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a series aboutBarack Obama
Personal
Illinois State Senator and U.S. Senator from Illinois
44th President of the United States
Tenure
Policies
Appointments
Presidential campaigns
Barack Obama's signature Seal of the President of the United States
Barack Obama campaigning in New Hampshire, August 2007.

Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality and background. As the first African-American President of the United States, his race and culture have played a prominent role in this, both positively and negatively. His relative youth (47 when elected) has alternately resulted in his being praised for his freshness and criticized for his inexperience. His temperament and demeanor have drawn praise for his perceived unflappability and criticism for the perception of his lacking emotional attachment.

Origins and identity

Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama

Race and culture

See also: A More Perfect Union (speech) and Henry Louis Gates arrest incident § Presidential involvement

Obama is regarded and self identifies as African-American, although he is of a biracial background. His father was a black Kenyan from the Luo ethnic group and his mother was white of European descent, mainly of English lineage. Obama, who grew to adulthood after the Civil Rights movement, had early life experiences that differed from most African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in that movement. He was brought up in Honolulu, Hawaii, lived in Jakarta, Indonesia as a young child, and received a private prep school and Ivy League education.

In a March 2007 op-ed, African-American film critic David Ehrenstein of the Los Angeles Times said that Obama was an early popular contender for the presidency not because of his political record, but because whites viewed him as a kind of "comic-book superhero", who would selflessly solve white people's problems. Black commentators such as Stanley Crouch of the New York Daily News expressed mixed feelings about his racial identity, while others like Laura Washington (Chicago Sun-Times), Gary Younge (The Nation), and Clarence Page (Houston Chronicle) reported a general ambivalence among the black community about his authenticity as an African-American.

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 claimed it, "erases the significance of slavery and continuing racism while giving the appearance of progress." On the liberal website Salon Debra wrote, "African-American, in our political and social vocabulary, means those descended from West African slaves, because Obama is not a descendant of West Africans brought involuntarily to the United States as slaves, he is not African-American," although his father is from Africa. Stanley Crouch wrote in the New York Daily News "Obama's mother is of white U.S. stock. His father is a black Kenyan," in a column entitled "What Obama Isn't: Black Like Me."

Addressing the issue of whether he was "black enough," Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that the debate was 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."

After a McCain advertisement accused Obama of being "just a celebrity like Britney Spears or Paris Hilton," Obama asserted that McCain and other Republicans would try to scare voters because he (Obama) "doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bills." The Obama campaign initially denied that the comment was on race, but campaign strategist David Axelrod later conceded that it was.

Though the media discussed his racial and ethnic heritage, a 2008 post-election poll by FactCheck.org found that about 22% of Americans still incorrectly believed that Obama is half Arab, possibly due to the influence of misleading blogs and widely circulated e-mail messages.

Religion

I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me. I think also understanding that Jesus Christ dying for my sins spoke to the humility we all have to have as human beings, that we're sinful and we're flawed and we make mistakes, and that we achieve salvation through the grace of God. But what we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what I strive to do. That's what I pray to do every day. I think my public service is part of that effort to express my Christian faith.

— President Barack Obama, September 27, 2010

In The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household". He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists") to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known". He describes his father as "raised a Muslim", but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful". His spiritual change of heart as an adult and his coming to believe in Christianity is a major part of his autobiography Dreams from My Father. Obama has stated that he "felt a beckoning of the spirit" at this time. He has also said that his political/ethical beliefs are "guided by his Christian faith" including belief "in the power of prayer."

Although Obama is a Christian, some July 2008 polls showed that some Americans incorrectly believed that he is Muslim or was raised Muslim (12% and 26%, respectively, in Pew and Newsweek polls). Citing the latter poll by CNN's Larry King, Obama responded, "...I wasn't raised in a Muslim home," and he said that advancement of the misconception insulted Muslim Americans.

Much of the speculations and allegations began with chain e-mails of unknown origin during Obama's presidential campaign. The Obama Nation, a book (published August 1, 2008) by Jerome Corsi, openly speculated that Obama had concealed a religious affiliation with Islam. His book opens with a quote by Andy Martin, who The Nation, The Washington Post, and The New York Times have identified as the primary source for the allegations that Obama is concealing a Muslim faith. Speculation about Obama's Muslim heritage has been widely denounced in the news media by both political supporters and political opponents (such as David Freddoso in his book The Case Against Barack Obama) of Obama.

In March 2009, the Pew Research Center reported that 11% of Americans still believed that Obama was a Muslim, with the percentages highest (19%) among self-identified white Evangelical Protestants and people who disapproved of Obama's job performance in the first month of his presidency, and lowest (6%) among college graduates and Blacks. The poll indicated that 48% of those surveyed believed that he was Christian, down 3% from October 2008, and that 35% did not know his religion.

This faulty belief still persists and has even risen slightly as of August 2010. The newer survey from "Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life" cites that "Nearly one in five Americans, 18 percent, still incorrectly believe Obama is a Muslim, up from 11 percent in 2009. Strangely, despite repeated declarations of his faith, the number of people that correctly say "Christian" when asked his religion, has declined significantly, from 51 percent in 2008 to 34 percent two years later; 43 percent say they don't know what religion the president is." The results were based on interviews conducted before Obama's August 13 comments on the Lower Manhattan Park51 project, the planned 13-story Muslim community center to be located two blocks from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. One interview in the opinion section of the LA Times was titled "The Useless Obama Muslim poll." In response, the White House said: "President Obama is Christian, prays daily."

Personal image

Youth and experience

File:Obama on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart cropped.jpg
Obama's appearance on The Daily Show before the 2010 midterms.

In July 2002, 40-year-old state Sen. Barack Obama embarked on a two-year campaign for 41-year-old Republican Peter Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat, against a large field of better known and wealthier opponents in the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history. In March 2004, Obama won an unexpected landslide in the Illinois primary election for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate—which overnight made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Dreams from My Father.

Late June 2004, after the withdrawal of his GOP opponent, 44-year-old Jack Ryan, found the 42-year-old Obama "assessing his circumstances—the sudden elevation to political superstardom, the cascade of campaign cash, and the favorable, almost fawning, attention", which soon yielded an invitation to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. By the eve of the July 2004 Democratic National Convention, Terence Samuel's U.S. News & World Report article "A shining star named Obama. How a most unlikely politician became a darling of the Democrats" reported that "what was once a long-shot campaign by an obscure state senator with a funny name ... ha come to resemble a runaway freight train," with Obama, the lead guest on Meet the Press, being asked by Tim Russert about comments in Ryan Lizza's The Atlantic article "The Natural. Why is Barack Obama generating more excitement among Democrats than John Kerry?"

In contrast, Eli Saslow's August 2008 Washington Post article "The 17 Minutes That Launched a Political Star" asserted that "Obama approached the lectern in Boston a virtual nobody, a representative for 600,000 constituents in Illinois' 13th District. He exited having set the course for an unprecedented political ascent." According to Saslow, "In the 40 hours before his Tuesday night speech, Obama granted more than 15 interviews, including several broadcast live on television. To Obama and his advisers, it seemed that many of the questions hinted at the same issue: Who, exactly, are you? And why, exactly, are you delivering a keynote speech?" Although not broadcast by ABC, CBS, or NBC, over nine million viewers saw Obama's 2004 DNC keynote address. Saslow said that it "crafted a first impression that still stands at the foundation of his presidential campaign." Saslow said that "Obama possessed the vision, he said, of 'not a black America and a white America and a Latino America and an Asian America—there is a United States of America.

In a December 2006 Wall Street Journal editorial headlined "The Man from Nowhere," Ronald Reagan speech writer and Fox News pundit Peggy Noonan advised "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."

During the 2008 election season, Barack Obama's experience was a topic of contention. Both Democratic and Republican politicians criticized his experience in regard to whether he was ready to be President of the United States. After his nomination the criticism was mostly from Republican politicians; many Democratic politicians stated that they believed that Obama was ready. Criticism was almost exclusively centered on his readiness for the position of commander in chief of the armed forces. Hillary Clinton often stated during her unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination that Obama would not be a candidate who's ready on "Day One". After conceding the race for the nomination, she endorsed Obama. While campaigning for president, Joe Biden said that he believed Obama was not yet ready for the job of president, but that eventually he would be ready. Biden, now Obama's vice president, has since revised his position on Obama's readiness, but his quotes from the 2008 Democratic Debates were used in campaign ads for John McCain.

Temperament

A point of contrast between Obama and his 2008 opponent John McCain was Obama's perceived calm and even temperament, which was praised by former presidential candidate Senator Chris Dodd as well as numerous media sources as "cool" and "unflappable". Speaking in support of Obama in March 2008, retired Air Force Chief of Staff General Tony McPeak referred to him as "no drama Obama" and "no shock Barack". These characterizations were picked up and continued to be used months later by other commentators such as Andrew Sullivan and Arianna Huffington. Indeed, perceptions of such temperament are not without drawback, as Obama has been accused many times of not being emotional or angry enough to satisfy the public.

Political image

See also: Obama logo

Political savvy

Several stories in the Anglo-American news media state that a prominent part of Obama's political image is a belief that Obama's rhetoric and actions toward political reform are matched with a political savvy that often includes a measure of expediency. For example, reporter Ryan Lizza wrote in The New Yorker, " campaigns on reforming a broken political process, yet he has always played politics by the rules as they exist, not as he would like them to exist."

The Economist has stated that "If Mr. Obama really were the miracle-working, aisle-jumping, consensus-seeking new breed of politician his spin-doctors make him out to be, you would expect to see the evidence in these eight years... Obama spent the whole period without any visible sign of rocking the Democratic boat." After Obama decided not to take public financing during his 2008 campaign, USA Today editorialized that "Real reformers don't do it just when it's convenient." The Associated Press has stated in March 2009, that "In office two months, he has backpedaled on an array of issues, gingerly shifting positions as circumstances dictate while ducking for political cover to avoid undercutting his credibility and authority."

Elitism

Opponents Clinton and McCain sharply criticized and accused Obama of elitism after he said of small-town Pennsylvanians, "And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Obama stated that he was raised by a single mother, in a family that had little money, and he benefited from scholarships to get his education.

Another allegation of elitism came from Jesse Jackson, who criticized Barack Obama in 2007 for "acting like he's white," in response to the Jena 6 beating case. The newspaper later reported that Jackson said he did not remember saying Obama was "acting like he's white," but he continued to chastise the Illinois Democrat as well as the other presidential candidates for not bringing more attention to this issue. Additionally, on July 6, 2008, during an interview with Fox News, a microphone picked up Jackson whispering to fellow guest Dr. Reed Tuckson: "See, Barack's been, ahh, talking down to black people on this faith-based... I want to cut his nuts out." Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama's Father's Day speech chastisement of Black fathers. Following his Fox News interview, Jackson apologized and reiterated his support for Obama. In June 2008, Ralph Nader made a similar "acting white" claim when he accused Obama of trying to "talk white" and appealing to white guilt in the election campaign."

Conservative support in 2008 elections

Main article: Republican and conservative support for Barack Obama in 2008

During the 2008 election, Obama garnered support from some Republicans and conservatives. Some commentators have labeled Republicans who supported Obama as "Obama Republican"s or Obamacans. Gallup has conducted weekly polls of registered voters to measure support amongst the candidates. A poll conducted between October 13 and October 19, 2008, showed 5% support for Barack Obama from Conservative Republicans, and 15% support from Moderate/Liberal Republicans. Obama's support among Conservative Republicans peaked at 7% the week of June 16–22, 2008, and among Liberal/Moderate Republicans peaked at 21% the week of July 21–27, 2008.

Around the world

See also: International media reaction to Barack Obama's 2008 election
Obama speaking before a crowd of about 200,000 at the Berlin Victory Column in Germany on July 24, 2008.

All 22 countries covered in a September 2008 BBC poll said they would prefer to see Senator Obama elected president ahead of Republican opponent John McCain. In 17 of the 22 nations, people expected relations between the United States and the rest of the world to improve if Senator Obama won. More than 22,000 people were questioned by pollster GlobeScan in countries ranging from Canada to India and across Africa, Europe and South America. The margin in favor of Senator Obama ranged from 9% in India to 82% in Kenya (location of Obama's paternal ancestry), while an average of 49% across the 22 countries preferred Senator Obama compared with 12% preferring Senator McCain. Some four in ten did not express a view.

A similar global poll was held by Reader's Digest, with respondents "overwhelmingly" in favor of Obama from all 17 countries, including Mexico, Finland, Sweden, Indonesia, Britain and Spain. Russia gave Obama the lowest score among the countries polled, but still preferred Obama over McCain with a 35% margin. In Australia a poll conducted in August 2008 found that over 75% of Australians wanted Obama to win the presidential election, while only 10% showed support for McCain.

Similar results were found in New Zealand (65% in favor of Obama, 11% in favor of McCain), Japan (49% in favor of Obama, 13% in favor of McCain), France (65% in favor of Obama, 8% in favor of McCain), Italy (70% in favor of Obama, 15% in favor of McCain), Germany (67% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain) and the Netherlands (90% in favor of Obama, 6% in favor of McCain). The only country surveyed (other than the U.S.) where McCain's popularity rivaled Obama's was Jordan, where 22% were in favor of Obama and 23% in favor of McCain. Obama scored higher approval ratings in all 70 countries covered in an October 2008 Gallup poll, with the most favorable scores coming from Asian and European countries.

Crowd watches Obama's approach in Moneygall, Ireland, 23 May 2011.

In 2007 German journalist Christoph von Marschall wrote a book entitled Barack Obama – Der schwarze Kennedy. The literal translation of its German title is "Barack Obama. The Black Kennedy". His book was a best seller in Germany, where other commentators had also made comparisons between the two politicians.

In addition to this, Obama has established close relationships with prominent foreign politicians and elected officials even before his presidential candidacy, notably with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whom he met in London in 2005, with President of France Nicolas Sarkozy, who visited him in Washington in 2006 as France's Interior Minister, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who spoke with Obama by telephone from Washington, D.C., in 2008 (while Obama was campaigning elsewhere), as well as with Italy's Democratic Party leader, and then Mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, who was welcomed in Obama's Senate office in Washington in 2005 and later wrote the introduction to Obama's The Audacity of Hope Italian edition.

Obama is welcomed by an enthusiastic crowd in Ottawa, Canada, 19 February 2009.

Gallup polls have shown that approval ratings of U.S. leadership in other countries have significantly increased since Obama took office, including a 57 percent increase in Ireland, a 41 percent increase in the United Kingdom and a 46 percent increase in Spain.

The results of a BBC World Service poll conducted between November 2009 through February 2010, suggest a sharp, positive, increase in the way citizens of polled Countries around the World view the United States. For the first time since the Iraq War in 2003, more people around the World view the United States more positively than negatively. Director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes Steven Kull, who partnered in directing the poll, stated "after a year, it appears the 'Obama effect' is real". Referring to the fact that Obama had been in office around one year during the time the polls were taken.

In response to a petition and a Facebook group, Indonesian authorities are debating whether to relocate a bronze statue in Jakarta depicting United States President Barack Obama as a smiling 10-year-old child. The petitioners are asking the statue be relocated to the elementary school Obama had attended as a child while living in Menteng for four years.

Popular culture

See also: Barack Obama in comics
File:Barack Obama with Superman.jpg
Obama poses before a statue of Superman in Metropolis, Illinois.

The West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie based the character of Matt Santos (portrayed by Jimmy Smits) on Obama. At the time the politician was only a state senator. Obama later met Smits. Will Smith expressed interest in portraying Obama in a film, citing his physical resemblance – particularly their ears – to the President, something with which Obama concurred while discussing the possibility with Smith. A musical comedy about Obama's presidential campaign, Obama on My Mind, opened in London in 2009. Actor Christopher B. Duncan portrayed Obama in 2008 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and also portrayed Obama in the 2010 Bollywood film My Name is Khan. Reggie Brown portrayed Obama on "Hannah Montana to the Principal's Office" of season 4 of "Hannah Montana". Obama has also been depicted on the "Harder, Better, Faster, Browner" episode of The Cleveland Show and the "Excellence in Broadcasting" episode of Family Guy. Barack Obama is depicted twice in the tv series the Boondocks while in the episode, "It's a Black President, Huey Freeman" snippets of his words are used his superstar image is parodied. Subsequently in the episode "The Fried Chicken Flu" Obama is portrayed less favorably as being rather ineffectual despite being full of rhetoric. Obama has also been the subject of various impersonators, including Reggie Brown and Iman Crosson.

Obama became a popular subject for artists during his presidential campaign. Shepard Fairey designed posters captioned "Hope". Alex Ross painted a portrait of Obama as Superman, tearing open his suit to reveal a shirt with an 'O'-symbol, while in Entertainment Weekly he was depicted as Spider-Man opposite John McCain's Batman. The association of Obama with Superman was picked up by the media and by the candidate himself: at the 2008 Al Smith Dinner, Obama joked, "Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-El, to save the planet Earth." And The Washington Post titled two essays about the impact of Obama's election by Desmond Tutu and Ta-Nehisi Coates "The Man of Tomorrow", referencing a frequent sobriquet of Superman.

File:Barack Obama joker sign.jpg
An Obama "Joker" protest sign at the Taxpayer March on Washington.

Marvel Comics released a special Inauguration Day comic of The Amazing Spider-Man with a picture portraying Barack Obama with Spider-Man hanging upside down behind him snapping his picture, quipping, "Hey, if you get to be on my cover, can I be on the dollar bill?" The comic also featuring a brief story where the Chameleon attempts to pose as Obama in order to be sworn in in his place, Obama subsequently shaking Spider-Man's hand in thanks and admitting that he's always been a fan despite the wall-crawler's negative public image. For right of publicity reasons, Marvel subsequently denied depictions of Obama as acting president in the Marvel Universe were intended to be him. Obama has been portrayed in other comic books, in the more straightforward Barack Obama: The Road to the White House by IDW (and a couple of related comics), but also as Barack The Barbarian and in Drafted: One Hundred Days by Devil's Due Publishing, as a zombie hunter in Antarctic Press' President Evil and with the zombie killer Ash Williams in Dynamite's Army of Darkness: Ash Saves Obama.

The controversial Obama "Joker" poster depicts Obama as comic book supervillain, The Joker, based on the portrayal by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. The image, which had been described as "shocking" and racist, led to much surprise as the identity of its creator, 20-year-old Palestinian American university student Firas Alkhateeb, was revealed. The digitally manipulated photograph has been described as the "most infamous anti–Obama image", and is often used by conservative protesters and those associated with the Tea Party movement.

Boris Johnson compared Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright) in Quantum of Solace to Obama; the African-American CIA ally of James Bond is promoted to become Section Chief in South America over the previous corrupt agent.

See also

References

  1. Harris, Paul (March 4, 2007). "Obama told of family's slave-owning history in deep South". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  2. Wallace-Wells, Benjamin (November 2004). "The Great Black Hope: What's Riding on Barack Obama?". Washington Monthly. Retrieved April 7, 2008. See also: Scott, Janny (December 28, 2007). "A Member of a New Generation, Obama Walks a Fine Line". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  3. Ehrenstein, David (March 19, 2007). "Obama the 'Magic Negro': The Illinois senator lends himself to white America's idealized, less-than-real black man". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2010. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  4. Younge, Gary (posted October 27, 2006, November 13, 2006 issue). "Obama: Black Like Me, Beneath the Radar". The Nation. Retrieved April 7, 2008. {{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 March 8, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2008. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help) Washington, Laura (January 1, 2007). "Whites May Embrace Obama, But Do 'Regular Black Folks'?". Obama Commentary. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved April 7, 2008. Page, Clarence (February 25, 2007). "Is Barack Black Enough? Now That's a Silly Question". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved April 7, 2008. {{cite news}}: More than one of |work= and |newspaper= specified (help)
  5. ^ Debra Dickerson - The Colbert Report - 2/8/07 - Video Clip | Comedy Central
  6. "Is Obama Black Enough?". Time. February 1, 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  7. Payne, Les (August 19, 2007). "In One Country, a Dual Audience" (paid archive). Newsday. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
  8. Mark Mooney (August 1, 2008). "Obama Aide Concedes 'Dollar Bill' Remark Referred to His Race: Obama Strategist Calls McCain's Attack Ad Insulting; McCain Camp Defends It". GMA. ABCNews. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  9. Kathleen Hall Jamieson and Brooks Jackson (December 12, 2008). "Our Disinformed Electorate". Special Reports. FactCheck.org. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  10. Obama 'Christian By Choice': President Responds To Questioner by Charles Babington and Darlene Superville, AP, September 28, 2010
  11. Video - President Obama: "I am a Christian By Choice" by ABC News, September 29, 2010
  12. ^ "Obama sets record straight on his religion: Presidential candidate battles misconception that he's a Muslim". MSNBC.com. Associated Press. January 21, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  13. "Poll: Obama extends national lead over McCain". The Washington Post. Associated Press. July 10, 2008. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  14. Jonathan Darman (July 11, 2008). "Glow Fading? : The latest NEWSWEEK Poll shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by only 3 points". Campaign 2008. Newsweek (Web exclusive). Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  15. "Interview with Sen. Barack Obama; Mortgage Crisis Affects Thousands of Homeowners" (Transcripts). Larry King Live. CNN. July 15, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  16. Hayes, Christopher (November 12, 2007). "The New Right-Wing Smear Machine". The Nation. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  17. Mosk, Matthew (October 14, 2008). "An Attack That Came Out of the Ether: Scholar Looks for First Link in E-Mail Chain About Obama". Religion: On Faith. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  18. Rutenberg, Jim (October 12, 2008). "The Man Behind the Whispers About Obama". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  19. "No Decline in Belief That Obama is a Muslim; Nearly One-in-Five White Evangelicals Think So". Pew Research Center. April 1, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2010.
  20. "Nearly 1 in 5 Americans Thinks Obama Is Muslim, Survey Shows". Fox News. August 19, 2010.
  21. Cohen, Jon; Shear, Michael D. (August 19, 2010). "Poll shows more Americans think Obama is a Muslim". The Washington Post.
  22. Grier, Peter (August 19, 2010), "Why do 1 in 5 Americans think President Obama is a Muslim?", The Christian Science Monitor, retrieved August 19, 2010
  23. "White House says Obama is Christian, prays daily Remarks come after poll finds nearly 1 in 5 believe president is a Muslim". Msnbc.com. August 19, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.
  24. Two-term Illinois state Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (a multimillionaire banking heir) was 38-years-old when sworn in as U.S. Senator in 1999.
    Three-term Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama (a law professor) was 43-years-old when sworn in as U.S. Senator in 2005.
  25. Neal, Steve (July 3, 2002). "Obama could add drama to Senate race". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 41. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  26. Mendell, David (March 17, 2004). "Obama routs Democratic foes; Ryan tops crowded GOP field; Hynes, Hull fall far short across state". Chicago Tribune. p. 1. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  27. 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Republican primary winner, 44-year-old Jack Ryan (a multimillionaire former Goldman Sachs investment banker) had been seeking his first elective office.
  28. ^ Samuel, Terence (August 2, 2004). "A shining star named Obama. How a most unlikely politician became a darling of the Democrats". U.S. News & World Report. p. 25. Retrieved May 4, 2011. available online July 25, 2004.

    Springfield, Ill.— The day after the oddest of sex scandals drove his GOP opponent out of the race for the U.S. Senate, Barack Obama sat in his campaign office here, assessing his circumstances—the sudden elevation to political superstardom, the cascade of campaign cash, and the favorable, almost fawning, attention that has now yielded a prized invitation to deliver the keynote address at this week's Democratic National Convention.

    But for the moment, what was once a long-shot campaign by an obscure state senator with a funny name—"Some people call me Alabama," he confides—has come to resemble a runaway freight train.

  29. Bacon Jr., Perry (July 5, 2004). "Leaving blacks cold". Time. p. 36. Retrieved May 5, 2011. available online June 27, 2004.
  30. The nation's youngest Congressman, second-term U.S. Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (TN-9) (a law school graduate) was 30-years-old when he was the 2000 DNC keynote speaker.
    2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Democratic nominee, third-term Illinois state Sen. Barack Obama (a law professor) was 42-years-old when he was the 2004 DNC keynote speaker.
    • "Tennessean leaving house; son seeks seat". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 12, 1996. p. A24. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
    • Berke, Richard L. (August 17, 2000). "Led by pack of Kennedys from stage left, liberal wing takes center stage". The New York Times. p. A25. Retrieved May 5, 2011.

      For all the talk of the past, the keynote speaker tonight was only 30 years old: Representative Harold Ford Jr., from Mr. Gore's home state of Tennessee. Democratic officials said Mr. Ford was a perfect cap for the evening not only because of his youth, and because he is an African American who represents diversity, but also because he is a moderate.
      Yet Mr. Ford did not get the usual exposure of the top-billed speaker. He did not take the stage until nearly 11 p.m. E.D.T., when the major networks ended their coverage.

  31. . (July 25, 2004). "Transcript for July 25. Guests: State Sen. Barack Obama, (D-Ill.); former Gov. Thomas Kean, (R-N.J.) Chair, 9-11 Commission; former Rep. Lee Hamilton, (D-Ind.) Vice Chair, 9-11 Commission; Tom Brokaw, NBC News". Meet the Press. NBC News. Retrieved May 5, 2011. {{cite news}}: |author= has numeric name (help)
  32. Lizza, Ryan (2004). "The Natural. Why is Barack Obama generating more excitement among Democrats than John Kerry?". The Atlantic Monthly. pp. 30, 33. Retrieved May 5, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help) available online July 26, 2004.
  33. ^ Saslow, Eli (August 25, 2008). "The 17 minutes that launched a political star". The Washington Post. p. A20. Retrieved May 4, 2011.

    For 17 minutes on July 27, 2004, the little-known state legislator from Illinois would stand alone in front of a prime-time television audience, 15,000 media members and the Democratic Party elite.

    The first impression Obama crafted that night still forms the basis of his presidential campaign.

    Obama approached the lectern in Boston a virtual nobody, a representative for 600,000 constituents in Illinois' 13th District. He exited having set the course for an unprecedented political ascent, with the fortified self-confidence that he could deliver when it mattered most.

    In the 40 hours before his Tuesday night speech, Obama granted more than 15 interviews, including several broadcast live on television. To Obama and his advisers, it seemed that many of the questions hinted at the same issue: Who, exactly, are you? And why, exactly, are you delivering a keynote speech?

    Over the next 15 minutes, Obama crafted a first impression that still stands at the foundation of his presidential campaign.

    Obama possessed the vision, he said, of "not a black America and a white America and a Latino America and an Asian America—there is a United States of America." By the time he sped to his climax—"Out of this long political darkness a brighter day will come"—the crowd stood, transfixed.

    "I was feeling like a proud older brother, and I had tears coming out of my eyes when he finished," Link said. "Wanting to be a tough guy, I was wiping tears on the corner of my suit coat and trying to clean up. Then I turn around and see there's not a dry eye in the whole place. He got to everybody. I firmly believe if they put his name on the nomination that night ahead of Kerry, Barack would have won."

  34. In 2002 redistricting, Illinois' 19 U.S. Congressional Districts had a Census 2000 population of 653,647.
    In 2002 redistricting, Illinois' 59 Legislative (state Senate) Districts had a Census 2000 population of 210,496.
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