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Barack Obama
United States Senator from Illinois
Incumbent
Assumed office January 4 2005Serving with Richard Durbin
Preceded by	Peter Fitzgerald
Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13 This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Barack Obama article. This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject. Put new text under old text. Click here to start a new topic. New to Misplaced Pages? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help. Assume good faith Be polite and avoid personal attacks Be welcoming to newcomers Seek dispute resolution if needed Article policies Neutral point of view No original research Verifiability district
In office January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004
Preceded by	Alice J. Palmer
Succeeded by	Kwame Raoul
Personal details
Born	(1961-08-04) August 4, 1961 (age 63) Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Michelle Obama
Children	Malia Ann (b. 1999), Natasha ("Sasha") (b. 2001)
Residence(s)	(Kenwood), Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater	Columbia University, Harvard Law School
Profession	Attorney
Signature
Website	Barack Obama U.S. Senator For Illinois

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This article is part of a series aboutBarack Obama
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Template:FixHTML Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. (born August 4 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. He married in 1992 and has two daughters. Obama has written two books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.

Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, he passed most of his childhood and adolescent years in Honolulu, Hawaii. At age six, he moved to Jakarta where he lived with his mother and Indonesian stepfather for four years. A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and lawyer before serving in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, he announced his campaign for U.S. Senate in early 2003. The next year, while still an Illinois state legislator, Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2004 with 70% of the vote.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he cosponsored legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He also made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In the current 110th Congress, he has sponsored legislation regarding lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel. Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as top national priorities.

Early life and career

Obama was born on August 4 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr., of Nyangoma-Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was enrolled as a foreign student. They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his mother's family while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation in 1979. Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.

Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked at Business International Corporation and New York Public Interest Research Group before moving to Chicago in 1985 to take a job as a community organizer. He entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In 1990, The New York Times reported his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. Obama graduated with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, then returned to Chicago where he headed a voter registration drive and began writing his first book, Dreams from My Father, a memoir published in 1995.

Obama taught constitutional law part-time at the University of Chicago Law School from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

Obama worked as an associate attorney with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland from 1993 to 2002. After 1996 Obama worked at the firm only during the summer, when the Illinois Senate was not in session. Obama worked on cases where the firm represented community organizers, pursued discrimination claims, and on voting rights cases. He also spent time on real estate transactions, filing incorporation papers and defending clients against minor lawsuits. Mostly he drew up briefs, contracts, and other legal documents as a junior associate on legal teams. This included work on a lawsuit by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) that forced the state of Illinois to implement the Motor Voter Act, an appeals brief for a whistleblower who sued Cook County Hospital and the Hektoen Institute for Medical Research for wrongful termination, and a suit that forced the city of Chicago to redraw the ward boundaries that the city council had drawn up following the 1990 census.

Obama also did some work on taxpayer-supported building rehabilitation loans for Rezmar Corp., half-owned by Tony Rezko, who later raised approximately $250,000 for Obama's various political campaigns. In October 2006, Rezko was indicted for political corruption charges and the case was brought to trial in March 2008. Obama has not been implicated in any wrongdoing.

State legislature

In July 1995, Obama announced plans to run for the Illinois Senate from Chicago's heavily-Democratic 13th District, representing areas of Chicago's South Side, including Hyde Park-Kenwood and South Shore. Before the Democratic primary Obama's campaign raised legal challenges to the nominating petitions of incumbent Alice Palmer and three other candidates and succeeded in having all of his opponents stricken from the ballot.

In 2000, Obama made a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term incumbent candidate Bobby Rush. Rush had been badly defeated in the February 1999 Chicago Mayoral election by Richard M. Daley and was thought to be vulnerable. Rush charged that Obama was not sufficiently rooted in Chicago's black neighborhoods to represent constituents' concerns, and also benefitted from an outpouring of sympathy when his son was shot to death shortly before the election. Obama, who started with just a 10% name recognition, got 31% of the votes, losing by a more than 2-to-1 margin despite winning among white voters.

Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998 and 2002. In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. The new majority leader, Emil Jones, named him as the sponsor of important legislation that had been developed by others as a way of boosting Obama's intended run for the U.S. Senate. Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to that body.

As a state legislator, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws. He sponsored a law enhancing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. 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. 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 death penalty reforms. 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 parental notification issues.

Senate campaign

In mid-2002, Obama began considering a run for the U.S. Senate, enlisting political strategist David Axelrod that fall and formally announcing his candidacy in January 2003. Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun not to contest the race launched wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates. In early opinion polls leading up to the Democratic primary, Obama trailed multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. However, Hull's popularity declined following reports of his ex-wife's allegations of domestic abuse. Obama's candidacy was boosted by Axelrod's advertising campaign featuring images of the late Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and an endorsement by the daughter of the late Paul Simon, former U.S. Senator for Illinois. He received over 52% of the vote in the March 2004 primary, emerging 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival.

Obama's opponent in the general election was expected to be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June 2004, following disclosure of divorce records containing politically embarrassing charges by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. 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. A long-time resident of Maryland, Keyes established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination. Through three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers, and tax cuts. In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in Illinois history.

In July 2004, while still serving as a state legislator, he wrote and delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. After describing his maternal grandfather's experiences as a World War II veteran and a beneficiary of the New Deal's FHA and G.I. Bill programs, Obama spoke about changing the U.S. government's economic and social priorities. He questioned the Bush administration's management of the Iraq War and highlighted America's obligations to its soldiers. Drawing examples from U.S. history, he criticized heavily partisan views of the electorate and asked Americans to find unity in diversity, saying, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America." Broadcasts of the speech by major news organizations launched Obama's status as a national political figure and boosted his campaign for U.S. Senate.

Senate career

Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 4 2005. Though 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. 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. His key foreign policy advisers include Samantha Power, author on human rights and genocide, and former Clinton administration officials Anthony Lake and Susan Rice. He holds assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; and Veterans' Affairs, and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

The U.S. Senate Historical Office lists him as the fifth African American Senator in U.S. history, the third to have been popularly elected, and the only African American currently serving in the Senate. During his first three years in the Senate, Obama received Honorary Doctorates of Law from Knox College (2005), University of Massachusetts Boston (2006), Northwestern University (2006), Xavier University of Louisiana (2006), Southern New Hampshire University (2007), and Howard University (2007). A Kenyan school located in his father's hometown, which he visited while on an congressional trip in August 2006, was renamed the "Senator Barack Obama Primary School."

One analysis of bill co-sponsorship classified Obama as a "rank-and-file Democrat". Another, of party-line votes, tagged him a "Democratic Party loyalist." However, the National Journal, in its 27th annual vote ratings, identified Obama as "the most liberal senator" in 2007, although he only participated in two thirds of the rated votes. He had ranked as the 16th- and 10th-most-liberal during his first two years in the Senate. Hillary Clinton ranked as the 16th most liberal Senator in 2007, voting differently than Obama on only 10 of the 297 votes (99 per year) considered in calculating the rankings. Ratings of Obama's liberalism by the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) declined from 100% in 2005 to 95% in 2006 and 75% in 2007, but the drop in his 2007 rating is due to Obama missing five of the twenty votes the ADA used in their measure. In the sixty votes used by the ADA to measure a legislator's political liberalism during Obama's career in the Senate he has voted for the non-"liberal" result only once. Responding to a question about the National Journal's characterization of his voting record, Obama dismissed ideological labels as “old politics.”

109th Congress

Obama took an active role in the Senate's drive for improved border security and immigration reform. In 2005, he cosponsored the "Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act" introduced by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). He later added three amendments to the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act", which passed the Senate in May 2006, but failed to gain majority support in the U.S. House of Representatives. In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border. President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act into law in October 2006, calling it "an important step toward immigration reform".

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 terrorist attacks. Following meetings with U.S. military in Kuwait and Iraq in January 2006, Obama visited Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories. At a meeting with Palestinian students two weeks before Hamas won the legislative election, Obama warned that "the U.S. will never recognize winning Hamas candidates unless the group renounces its fundamental mission to eliminate Israel." 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. 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.

Partnering first with Sen. Dick Lugar (R-IN), and then with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Obama successfully introduced two initiatives bearing his name. "Lugar–Obama" expands the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles and anti-personnel mines. The Lugar–Obama initiative subsequently received $48 million in funding. The "Coburn–Obama Transparency Act" provides for the web site USAspending.gov, managed by the Office of Management and Budget. The site lists all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward and provides breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. Obama found less success in his efforts to further regulate the US nuclear energy industry, sponsoring a bill which generated expected opposition. A modified version was successful in committee but did not pass the full chamber as the session ended; Obama would once mistakenly claim to have fully passed the bill.

110th Congress

In the first month of the newly Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, Obama worked with Russ Feingold (D–WI) to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress and require disclosure of bundled campaign contributions under the "Honest Leadership and Open Government Act," which was signed into law in September 2007. He joined Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections. Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of his support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production. Obama also introduced the "Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007," a bill that had proposed capping troop levels in Iraq, beginning phased redeployment, and removing all combat brigades from Iraq before April 2008; the measure came under criticism from Senate Republicans, including fellow presidential contender John McCain (R-AZ).

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored with Kit Bond (R-MO) an amendment to the 2008 Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality disorder military discharges, and calling for a review by the Government Accountability Office following reports that the procedure had been used inappropriately to reduce government costs. He sponsored the "Iran Sanctions Enabling Act" supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, and joined Chuck Hagel (R-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. 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. After passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan majorities, SCHIP was vetoed by President Bush in early October 2007, a move Obama criticized.

Presidential campaign

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In February 2007, standing before the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Describing his working life in Illinois, and symbolically linking his presidential campaign to Abraham Lincoln's 1858 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." Speaking at a Democratic National Committee (DNC) meeting one week before the February announcement, Obama called for putting an end to negative campaigning. Since announcing his presidential campaign Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as his top three priorities.

Obama's campaign raised 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. Small donors, those contributing in increments of less than $200, accounted for $16.4 million of Obama's record-breaking total, more than any other Democratic candidate. In the first month of 2008, his campaign brought in $36.8 million, the most ever raised in one month by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries. Amidst concerns for his safety as the first black candidate seen as having a viable chance of being elected president, the U.S. government assigned Secret Service protection to Obama 18 months before the general election.

With two months remaining before the first electoral contests in Iowa and New Hampshire, and national opinion polls showing him trailing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions. Campaigning in Iowa, he told The Washington Post that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support than Clinton from independent and Republican voters in the general election. Among the first four DNC-sanctioned state contests, Obama won more delegates than Clinton in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina while winning an equal number in New Hampshire; Clinton, however, won the popular vote in Nevada and New Hampshire. His win in Iowa was boosted by majority support from a record turnout of voters under 30 years old, most of them first-time caucus goers, while blacks turned away from Clinton after perceived attempts by Clinton to label Obama as a racial candidate. Trailing Clinton nationally by 20% heading into the February Super Tuesday, he eliminated that lead and emerged with another 20 more delegates than Clinton. He broke fundraising records in the first two months of 2008, raising more than $90 million for his primary campaign while Clinton raised $45 million in the same period. After Super Tuesday, Obama won the eleven remaining February primaries and caucuses. He then won the Vermont primary and the caucus portion of Texas primary and caucuses, but lost the Ohio, Rhode Island, and Texas primary elections to Clinton.

In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama's 23-year relationship to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. ABC News found and excerpted racially and politically charged clips from sermons by Rev. Wright, including his assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own "state terrorism" and his assertion that "he government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color." Some of Wright's statements were widely criticized as anti-American. Following negative media coverage and a drop in the polls, Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks, ending his relationship with the campaign, and delivering a speech entitled "A More Perfect Union" at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the speech, Obama rejected some of Wright's comments, but refused to disown the man himself, noting his lifelong ministry to the poor and past service as a US Marine. The speech, which sought to place Wright's anger in a larger historical context, was well-received by liberal sources and some conservatives, but other conservatives and supporters of Hillary Clinton continued to question the implications of Obama's long relationship with Wright.

On April 22, 2008 Obama lost the Pennsylvania primary to Hillary Clinton. However, he continued to lead Clinton in the count of pledged delegates (1,488 to 1,333, according to an April 23 count by the Associated Press). Clinton maintained a lead in superdelegates (259 to Obama's 235), resulting in an overall Obama delegate lead of 1,723 to 1,592. Both candidates remained well short of the 2,025 delegates needed to win the nomination.

Political positions

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 upward mobility we should be guided by what works." Speaking before the 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 with social Darwinism. 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. Shortly before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama told the health care advocacy group Families USA that he supports universal healthcare in the United States.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Obama announced an $18 billion plan for investments in early childhood education, math and science education, and expanded summer learning opportunities. 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.

At the Tax Policy Center in September 2007, he blamed special interests for distorting the U.S. tax code. His plan would eliminate taxes for senior citizens with incomes of less than $50,000 a year, repeal income tax cuts for those making over $250,000 as well as the capital gains and dividends tax cut, close corporate tax loopholes, lift the $102,000 cap on Social Security taxes, restrict offshore tax havens, and simplify filing of income tax returns by pre-filling wage and bank information already collected by the IRS. Announcing his presidential campaign's energy plan in October 2007, Obama proposed a cap and trade auction system to restrict carbon emissions and a 10 year program of investments in new energy sources to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. Obama proposed that all pollution credits must be auctioned, with no grandfathering of credits for oil and gas companies, and the spending of the revenue obtained on energy development and economic transition costs.

Obama was an early opponent of the Bush administration's policies on Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally in Federal Plaza, speaking out against it.

On March 16, 2003, the day President Bush issued his 48-hour ultimatum to Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Obama addressed the largest Chicago anti-Iraq War rally to date in Daley Plaza and told the crowd "It's not too late" to stop the war.

Obama sought to make his early public opposition to the Iraq War before it started a major issue in his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign to distinguish himself from his Democratic primary rivals who supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and in his 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign, to distinguish himself from four Democratic primary rivals who voted for the resolution authorizing the war (Senators Clinton, Edwards, Biden, and Dodd).

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. In a March 2007 speech to AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that the primary way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is through talks and diplomacy, although not ruling out military action. Detailing his strategy for fighting 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, even without the support of the Pakistani government.

In a December 2005 Washington Post opinion column, and at the Save Darfur rally in April 2006, Obama called for more assertive action to oppose genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. He has divested $180,000 in personal holdings of Sudan-related stock, and has urged divestment from companies doing business in Iran. 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."

Obama has encouraged Democrats to reach out to evangelicals and other religious people. In December 2006, he joined Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) at the "Global Summit on AIDS and the Church" organized by church leaders Kay and Rick Warren. Together with Warren and Brownback, Obama took an HIV test, as he had done in Kenya less than four months earlier. He encouraged "others in public life to do the same" and not be ashamed of it. Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway." 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."

Personal life

Obama met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1988 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married in October 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1999, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001. Applying the proceeds of a $2 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. The land adjacent to their house was simultaneously sold to the wife of well-connected developer, and Obama supporter Tony Rezko, provoking continued media scrutiny but no official allegations against Obama, even as the political fundraiser was indicted on mostly unrelated charges. In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million. When Obama released his 2007 tax return in April 2008 it showed a household income of $4.2 million, up from about $1 million in 2006 and $1.6 million in 2005, mostly from the sale of his books.

Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team. Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to 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 do not succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."

In Chapter Six of Obama's 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, 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 black churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change":

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 Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.

Obama joined Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988. A megachurch with 8,000 members, Trinity is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ.

Books

Obama's first book, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, was published before his first run for political office. In it he recalls his childhood in Honolulu and Jakarta, college years in 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 family and heritage. In the 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." In a 1995 review, novelist Paul Watkins wrote that Dreams "persuasively describes the phenomenon of belonging to two different worlds, and thus belonging to neither." The audiobook edition earned Obama the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album of 2006.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006 and soon rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller hardcover list. The Chicago Tribune credits large crowds that gathered at book signings with influencing Obama's decision to run for president. Former U.S. presidential candidate Gary Hart said the book's self-portrayal 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." 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." In February 2008, he won a Grammy award for the spoken word edition of Audacity. Foreign language editions of the book have been published in Italian, Spanish, German, French, and Greek. The Italian edition was published in April 2007 with a preface by Walter Veltroni, former Mayor of Rome, currently leader of Italy's Democratic Party and one of Obama's earliest supporters overseas.

Cultural and political image

Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral persona on whom people can project their personal histories and aspirations. Obama's own stories about his family origins reinforce what a May 2004 New Yorker magazine article described as his "everyman" image. In Dreams from My Father, he ties his maternal family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, president of the southern Confederacy during the American Civil War. Speaking to Jewish audiences during his 2004 campaign for U.S. Senate, he linked the linguistic root of his East African first name Barack to the Hebrew word baruch, meaning "blessed." 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."

With his Kenyan father and American mother, his upbringing in Honolulu and Jakarta, and his 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 civil rights movement. 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, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress." 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 Hollywood movies. 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. Obama said, "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong."

Writing about Obama's political image in a March 2007 Washington Post opinion column, 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 wars" of the 1960s. Obama, who defines himself in The Audacity of Hope as "a Democrat, after all," has been criticized by progressive commentator David Sirota for demonstrating too much "Senate clubbiness", and was encouraged to run for the U.S. presidency by conservative columnist George Will. But in a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," Ronald Reagan speech writer Peggy Noonan advised Will and other "establishment" commentators to avoid becoming too quickly excited about Obama's still early political career. 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."

Notes

1. ^ Scharnberg, Kirsten (March 25 2007). "The Not-So-Simple Story of Barack Obama's Youth". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) "Meet Barack". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13. See also: Obama (1995), Chapter 1.
2. Obama (1995), pp. 9–10. For book excerpts, see "Barack Obama: Creation of Tales". East African. November 1 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. Obama (1995), pp. 125–126. See also: Jones, Tim (March 27 2007). "Obama's Mom: Not Just a Girl from Kansas". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Serafin, Peter (March 21 2004). "Punahou Grad Stirs Up Illinois Politics". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Obama (1995), Chapters 3 and 4.
5. "Oxy Remembers "Barry" Obama '83". Occidental College. January 29 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party?". Columbia College Today. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
7. Scott, Janny (October 30 2007). "Obama's Account of New York Years Often Differs from What Others Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Secter, Bob (March 30 2007). "Portrait of a Pragmatist". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
8. Lizza, Ryan (March 19 2007). "The Agitator: Barack Obama's Unlikely Political Education" (alternate link). New Republic. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Obama (1995), pp. 135–139.
9. Levenson, Michael (January 28 2007). "At Harvard Law, a Unifying Voice". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) See also: Heilemann, John (October 22 2007). "When They Were Young". The New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
10. Butterfield, Fox (February 6 1990). "First Black Elected to Head Harvard's Law Review". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Kantor, Jodi (January 28 2007). "In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. Kodama, Marie C (January 19 2007). "Obama Left Mark on HLS". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Obama (1995), p. xiii and Reynolds, Gretchen (January 1993). "Vote of Confidence". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. Pallasch, Abdon M (February 12 2007). "Professor Obama was a Listener, Students Say". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. ^ "Law Graduate Obama Got His Start in Civil Rights Practice". Associated Press. International Herald Tribune. February 19 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
14. ^ Moran, Dan (2008-04-08). "Obama's lawyer days: brief and not all civil rights". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-04-15.
15. "Obama and his Rezko ties". Associated Press. Chicago Sun-Times. April 23 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
16. Staff writer (2008-03-14). "Obama: Rezko Raised Up to $250K". Associated Press. Newsvine. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
17. "Courtroom Wire: Notes From Tony Rezko's Corruption Trial". FOXNews. April 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-15. {{cite news}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |lasr= ignored (help)
18. "Witness: Obama attended Rezko party". Associated Press. MSNBC.com. April 15, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-15. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
19. ^ Jackson, David (April 4 2007). "Showing His Bare Knuckles". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
20. Federal Election Commission, 2000 U.S. House of Representatives Results. See also: "Obama's Loss May Have Aided White House Bid". and Scott, Janny (September 9 2007). "A Streetwise Veteran Schooled Young Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. McClelland, Edward (February 12 2007). "How Obama Learned to Be a Natural". Salon. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Wolffe, Richard (July 16 2007). "Across the Divide". Newsweek. MSNBC. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Helman, Scott (October 12 2007). "Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) and "Obama learned from failed Congress run".
22. "13th District: Barack Obama". Illinois State Senate Democrats. August 24 2000. Archived from the original (archive) on 2000-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "13th District: Barack Obama". Illinois State Senate Democrats. October 9 2004. Archived from the original (archive) on 2004-08-02. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
23. Calmes, Jackie (February 23 2007). "Statehouse Yields Clues to Obama". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
24. http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-02-28/news/barack-obama-screamed-at-me/print
25. "Political 'Godfather' Boosted Obama's Early Career". CNN. March 31 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
26. Coffee, Melanie (November 6 2004). "Attorney Chosen to Fill Obama's State Senate Seat". Associated Press. HPKCC. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
27. Slevin, Peter (February 9 2007). "Obama Forged Political Mettle in Illinois Capitol". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Helman, Scott (September 23 2007). "In Illinois, Obama Dealt with Lobbyists". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: "Obama Record May Be Gold Mine for Critics". Associated Press. CBS News. January 17 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "In-Depth Look at Obama's Political Career" (video). CLTV. Chicago Tribune. February 9, 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. ^ Scott, Janny (July 30 2007). "In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Pearson, Rick (May 3 2007). "Careful Steps, Looking Ahead". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
29. Youngman, Sam (March 14 2007). "Obama's Crime Votes Are Fodder for Rivals". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) See also: "US Presidential Candidate Obama Cites Work on State Death Penalty Reforms". Associated Press. International Herald Tribune. November 12 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
30. Zorn, Eric (March 9 2004). "Disparagement of Obama Votes Doesn't Hold Up". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2007-12-20. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "Keyes Assails Obama's Abortion Views". Associated Press. MSNBC. August 9 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Youngman, Sam (February 15 2007). "Abortion Foes Target Obama Because of His Vote Record on Illinois Legislation". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-04-20. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
31. Helman, Scott (October 12 2007). "Early Defeat Launched a Rapid Political Climb". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
32. Davey, Monica (March 7 2004). "Closely Watched Illinois Senate Race Attracts 7 Candidates in Millionaire Range". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
33. Mendell, David (March 17 2004). "Obama Routs Democratic Foes; Ryan Tops Crowded GOP Field". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
34. Hayes, Christopher (March 17 2004). "Check Bounce" (alternate link). TNR Online. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
35. Wallace-Wells, Ben (April 1 2007). "Obama's Narrator". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
36. Davey, Monica (May 17 2004). "From Crowded Field, Democrats Choose State Legislator to Seek Senate Seat". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Jackson, John S (August 2006). "The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama and the 2004 Illinois Senate Race" (PDF). Occasional Paper of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. Southern Illinois University. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
37. "Ryan Drops Out of Senate Race in Illinois". CNN. June 25 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
38. Lannan, Maura Kelly (August 9, 2004). "Alan Keyes Enters U.S. Senate Race in Illinois Against Rising Democratic Star". Associated Press. Union-Tribune (San Diego). Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
39. Liam, Ford (August 13, 2004). "Keyes Sets Up House in Cal City". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
40. For debate transcripts and video, see Alan Keyes Archives: "Alan Keyes and Barack Obama Debate, Hosted by Illinois Radio Network". October 12 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "U.S. Senate Debate Sponsored by the League of Women Voters in Illinois". October 21 2004. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "Debate Sponsored by WTTW and the City Club of Chicago". October 26 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
41. "America Votes 2004: U.S. Senate / Illinois". CNN. Retrieved 2008-04-13. Slevin, Peter (November 13 2007). "For Obama, a Handsome Payoff in Political Gambles". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
42. For details about the speech's genesis and delivery, see: Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83: Is He the New Face of The Democratic Party?". Columbia College Today. Retrieved 2008-04-13. See also: Bernstein, David (June 2007). "The Speech". Chicago Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-13.
43. Obama, Barack (July 27 2004). "Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention" (text or video). BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |format= (help)
44. Archibold, Randal C (July 29 2004). "The Illinois Candidate; Day After, Keynote Speaker Finds Admirers Everywhere". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Roach, Ronald (October 7 2004). "Obama Rising". Black Issues In Higher Education. DiverseEducation.com. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
45. "About Barack Obama". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
46. Babington, Charles (December 8 2006). "For Now, an Unofficial Rivalry". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Dorning, Mike (September 17 2007). "Obama's Policy Team Loaded with All-Stars". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
47. Enda, Jodi (February 5 2006). "Great Expectations". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Bacon Jr., Perry (August 27 2007). "The Outsider's Insider". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
48. Traub, James (November 4 2007). "Is (His) Biography (Our) Destiny?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) King, Neil (September 5 2007). "Obama Tones Foreign-Policy Muscle". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Sweet, Lynn (May 10 2007). "Obama Taps Influential Foreign Policy Experts". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
49. "Committee Assignments". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-04-08. "Member Info". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved 2008-04-08. See also: Zeleny, Jeff (June 26 2005). "When It Comes to Race, Obama Makes His Point—With Subtlety". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) He is also Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs. Baldwin, Tom (December 21 2007). "Stay-At-Home Barack Obama Comes Under Fire for a Lack of Foreign Experience". Sunday Times (UK). Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
50. "Breaking New Ground: African American Senators". U.S. Senate Historical Office. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
51. "Commencement 2005: Knox honors U.S. Senator Barack Obama". Knox College. May 10 2005. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
52. "U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to Receive Honorary Degree, Address 2,500 UMass Boston Graduates". University of Massachusetts Boston. May 26, 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
53. "Commencement 2006: Sen. Obama to Address Grads". Northwestern University. June 6 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
54. "Sen. Obama Addresses Xavier Graduates". Associated Press. USA Today. August 13 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
55. "SNHU Commencement with Sen. Barack Obama". Southern New Hampshire University. May 19 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
56. "Obama Calls the 'Joshua Generation'". Boston Globe. September 28 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
57. Gnecchi, Nico (August 27 2006). "Obama Receives Hero's Welcome at His Family's Ancestral Village in Kenya". Voice of America. Retrieved 2008-04-08. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
58. "Members of Congress: Barack Obama". GovTrack. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
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59. "Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007". National Journal. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
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66. "Latinos Upset Obama Voted for Border Fence". CBS 2 (Chicago). November 20 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
67. "President Bush Signs Secure Fence Act". White House. October 26 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
68. "President Bush Signs Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act". White House. September 26 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
69. Larson, Christina (September 2006). "Hoosier Daddy: What Rising Democratic Star Barack Obama Can Learn from an Old Lion of the GOP". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
70. Goudie, Chuck (January 12, 2006). "Obama Meets with Arafat's Successor". ABC 7 News (Chicago). Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
71. "Obama Slates Kenya for Fraud". News24.com. August 28, 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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74. "Obama, Lugar Secure Funding for Implementation of Nonproliferation Law". Richard Lugar U.S. Senate Office. June 28 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
75. "Frequently Asked Questions". USAspending.gov. Retrieved 2008-04-09.
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77. McIntire, Mike. "Nuclear Leaks and Response Tested Obama in Senate". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
78. Weixel, Nathaniel (November 15 2007). "Feingold, Obama Go After Corporate Jet Travel". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Weixel, Nathaniel (December 5 2007). "Lawmakers Press FEC on Bundling Regulation". The Hill. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: "Federal Election Commission Announces Plans to Issue New Regulations to Implement the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007". Federal Election Commission. September 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
79. Stern, Seth (January 31 2007). "Obama-Schumer Bill Proposal Would Criminalize Voter Intimidation". CQPolitics.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, 1st Session (January 31 2007). "S. 453, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act of 2007". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) See also: "Honesty in Elections" (editorial). The New York Times. January 31 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
80. H. Josef, Hebert (January 29 2007). "Congress Begins Tackling Climate Issues". Associated Press. CBS News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Williamson, Elizabeth (January 10 2007). "The Green Gripe With Obama: Liquefied Coal Is Still... Coal". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
81. Krystin, E. Kasak (February 7 2007). "Obama Introduces Measure to Bring Troops Home". Medill News Service. nwi.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "Latest Major Action: 1/30/2007 Referred to Senate committee." U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, 1st Session (January 30 2007). "S. 433, Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
82. Klonsky, Joanna. "January 3, 2008". Newsweek. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
83. "Obama, Bond Hail New Safeguards on Military Personality Disorder Discharges, Urge Further Action". Kit Bond U.S. Senate Office. October 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Dine, Philip (December 23 2007). "Bond Calls for Review of Military Discharges". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
84. U.S. Senate, 110th Congress, 1st Session (May 17 2007). "S. 1430, Iran Sanctions Enabling Act". Thomas. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) See also: Graham-Silverman, Adam (September 12 2007). "Despite Flurry of Action in House, Congress Unlikely to Act Against Iran". CQ Today. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
85. ^ "Obama, Schiff Provision to Create Nuclear Threat Reduction Plan Approved". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. December 20 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
86. "Senate Passes Obama, McCaskill Legislation to Provide Safety Net for Families of Wounded Service Members". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. August 2 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
87. Stout, David (2007-10-03). "Bush Vetoes Children's Health Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-09. See also: Staff writer (2007-10-03). "Reaction to Children's Health Veto". Associated Press. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
88. For other photos of this event, see: "Presidential Campaign Announcement" (photo gallery). Barack Obama, Flickr. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
89. "Obama Launches Presidential Bid". BBC News. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Video at Brightcove.TV.
90. "Presidential Campaign Announcement" (video). Obama for America. Brightcove.TV. February 10 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
91. "Barack Obama at the DNC Winter 2007 Meeting" (video). Democratic National Committee. February 2 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Full text from CQ Transcripts Wire. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. See also: Harris, Paul (February 4 2007). "The Obama Revolution". Guardian Unlimited. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
92. "Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected?". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-14. See also: Falcone, Michael (December 21 2007). "Obama's 'One Thing'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
93. Malone, Jim (July 2 2007). "Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination". Voice of America. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
94. Cummings, Jeanne (September 26 2007). "Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook". Politico. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
95. Cadei, Emily (February 21 2008). "Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising". CQ Politics. Retrieved 2008-02-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
96. Kennedy, Helen (May 4 2007). "Obama Gets Earliest-Ever Secret Service Detail". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
97. Newton-Small, Jay (October 28 2007). "Obama (Sort of) Takes the Gloves Off". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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98. Balz, Dan (November 9 2007). "On Campaign Bus, Obama Opens Up About Challengers". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
99. "Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Iowa". CNN. January 5 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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    "Election Center 2008: Primary Results for New Hampshire". CNN. January 10 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
    "Election Center 2008: Primary Results for Nevada". CNN. January 22 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
100. Johann Hari (March 13 2008). "Johann Hari: What wouldn't Clinton do to secure power?". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: "Entrance Polls: Iowa". CNN. January 3 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Melanye T. Price (March 16 2008). "What Obama Means" (paid archive). Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Montgomery, James (January 4 2008). "Barack Obama, Mike Huckabee's Iowa Caucus Wins Are Largely Thanks To Young Voters". MTV. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
101. "2008 Democratic Delegates". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
102. Dan Morain (March 7 2008). "Obama sets fundraising record with $55 million". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
103. Brian Knowlton (February 21 2008). "Make That 11 for Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
104. "Results: March 4 - Multi-State Events". CNN. 2008-03-04. Retrieved 2008-03-04.
105. ^ Brian Ross (March 13 2008). "Obama's Pastor: God Damn America, U.S. to Blame for 9/11". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-03-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) See also: Sullivan, Andrew (March 16 2008). "For The Record". The Daily Dish. The Atlantic. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
106. Jeff Goldblatt (March 14 2008). "Obama's Pastor's Sermon: 'God Damn America'". FOXNews. Retrieved 2008-04-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
107. Dilanian, Ken (2008-03-18). "Defenders say Wright has love, righteous anger for USA". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
108. Adubato, Steve (March 21, 2008). "Obama's reaction to Wright too little, too late". MSNBC.
109. Reid, Tim (March 21, 2008). "Polls show Barack Obama damaged by link to Reverend Jeremiah Wright". Times Online. Retrieved 2008-04-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
110. Barack Obama (March 18 2008). "Remarks by Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union'". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
111. ^ Nedra Pickler, Matt Apuzzo (March 18, 2008). "Obama confronts racial division". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Noonan, Peggy (2008-03-21). "A Thinking Man's Speech". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
112. ^ Kurtz, Howard (2008-03-20). "Obama's Speech, Sliced and Diced". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
113. "Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage". The New York Times. 2008-03-19. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
114. Kristol, Bill (2008-03-24). "Let's Not, and Say We Did". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Davis, Lanny J. (April 9, 2008). "Obama's Minister Problem". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
115. Steinhauser, Paul (2008-04-23). "Clinton wins Pennsylvania". CNN. Retrieved 2008-04-24. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
116. ^ "Democratic Delegate Counts". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
117. Obama (2006), p. 159.
118. Franklin, Ben A (June 1 2005). "The Fifth Black Senator in U.S. History Makes F.D.R. His Icon". Washington Spectator. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
119. Zeleny, Jeff (September 12 2005). "Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
120. Pickler, Nedra (January 25 2007). "Obama Calls for Universal Health Care within Six Years". Associated Press. Union-Tribune (San Diego). Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Obama's campaign published a detailed health care reform plan in May 2007. Tumulty, Karen (May 29 2007). "Obama Channels Hillary on Health Care". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: "Creating a Healthcare System that Works". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
121. "Rally at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, SC" (video). Obama for America. Brightcove.TV. August 23 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
122. Schoenberg, Shira (November 21 2007). "Obama Shares School Plan". Concord Monitor. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
123. Davis, Teddy (November 20 2007). "Obama Bucks Party Line on Education". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
124. "A Speech On the Economy, Opportunity and Tax Policy with Senator Barack Obama". Tax Policy Center. September 18 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
125. "Study:Bush tax cuts favor wealthy". CBS. August 13 2004. Retrieved 2008-04-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
126. "Obama Tax Plan: $80 Billion in Cuts, Five-Minute Filings". CNN. September 18 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
127. Zeleny, Jeff (October 9 2007). "Obama Proposes Capping Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Making Polluters Pay". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
128. Barack Obama. "The Blueprint for Change: Barack Obama's plan for America" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-04-20.
129. Strausberg, Chinta (September 26 2002). "Opposition to war mounts" (paid archive). Chicago Defender. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
130. Office of the Press Secretary (October 2 2002). "President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution". The White House. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Tackett, Michael (October 3 2002). "Bush, House OK Iraq deal; Congress marches with Bush" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
131. Glauber, Bill (October 3 2002). "War protesters gentler, but passion still burns" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Strausberg, Chinta (October 3 2002). "War with Iraq undermines U.N." Chicago Defender. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Bryant, Greg (October 2 2002). "300 protesters rally to oppose war with Iraq". Medill News Service. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Katz, Marilyn (October 2 2007). "Five Years Since Our First Action". Chicagoans Against War & Injustice. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Mendell (2007), pp. 172–177.
132. Obama, Barack (October 2 2002). "Remarks of Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama Against Going to War with Iraq". BarackObama.com. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
133. Office of the Press Secretary (March 16 2003). "President Bush: Monday "Moment of Truth" for World on Iraq". The White House. Retrieved 2008-02-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Associated Press (March 17 2003). "'Moment of truth for the world'; Bush, three allies set today as final day for Iraq to disarm or face massive military attack" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times. p. 1. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
134. Ritter, Jim (March 17 2003). "Anti-war rally here draws thousands" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
135. McCormick, John (July 14 2003). "Senate hopefuls abound for '04; Forum attracts 9 for Fitzgerald post" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1 (Metro section). Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Chase, John; Mendell, David (January 23 2004). "Senate candidates divided over Iraq; 5 Democrats hit Bush on policy" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 1 (Metro section). Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
136. McCormick, John; Dorning, Mike (October 3 2007). "Obama marks '02 war speech - Contender highlights his early opposition in effort to distinguish him from his rivals" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved 2008-02-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
137. Hunt, Kasie (May 1 2006). "Celebrities, Activists Rally Against Darfur Genocide". USA Today. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For excerpts from Obama's speech, see: "More Must Be Done in Darfur". The Hill. April 30 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
138. For audio and text, see: Obama, Barack (November 20 2006). "A Way Forward in Iraq". Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
139. Obama, Barack (March 2 2007). "AIPAC Policy Forum Remarks". Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-01-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For Obama's 2004 Senate campaign remarks on possible missile strikes against Iran, see: Mendell, David (September 25 2004). "Obama Would Consider Missile Strikes on Iran" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
140. "Obama Warns Pakistan on Al-Qaeda". BBC News. August 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For video and text of the speech, see: "Policy Address on Terrorism by The Honorable Barack Obama, United States Senator from Illinois". Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. August 1 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-30. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For details of the aborted 2005 military operation, see Mazzetti, Mark (July 8 2007). "Rumsfeld Called Off 2005 Plan to Capture Top Qaeda Figures". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
141. Obama, Barack (December 27 2005). "Policy Adrift on Darfur". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Doyle, Jim (May 1 2006). "Tens of Thousands Rally for Darfur". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
142. Kuhnhenn, Jim (May 17 2007). "Giuliani, Edwards Have Sudan Holdings". Associated Press. SFGate.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Obama, Barack (August 30 2007). "Hit Iran Where It Hurts". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
143. Obama, Barack (July–August 2007). "Renewing American Leadership". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
144. Lerner, Michael (July 3 2006). "U.S. Senator Barack Obama Critiques Democrats' Religiophobia". Tikkun Magazine. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "Sen. Barack Obama: Call to Renewal Keynote Address". Beliefnet. June 28 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
145. Gibson, Manda (June 28 2006). "At Global AIDS Summit, Churches Challenged to Take the Lead". PurposeDriven.com. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
146. "Screaming Crowds Welcome U.S. Senator 'Home'". CNN. August 27, 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
147. Obama, Barack (December 1 2006). "Race Against Time—World AIDS Day Speech". Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
148. "Rick Warren/Barack Obama AIDS Partnership Must End, Say Pro-Life Groups". Christian Newswire Press Release. November 28 2006. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Van Biema, David (December 1 2006). "The Real Losers in the Obama-Warren Controversy". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
149. "Barack Obama: Faith Has Been 'Hijacked'". Associated Press. CBS News. June 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) See also: Brody, David (July 30 2007). "Obama to CBN News: We're No Longer Just a Christian Nation". Christian Broadcasting Network. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
150. "Senator Barack Obama Visit to CJTF-HOA and Camp Lemonier: 31 August—1 September 2006" (video). Combined Joint Task Force—Horn of Africa. YouTube. February 6 2007. Retrieved 2008-03-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
151. Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: Brown, Sarah (December 7 2005). "Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Tucker, Eric (March 1 2007). "Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama". Associated Press. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
152. Obama (2006), p. 329.
153. Fornek, Scott (October 3 2007). "Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
154. Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: "Election 2008 Information Center: Barack Obama". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
155. Zeleny, Jeff (December 24 2005). "The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
156. Novak, Tim (March 16, 2008). "More Rezko dough found". Chicago SunTimes. Retrieved 2008-04-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) See also: Drew, Christopher (June 14, 2007). "An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-05. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Slevin, Peter (December 17 2006). "Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
157. "Obama's money". CNNMoney.com. December 7 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Goldfarb, Zachary A (March 24 2007). "Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
158. Zelany, Jeff (April 17, 2008). "Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
159. Kantor, Jodi (June 1 2007). "One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Dan Morris, Neal Karlinsky. "The 'Rat-Ballers': Obama's High School Crew". Nightline. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
160. Parsons, Christi (February 6 2007). "Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
161. "Questions for the Candidates". Associated Press. USA Today. May 15 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
162. "Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess". Associated Press. CNN. September 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
163. Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: Obama, Barack (October 23 2006). "My Spiritual Journey". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
164. Guess, J. Bennett (February 9 2007). "Barack Obama, Candidate for President, is 'UCC'". United Church News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
165. Allen, Mike (March 16 2008). "Obama's Church Accuses Media of Character Assassination". Politico. Retrieved 2008-03-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
166. Obama (1995), p. vii.
167. Taylor, Ihsan (August 29 2004). "New & Noteworthy Paperbacks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-09. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
168. ^ "Obama Wins a Grammy for 'Hope' Book". Associated Press. KVOA.com. February 10 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
169. Bosman, Julie (November 9 2006). "Obama's New Book Is a Surprise Best Seller". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) The paperback edition currently ranks third on The New York Times nonfiction list. "Best Sellers". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
170. Dorning, Mike (June 12 2007). "Carefully Crafting the Obama 'Brand'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
171. Hart, Gary (December 24 2006). "American Idol". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
172. Tomasky, Michael (November 30 2006). "The Phenomenon". New York Review of Books. Internet Archive. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
173. Malkoutzis, Nick (March 27 2008). "Obama's Audacious Vision". Kathimerini English Edition. International Herald Tribune in Greece and Cyprus. Retrieved 2008-04-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
174. "L'audacia della speranza" (in Italian). Libreria Rizzoli. Retrieved 2008-03-18.
175. "Il politico prevale sull' amministratore" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. April 30 2005. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Tracy Wilkinson (February 25 2008). "Obama's European counterparts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
176. Slater, Wayne (February 24 2007). "Obama Reels in Austin Crowd". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Elliott, Philip (May 28 2007). "Obama Measuring Campaign Success not Just in Cash, but Crowds Too". Associated Press. Boston Globe. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
177. Enda, Jodi (February 5 2006). "Great Expectations". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Graff, Garrett M (November 1 2006). "The Legend of Barack Obama". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Podhoretz, John (December 12 2006). "Obama: Rorschach Candidate". New York Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
178. Finnegan, William (24 May 2004). "The Candidate: How the Son of a Kenyan Economist Became an Illinois Everyman". New Yorker. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Tilove, Jonathan (February 8 2007). "In Obama Candidacy, America Examines Itself". Times-Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
179. 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 Truman, see: Nitkin, David (March 2 2007). "A New Twist to an Intriguing Family History". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Jordan, Mary (May 13 2007). "Tiny Irish Village Is Latest Place to Claim Obama as Its Own". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) "Obama's Family Tree Has a Few Surprises". Associated Press. CBS 2 (Chicago). September 8 2007. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
180. Brackman, Harold (March 9 2007). "Obama and the Jews". Jewish Journal. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
181. "Keeping Hope Alive: Barack Obama Puts Family First". The Oprah Winfrey Show. October 18 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
182. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (November 2004). "The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama?". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 2008-04-07. See also: Scott, Janny (December 28 2007). "A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
183. Dickerson, Debra J (January 22 2007). "Colorblind". Salon. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) For a sampling of views by other black commentators see: Younge, Gary (posted October 27 2006 (November 13 2006 issue)). "Obama: Black Like Me". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Crouch, Stanley (November 2 2006). "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Washington, Laura (January 1 2007). "Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Page, Clarence (February 25 2007). "Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
184. Ehrenstein, David. "Obama the 'Magic Negro'", Los Angeles Times, March 19 2007. Retrieved on 2008-04-07.
185. Payne, Les (August 19 2007). "In One Country, a Dual Audience" (paid archive). Newsday. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
186. Robinson, Eugene (March 13 2007). "The Moment for This Messenger?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Senior, Jennifer (October 2 2006). "Dreaming of Obama". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
187. Obama (2006), p. 10. Sirota wrote that Obama's confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State and his reluctant support of a Senate filibuster opposing President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court may disappoint "those who see him as a bold challenger of the system". Sirota, David (June 26 2006). "Mr. Obama Goes to Washington". The Nation. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)Will, George F (December 14 2006). "Run Now, Obama". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
188. Noonan, Peggy (December 15 2006). "The Man From Nowhere". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Obama (2006), pp. 122–124. For Noonan's comments on Obama winning the January 2008 Iowa Caucus, see: Noonan, Peggy (January 4 2008). "Out With the Old, In With the New". OpinionJournal (Wall Street Journal). Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
189. Dorning, Mike (October 4 2007). "Obama Reaches Across Decades to JFK" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Harnden, Toby (October 15 2007). "Barack Obama is JFK Heir, Says Kennedy Aide". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-04-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Cited works

• Mendell, David. Obama: From Promise to Power, Amistad/HarperCollins, 2007. ISBN 0-06-085820-6.
• Obama, Barack. 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: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Crown, 2006. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.

Further reading

• Curry, Jessica. "Barack Obama: Under the Lights", Chicago Life, Fall 2004. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1 2006. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", GQ, September 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• Mundy, Liza. "A Series of Fortunate Events", The Washington Post Magazine, August 12 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• Wallace-Wells, Ben. "Destiny's Child", Rolling Stone, February 7 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
• Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", Chicago Reader, December 8 1995. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.

External links

2. Part 2

Template:Sisterlinks-author

Official sites

• Barack Obama U.S. Senator for Illinois (U.S. Senate office)
• Obama '08—BarackObama.com (2008 U.S. presidential campaign)

Congressional links

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart

Site directory

• Template:Dmoz

v t e Current United States senators
President: ▌ Kamala Harris (D) ‧ President pro tempore: ▌ Patty Murray (D)
AL: ▌ Tuberville (R)⎣ ▌ Britt (R) AK: ▌ Murkowski (R)⎣ ▌ Sullivan (R) AZ: ▌ Sinema (I)⎣ ▌ Kelly (D) AR: ▌ Boozman (R)⎣ ▌ Cotton (R) CA: ▌ Padilla (D)⎣ ▌ Schiff (D) CO: ▌ Bennet (D)⎣ ▌ Hickenlooper (D) CT: ▌ Blumenthal (D)⎣ ▌ Murphy (D) DE: ▌ Carper (D)⎣ ▌ Coons (D) FL: ▌ Rubio (R)⎣ ▌ R. Scott (R) GA: ▌ Ossoff (D)⎣ ▌ Warnock (D) HI: ▌ Schatz (D)⎣ ▌ Hirono (D) ID: ▌ Crapo (R)⎣ ▌ Risch (R) IL: ▌ Durbin (D)⎣ ▌ Duckworth (D) IN: ▌ Young (R)⎣ ▌ Braun (R) IA: ▌ Grassley (R)⎣ ▌ Ernst (R) KS: ▌ Moran (R)⎣ ▌ Marshall (R) KY: ▌ McConnell (R)⎣ ▌ Paul (R) LA: ▌ Cassidy (R)⎣ ▌ Kennedy (R) ME: ▌ Collins (R)⎣ ▌ King (I) MD: ▌ Cardin (D)⎣ ▌ Van Hollen (D) MA: ▌ Warren (D)⎣ ▌ Markey (D) MI: ▌ Stabenow (D)⎣ ▌ Peters (D) MN: ▌ Klobuchar (D)⎣ ▌ Smith (D) MS: ▌ Wicker (R)⎣ ▌ Hyde-Smith (R) MO: ▌ Hawley (R)⎣ ▌ Schmitt (R) MT: ▌ Tester (D)⎣ ▌ Daines (R) NE: ▌ Fischer (R)⎣ ▌ Ricketts (R) NV: ▌ Cortez Masto (D)⎣ ▌ Rosen (D) NH: ▌ Shaheen (D)⎣ ▌ Hassan (D) NJ: ▌ Booker (D)⎣ ▌ Kim (D) NM: ▌ Heinrich (D)⎣ ▌ Luján (D) NY: ▌ Schumer (D)⎣ ▌ Gillibrand (D) NC: ▌ Tillis (R)⎣ ▌ Budd (R) ND: ▌ Hoeven (R)⎣ ▌ Cramer (R) OH: ▌ Brown (D)⎣ ▌ Vance (R) OK: ▌ Lankford (R)⎣ ▌ Mullin (R) OR: ▌ Wyden (D)⎣ ▌ Merkley (D) PA: ▌ Casey (D)⎣ ▌ Fetterman (D) RI: ▌ Reed (D)⎣ ▌ Whitehouse (D) SC: ▌ Graham (R)⎣ ▌ T. Scott (R) SD: ▌ Thune (R)⎣ ▌ Rounds (R) TN: ▌ Blackburn (R)⎣ ▌ Hagerty (R) TX: ▌ Cornyn (R)⎣ ▌ Cruz (R) UT: ▌ Lee (R)⎣ ▌ Romney (R) VT: ▌ Sanders (I)⎣ ▌ Welch (D) VA: ▌ Warner (D)⎣ ▌ Kaine (D) WA: ▌ Murray (D)⎣ ▌ Cantwell (D) WV: ▌ Manchin (I)⎣ ▌ Capito (R) WI: ▌ Johnson (R)⎣ ▌ Baldwin (D) WY: ▌ Barrasso (R)⎣ ▌ Lummis (R)
▌ Republican: 49 ▌ Democratic: 47 ▌ Independent: 4

v t e United States senators from Illinois
Class 2	Thomas McLean Baker Robinson McRoberts Semple S. Douglas Browning Richardson Yates Logan Davis Cullom Lewis McCormick Deneen Lewis Slattery Brooks P. Douglas Percy Simon Durbin
Class 3	Edwards McLean Kane Ewing Young Breese Shields Trumbull Oglesby Logan Farwell Palmer Mason Hopkins Lorimer Sherman McKinley Glenn Dieterich Lucas Dirksen Smith Stevenson III Dixon Moseley Braun Fitzgerald Obama Burris Kirk Duckworth

v t e Statewide political officials of Illinois
U.S. senators	Dick Durbin Tammy Duckworth
State government	J. B. Pritzker, Governor Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor Alexi Giannoulias, Secretary of State Kwame Raoul, Attorney General Mike Frerichs, Treasurer Susana Mendoza, Comptroller
Senate	Don Harmon, President Bill Cunningham, President pro tempore Kimberly Lightford, Majority Leader John Curran, Minority Leader
House	Emanuel Chris Welch, Speaker Jehan Gordon-Booth, Speaker pro tempore Robyn Gabel, Majority Leader Tony McCombie, Minority Leader
Supreme Court	Mary Theis, Chief Justice Joy Cunningham P. Scott Neville Jr. Elizabeth Rochford Mary K. O'Brien Lisa Holder White David K. Overstreet

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