Barack Obama

Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Incumbent
Assumed office 
January 20, 2009
Vice President Joe Biden
Preceded by George W. Bush

In office
January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008
Preceded by Peter Fitzgerald
Succeeded by Roland Burris

Member of the Illinois State Senate
from the 13th district
In office
January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by Alice Palmer
Succeeded by Kwame Raoul

Born August 4, 1961 (1961-08-04) (age 48)
Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[1]
Birth name Barack Hussein Obama II[1]
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Spouse Michelle Obama (m. 1992)
Children Malia Ann (b. 1998)
Sasha (b. 2001)
Residence Chicago, Illinois (Private)
White House, Washington, D.C. (Official)
Alma mater Occidental College
Columbia University (B.A.)
Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession Community organizer
Attorney
Author
Professor
Politician
Religion Protestant[2][3][4]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Signature Barack Obama's signature
Website whitehouse.gov
This person was awarded a Nobel Prize

Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961)[5] is the 44th and current president of the United States of America. Obama won the 2008 United States presidential election on November 4. He became the first African-American president when he was inaugurated (sworn into presidency) on January 20, 2009.

Before becoming president

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was a black foreign student from Kenya and his mother was a white woman from Kansas. He spent most of his childhood there, although he lived in Indonesia with his grandparents from age 6 to age 10, and moved back to Hawaii after that. He graduated from Columbia University in New York City, then went to law school at Harvard University. After law school, Obama worked for a law firm. The law firm sued companies who fired people, and sued the government claiming that some black people were prevented from voting.

Later, Obama worked for Alice Palmer, an Illinois state senator. She ran for U.S. Congress.[6] While doing so, Obama became interested in her Illinois state senate seat. Later Alice Palmer tried to run for that state senate seat but Obama got her disqualified so he ran unoppposed (without anybody else running against him) in the election.[6] He ran for election and became an Illinois state senator.[6] He was state senator from 1997 to 2004.[7]

While he was Illinois state senator, he was known for writing a law that required police to keep records on the race of people they stopped.[7] The law that he wrote also forced police to videotape when they talked to people they suspect of murder.[7] He also taught law part time at the University of Chicago Law School.

Obama later ran for the U.S. Senate.[8] While running for Senate, John Kerry asked him to speak at the Democratic National Convention. Most people had never heard of Obama, but many people saw him speak on television and he became well known after that.

Obama won the presidential election of 2008.[8] He was a U.S. Senator from 2005 to 2008.[9]

Presidential campaign

Barack Obama inaugural address.ogv
Inaugural address by Barack Obama

Barack Obama's presidential campaign for the White House started in early June 2008 when he defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Hillary Clinton was favored to win but Obama won many smaller state caucuses (local party elections) by having a lot of volunteers. He decided not to accept government money for his campaign so that he could accept more money from people. He raised the most amount of money ever for a presidential campaign.

Obama's campaign theme was that he was a man of hope and change. He was also against the war in Iraq. He was in favor of giving money to American car companies. He was in favor of sending more troops to Afghanistan.

During the campaign, some people said that Obama's friends included a Tony Rezko, a landlord, and former member of the Weather Underground, Bill Ayers but Obama said that they were not his friends. Obama also had trouble when his minister at church, Jeremiah Wright, was videotaped criticizing about America. During the campaign, Obama said that that his opponent, Republican candidate John McCain, was just like George W. Bush, something that John McCain said was not true.

He defeated McCain in the election on November 4 by a wide electoral majority of 365 to 173, meaning that he won the most votes in enough states to send 365 people to officially elect him. The popular vote (based on the total number of votes across the country) was closer, with Obama winning 53%, McCain 46%.

Family

Obama and the family presidential dog, Bo, running on the White House grounds.

Obama has been married to Michelle Obama since 1992. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University and also a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School. She worked as a lawyer. They have two daughters, Malia Ann who was born in 1998[10] and Natasha ("Sasha"), born in 2001.[11] They lived in Chicago, but moved into the White House on January 20, 2009.

Obama promised his daughters that the family would get a dog if he was elected President. In April 2009, Senator Ted Kennedy, who once tried to run for President, gave Obama one of his dogs, a Portuguese water dog named Bo.

Obama has a half sister who is a teacher in Hawaii. His father died from a car accident in Africa. His mother died of cancer. His grandmother died just before Obama won the election to become President.

Presidency

Obama became President of the United States on January 20, 2009. He said the oath again the next day because he didn't say it exactly right the first time after the Supreme Court Chief Justice said it wrong to him.

When Obama became President, the U.S. was in a recession. He asked Congress to spend an extra $787 billion ($787,000,000,000) to try to end the recession. He called the plan the stimulus bill. Obama also gave money to banks and car companies.

Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009.[12] He is the third U.S. President to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in office. The first two were Theodore Roosevelt (1906) and Woodrow Wilson (1919).[13]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Birth Certificate of Barack Obama. Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com (August 8, 1961). Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
  2. American President: Barack Obama. Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Retrieved on 23 January 2009.
  3. United Church of Christ (January 20, 2009). "Barack Obama, long time UCC member, inaugurated forty-fourth U.S. President". Press release. Retrieved on 21 January 2009. “Barack Obama, who spent more than 20 years as a UCC member, is the forty-fourth President of the United States.”
  4. An Associated Press wire story on Obama's resignation from Trinity United Church of Christ in the course of the Jeremiah Wright controversy stated that he had, in doing so, disaffiliated himself with the UCC. (See "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized", msnbc.com, November 17, 2008. Retrieved on 20 January 2009.)
  5. Birth Certificate of Barack Obama. Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com (8 August 1961). Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Obama played hardball in first Chicago campaign. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Election 2004. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.
  9. Birth Certificate of Barack Obama. Department of Health, Hawaii. PolitiFact.com (8 August 1961). Retrieved on 12 December 2008.
  10. Born on the 4th of July
  11. Election 2008 Information Center
  12. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091009/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_peace;_ylt=AvcReJHxOgxgKsZdCsv9XB0EtbAF
  13. Obama Peace Prize. Retrieved on 21 January 2010.

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