Barack Obama Biography - Everything You Need to Know About President Obama
Barack Obama will go down in history as first African-American president of the United States.
His place in history is secure for that, if for no other reason.
It does not stop there, however.
He was elected president in 2008.
Although his popularity has declined substantially since his election, due to many factors, there are still many people who will support Obama in 2012.
President Obama's Unique Story - While every U.
S.
President has a somewhat different story than the average American, President Obama's story stands out, even among this group.
Born in Hawaii, he was born of two University of Hawaii students.
His mother was American, and his father, a Kenyan student from Nyanza Province who was studying in America.
The early 1960′s was a difficult time for interracial marriages, and the young Obama's faced tremendous pressure.
This, among other things culminated in the couple's divorce when young Barack was only 2 years old.
His mother then met and fell in love with an Indonesian man studying for his master's degree, Lolo Soetoro.
Soon they were married and the family then relocated to Jakarta, Indonesia.
At the time of the move, Barack was 6.
While there, they had a daughter, Barack's half sister, Maya.
While in Indonesia, Barack attended a private Catholic School, SD Assisi.
He later attended another excellent elementary school, SD Besuki Menteng.
After 4 years in Indonesia, Barack moved back to Hawaii and lived with his maternal grandmother.
After moving back to Hawaii, he frequently played basketball, a sport at which he excelled, and enjoys playing to this day.
By most accounts he is still quite good.
He even played on his school' s well regarded varsity team, although he wasn't a starter.
While in high school he worked at a Baskin-Robins ice cream shop.
After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he attended Occidental College for 2 years.
He got good grades, and after his sophomore year, transferred to Columbia University in New York.
At this prestigious, Ivy League school, he again excelled, and graduated with his political science degree.
Barack Obama's Early Political Career Barack has reached the pinnacle of U.
S.
politics, being elected President of the United States in 2008.
However, he started out far more modestly, back in his adopted home city of Chicago.
He won his Illinois Senate seat in 1996, after he manages to get all his opponents disqualified.
As he was the only candidate on the ballot, he won easily.
In 1999, Obama began his fight for the U.
S.
Congressional seat of Rep.
Bobby Rush.
He lost that contest in 2000, but was determined to continue his quest for a Federal government office.
To that end, Mr.
Obama set his sights on the U.
S.
Senate.
in 2003, in preparation for the 2004 election.
He again managed to receive significant assistance from the press and the missteps of his opponents.
His main challenger for the Democratic primary was ousted due to a sex scandal that the Obama campaign was only too happy to assist the media in reporting.
Again, the future president used what some consider "dirty" tactics to help secure a nomination.
That was only the beginning, however.
Later in the campaign, after he had won the Democratic primary, he again received substantial assistance due to an opponent's scandal, which his campaign was the beneficiary of.
This time it was his Republican opponent in the 2004 Senate campaign who fell by the wayside, actually withdrawing from the election, and paving the way for an unopposed Obama victory.
He was now a U.
S.
Senator.
If anyone thought he would receive such an easy victory in his run for the Presidency, they would be mistaken.
Although he had very limited governmental experience, and no leadership experience in the private sector, Mr.
Obama is undeterred in seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination for 2008.
Facts about Barack Obama - Barack Obama 44th President of the United States (D) Date of Birth: August 4, 1961 Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii Parents: Mother - Ann Dunham, Father - Barack Obama Sr.
(Divorced when Barack was 2 yrs old) Barack lived with grandparents (Madelyn and Stanley Dunham) in Hawaii from the age of 10 Wife: Michelle, born 1963 - Married Barack on 10/18/1992 Children: Mailia Ann, born 1998 Natasha, born 2001 High School Education: Punahou Academy - Honolulu, HI - Graduating Class of 1979 College Education: BA-political science, Columbia University, 1983 Law School: Harvard, 1991, editor and president of the Harvard Law Review Employment: Director, Developing Communities Project (DCP), 1985 - 1988 Lecturer, Constitutional Law, University of Chicago 1992 - 2004 Government: Illinois State Senate, 1997 - 2004 United States Senate, 2004 - 2008 President of the United States, 2009- Barack Obama Books: The president is a best selling author.
He has authored 2 books.
The first was Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance published by Times Books in 1995, and the second, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage),published in 2006 by Crown Publishing.
They have been very successful and probably won't be his last.
Barack Obama Quotes - A Window Into His Soul? Much can be discovered about a person by the original things which they say.
Here are some of Barack Obama's quotes.
They give us a good glimpse into the man himself.
"A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music.
Everybody can recognize it.
They say, 'Huh.
It works.
It makes sense.
'" "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the change that we seek.
" "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition.
It asks too little of yourself.
Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
" "I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.
" "I know my country has not perfected itself.
At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people.
We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
" "I don't take a dime of their lobbyist money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House.
" "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost.
" Barack Obama's list of accomplishments will not stop with his presidency.
After that chapter in his life concludes, it will only be the doorway to the next step in his path to more amazing things.
His place in history is secure for that, if for no other reason.
It does not stop there, however.
He was elected president in 2008.
Although his popularity has declined substantially since his election, due to many factors, there are still many people who will support Obama in 2012.
President Obama's Unique Story - While every U.
S.
President has a somewhat different story than the average American, President Obama's story stands out, even among this group.
Born in Hawaii, he was born of two University of Hawaii students.
His mother was American, and his father, a Kenyan student from Nyanza Province who was studying in America.
The early 1960′s was a difficult time for interracial marriages, and the young Obama's faced tremendous pressure.
This, among other things culminated in the couple's divorce when young Barack was only 2 years old.
His mother then met and fell in love with an Indonesian man studying for his master's degree, Lolo Soetoro.
Soon they were married and the family then relocated to Jakarta, Indonesia.
At the time of the move, Barack was 6.
While there, they had a daughter, Barack's half sister, Maya.
While in Indonesia, Barack attended a private Catholic School, SD Assisi.
He later attended another excellent elementary school, SD Besuki Menteng.
After 4 years in Indonesia, Barack moved back to Hawaii and lived with his maternal grandmother.
After moving back to Hawaii, he frequently played basketball, a sport at which he excelled, and enjoys playing to this day.
By most accounts he is still quite good.
He even played on his school' s well regarded varsity team, although he wasn't a starter.
While in high school he worked at a Baskin-Robins ice cream shop.
After graduating from high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he attended Occidental College for 2 years.
He got good grades, and after his sophomore year, transferred to Columbia University in New York.
At this prestigious, Ivy League school, he again excelled, and graduated with his political science degree.
Barack Obama's Early Political Career Barack has reached the pinnacle of U.
S.
politics, being elected President of the United States in 2008.
However, he started out far more modestly, back in his adopted home city of Chicago.
He won his Illinois Senate seat in 1996, after he manages to get all his opponents disqualified.
As he was the only candidate on the ballot, he won easily.
In 1999, Obama began his fight for the U.
S.
Congressional seat of Rep.
Bobby Rush.
He lost that contest in 2000, but was determined to continue his quest for a Federal government office.
To that end, Mr.
Obama set his sights on the U.
S.
Senate.
in 2003, in preparation for the 2004 election.
He again managed to receive significant assistance from the press and the missteps of his opponents.
His main challenger for the Democratic primary was ousted due to a sex scandal that the Obama campaign was only too happy to assist the media in reporting.
Again, the future president used what some consider "dirty" tactics to help secure a nomination.
That was only the beginning, however.
Later in the campaign, after he had won the Democratic primary, he again received substantial assistance due to an opponent's scandal, which his campaign was the beneficiary of.
This time it was his Republican opponent in the 2004 Senate campaign who fell by the wayside, actually withdrawing from the election, and paving the way for an unopposed Obama victory.
He was now a U.
S.
Senator.
If anyone thought he would receive such an easy victory in his run for the Presidency, they would be mistaken.
Although he had very limited governmental experience, and no leadership experience in the private sector, Mr.
Obama is undeterred in seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination for 2008.
Facts about Barack Obama - Barack Obama 44th President of the United States (D) Date of Birth: August 4, 1961 Place of Birth: Honolulu, Hawaii Parents: Mother - Ann Dunham, Father - Barack Obama Sr.
(Divorced when Barack was 2 yrs old) Barack lived with grandparents (Madelyn and Stanley Dunham) in Hawaii from the age of 10 Wife: Michelle, born 1963 - Married Barack on 10/18/1992 Children: Mailia Ann, born 1998 Natasha, born 2001 High School Education: Punahou Academy - Honolulu, HI - Graduating Class of 1979 College Education: BA-political science, Columbia University, 1983 Law School: Harvard, 1991, editor and president of the Harvard Law Review Employment: Director, Developing Communities Project (DCP), 1985 - 1988 Lecturer, Constitutional Law, University of Chicago 1992 - 2004 Government: Illinois State Senate, 1997 - 2004 United States Senate, 2004 - 2008 President of the United States, 2009- Barack Obama Books: The president is a best selling author.
He has authored 2 books.
The first was Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance published by Times Books in 1995, and the second, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (Vintage),published in 2006 by Crown Publishing.
They have been very successful and probably won't be his last.
Barack Obama Quotes - A Window Into His Soul? Much can be discovered about a person by the original things which they say.
Here are some of Barack Obama's quotes.
They give us a good glimpse into the man himself.
"A good compromise, a good piece of legislation, is like a good sentence; or a good piece of music.
Everybody can recognize it.
They say, 'Huh.
It works.
It makes sense.
'" "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time.
We are the ones we've been waiting for.
We are the change that we seek.
" "Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition.
It asks too little of yourself.
Because it's only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you realize your true potential.
" "I cannot swallow whole the view of Lincoln as the Great Emancipator.
" "I know my country has not perfected itself.
At times, we've struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people.
We've made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions.
" "I don't take a dime of their lobbyist money, and when I am president, they won't find a job in my White House.
" "If the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists - to protect them and to promote their common welfare - all else is lost.
" Barack Obama's list of accomplishments will not stop with his presidency.
After that chapter in his life concludes, it will only be the doorway to the next step in his path to more amazing things.
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