoing the [[inaugural address of John F. Kennedy]], Obama acknowledged his youthful image, saying in an October 2007 campaign speech, "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."<ref>{{cite news | first=Mike | last=Dorning | title=Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK | format=paid archive | date=[[October 4]] [[2007]] | url=http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/1353513781.html?dids=1353513781:1353513781&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+4%2C+2007&author=Mike+Dorning | work=Chicago Tribune | accessdate=2008-01-04}} See also: {{cite news | first=Toby | last=Harnden | title=Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide | date=[[October 15]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/12/wobama112.xml | work=Daily Telegraph | accessdate=2008-01-04}}</ref>

==Recognition and honors==
An October 2005 article in the British journal ''[[New Statesman]]'' listed Obama as one of "10&nbsp;people who could change the world,"<ref>{{cite news | first=William | last=Skidelsky | title=Revolutionising the Future: From Tennis to Teleportation | date=[[October 17]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.newstatesman.com/nssubsfilter.php3?newTemplate=NSArticle_NS&newDisplayURN=200510170012 | work=New Statesman | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> the only politician included on the list. In 2005 and again in 2007, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named him one of "[[Time 100|the world's most influential people]]."<ref>{{cite news | first=Perry | last=Bacon Jr. | title=Barack Obama: The Future of the Democratic Party? | date=[[April 18]], [[2005]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/leaders/100obama.html | work =Time | accessdate=2008-01-14}} {{cite news | first=Joe | last=Klein | title=The TIME 100: Barack Obama | date=[[May 14]] [[2007]] | url =http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1615513_1615496,00.html | work=Time | accessdate=2009-01-14}}</ref> During his first three years in the U.S. Senate, Obama received [[Honorary degree|Honorary]] Doctorates of Law from [[Knox College (Illinois)|Knox College]] (2005),<ref>{{cite news | title=Commencement 2005: Knox honors U.S. Senator Barack Obama | date=[[May 10]] [[2005]] | url=http://www.knox.edu/x9684.xml | work=Knox College | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> [[University of Massachusetts Boston]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to Receive Honorary Degree, Address 2,500 UMass Boston Graduates | date=[[May 26]], [[2006]] | url=http://www.umb.edu/news/2006news/releases/may/060526_obama_press_release.html | work=University of Massachusetts Boston | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> [[Northwestern University]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=Commencement 2006: Sen. Obama to Address Grads | date=[[June 6]] [[2006]] | url=http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/06/honorary.html | work=Northwestern University | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> [[Xavier University of Louisiana]] (2006),<ref>{{cite news | title=Sen. Obama Addresses Xavier Graduates | date=[[August 13]] [[2006]] | publisher=USA Today | url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-08-13-obama-xavier_x.htm | work=Associated Press | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref> [[Southern New Hampshire University]] (2007),<ref>{{cite news | title=SNHU Commencement with Sen. Barack Obama | date=[[May 19]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.snhu.edu/6736.asp | work=Southern New Hampshire University | accessdate=2008-01-14 | archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070704024303/http://www.snhu.edu/6736.asp | archivedate=2007-07-04}}</ref> and [[Howard University]] (2007).<ref>{{cite news | title=Obama Calls the 'Joshua Generation' | date=[[September 28]] [[2007]] | url=http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/09/obama_calls_the.html | work=Boston Globe | accessdate=2008-01-14}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

== Cited works ==
* Obama, Barack. ''[[Dreams from My Father|Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance]]'', Times Books, 1995. Reprint edition, 2004; ISBN 1-4000-8277-3
* Obama, Barack. ''[[The Audacity of Hope|The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream]]'', Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.

==Further reading==
*Curry, Jessica. "[http://www.chicagolife.net/content/politics/Barack_Obama Barack Obama: Under the Lights]", ''Chicago Life'', Fall 2004. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Graff, Garrett. "[http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/mediapolitics/1836.html The Legend of Barack Obama]", ''Washingtonian'', [[November 1]] [[2006]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Lizza, Ryan. "[http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_5841 Above the Fray]", ''GQ'', September 2007. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*MacFarquhar, Larissa. "[http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/05/07/070507fa_fact_macfarquhar The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?]", ''New Yorker'', [[May 7]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Mundy, Liza. "[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802038.html A Series of Fortunate Events]", ''Washington Post Magazine'', [[August 12]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Wallace-Wells, Ben. "[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/13390609/campaign_08_the_radical_roots_of_barack_obama Destiny's Child]", ''Rolling Stone'', [[February 7]] [[2007]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Zutter, Hank De. "[http://www.chicagoreader.com/obama/951208/ What Makes Obama Run?]", ''Chicago Reader'', [[December 8]] [[1995]]. Retrieved on [[2008-01-14]].
*Sarah Pulliam and Ted Olsen."[http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/januaryweb-only/104-32.0.html Q&A: Barack Obama. "I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ."]", ''Christianity Today Magazine'', January 2008. Retrieved on [[2008-01-25]].

== External links ==
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Revision as of 05:50, 29 January 2008

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