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Barack Obama
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Barack Obama, a freshman senator from Illinois, might be the first to admit that the excitement generated by his presidential bid has little to do with what he has already done, and much more to do with hopes about what he might do.
Hope, in fact, is deliberately at the center of Mr. Obama's political strategy -- as in the title of the introspective, highly personal best seller that he wrote leading up to his decision to run, "The Audacity of Hope."
Audacity is also a word that might easily be applied to someone pitting two years in Washington against an unusually large and experienced field of rivals. Mr. Obama's formal announcement of his candidacy was held in Springfield, Ill., the hometown of a president who had a similarly skimpy political resume.
For the most part, though, Mr. Obama's departures from the run of the mill are things that he celebrates. If elected, he would be the country's first black president; perhaps more important, he has already done what few other black politicians have done: win a statewide election with broad support from both black and white voters. Read More
Biography
Full Name: Barack Hussein Obama Jr.
Party: Democratic
Political Office: U.S. Senator from Illinois, elected 2004; member, Illinois State Senate 1997-2004
Business/Professional Experience: Attorney, law firm of Miner Barnhill & Galland (Chicago, IL), 1993-2004
Date of Birth: August 4, 1961
Place of Birth: Honolulu, HI
Home: Chicago, IL
Education: B.A. Columbia University 1983; J.D. Harvard Law, 1991
Spouse: married Michelle Robinson, 1992
Children: daughter Malia, born 1999; daughter Natasha, born 2001
Religion: United Church of Christ
Home: Chicago, IL
Campaign Web Site: www.barackobama.com
Books
By Barack Obama: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream [2006]; Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance [1995]
About: Hopes and Dreams: The Story of Barack Obama, by Steve Dougherty [2007]
Selected Articles About Barack Obama
2 Years After Big Speech, a Lower Key for Obama
The senator is not presenting himself, stylistically at least, the way he did when he gripped Democrats in 2004.
April 8, 2007 U.S. News
A Search for Self in Obama�s Hawaii Childhood
The presidential candidate�s racial consciousness and political curiosity appear to have begun far from Illinois.
March 17, 2007 U.S. News
In Law School, Obama Found Political Voice
Barack Obama arrived at Harvard as an unknown; by the time he left, he had become a political sensation.
January 28, 2007 U.S. News
Obama Starts Bid, Reshaping Democratic Field
Senator Barack Obama said he would formally declare his intention to run on Feb. 10 in Springfield, Ill.
January 17, 2007 U.S. News
Obama�s Foursquare Politics, With a Dab of Dijon
Barack Obama, the Democratic Party�s new rock star, is a rare politician who can actually write, as his new memoir shows.
October 17, 2006 Books ReviewSenate Nominee Speaks of Encompassing Unity
Barack Obama took the dais at the Democratic convention and told a classic American story of immigration, hope, striving and opportunity.
July 28, 2004 U.S. NewsAs Quickly as Overnight, a Democratic Star Is Born
In his quest for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate, Barack Obama was, by many measures, supposed to lose.
March 18, 2004 U.S. News
