Barack Obama

Age: Barack Obama is 58 years old.

Full Name: Barack Hussein Obama.

Home Town: Honolulu.

Current City: Washington D.C

Father: Barack Obama Sr.

Mother: Ann Dunham

Wife: Michelle Obama

Height: 1.85m

Barack Obama Early Life and Parents and Family:

Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. is the 44th President of the United States.  Of bi-racial descent, Ex-President Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii.  His father was a Kenyan national while his mother was a native of small-town Kansas.  Young Barack grew up mostly in Hawaii—except for a few years stint in Indonesia—when his mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when he was 6 years old.

Barack Obama Education and Qualification:

He returned to Hawaii in 1971 and lived with his maternal grandparents until he graduated from high school in 1979 at Hawaii’s leading prep academy, Punahou School.

when his mother remarried an Indonesian oil manager and moved to Jakarta when he was 6 years old.  He returned to Hawaii in 1971 and lived with his maternal grandparents until he graduated from high school in 1979 at Hawaii’s leading prep academy, Punahou School.

Barack spent his first two years of college at the Occidental in Los Angeles and transferred to Columbia University in his Junior Year where he pursued a political science major, specializing in International Relations. Following his graduation in 1983, he was employed for a while with Business International before he moved to Chicago and became a community organizer at the Altgeld Gardens.

Obama left Chicago for 3 years to pursue a law degree at Harvard University where he graduated magna cum laude in 1991.  Obama also created national publicity when he became the first African-American to become president of Harvard Law School.  It was also in this period that he wrote his first autobiography, Dreams From My Father which was published in 1995.

Barack Obama Love Life with Michelle Obama and Personal Life:

June 1989, Barack Obama met Michelle LaVaughn Robinson when he was working for the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin as a summer associate. She was assigned for three months as Obama’s adviser at the firm. Michelle Robinson was born January 17, 1964, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, who is 21 months older, and the men’s basketball coach at Oregon State University.

Michelle Robinson grew up on the South Side of Chicago, graduating from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. After finishing her formal education, Michelle Robinson returned to Chicago and accepted a position with the law firm Sidley Austin, Michelle LaVaughn Robinson joined Barack Obama at group social functions but declined dating Barack Obama upon his initial requests. Later in the summer Mr. Obama and Ms. Robinson began dating. Michelle LaVaughn Robinson and Barack became engaged in 1991 and were married on October 3, 1992.

Barack Obama kids: The couple had their first child, a daughter, who they named Malia Ann, July 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha (“Sasha”), on Jun 10, 2001.

Barack Obama Early Political Career:

Following his graduation from Harvard, Obama returned to Chicago and started a career as a civil rights lawyer with the law firm Miner, Barnhill & Galland; addressing issues of employment and voting discrimination.  In 1992, he directed the historic Illinois Project VOTE. It was in this year that he married Michelle Robinson.  He also worked part-time as a senior lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School until his election as state senator of Illinois 13^th District in 1996.

Obama served the state senate of Illinois for 3 terms from 1997 to 2004. During his tenure he co-authored a state Earned Income Tax Credit which provided benefits to the working poor.  He was also recognized as “one of the General Assembly’s most impressive members” by the Chicago Tribune.

State Senator Obama made an unsuccessful bid at the House of Representatives in 2000 against incumbent Bobby Rush and returned to his career as a state legislator.

A major turning point in his political career was when he decided to join the US Senatorial race to replace the retiring incumbent Peter Fitzgerald, a Republican. Besting against 6 other candidates in the Democratic primaries by a 53% margin, Obama was to run head-on against popular Republican nominee Jack Ryan who later withdrew in the midst of sex allegations raised by his ex-wife and was replaced by Alan Keyes.  In the November 2, 2004 elections, Obama won 70% of the votes against Keyes 27%.

Barack Obama is the only African-American seated at the US Senate and also the fifth African-American elected to such position in the history of the United States of America.

Barack Obama Political Views as a Senator:

THE IRAQ WAR

Even as a state legislator in 2002, he openly opposed the Bush Administration’s efforts to stage a war in Iraq. Obama called it a dumb war that would only lead to “undetermined consequences.” Obama argued then that the invasion of Iraq is founded on an unclear rationale while lacking international support and would only serve to agitate the Arab Community in the Middle East and strengthen the terrorism agenda of the Al-Qaeda. The State legislator challenged Bush’s Administration to realign its efforts on curbing terrorism; on clipping the wings of the financial network and machinery that support the activities of the Al-Qaeda.  He explained further that while he sees Saddam Hussein as a “brutal and ruthless” man, Hussein is not a threat to the rest of the world and thus can be contained considerably.

In a 2006 speech on global affairs, he surmised the Iraq War Policy as a failure of conception, more than a failure of implementation as it is seen by most of its proponents—defining the rationale as misguided which lacked adequate foresight. He rhetorically stated that democracy should be imposed not by military force and intervention but within the confines of diplomatic and economic channels.  Obama also pointed out that one major lesson in the fight against terrorism is that defeating it would require international support and cooperation.

 ABORTION

The senator’s progressive position on this issue oftentimes comes in conflict with the religious values he represents as a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.  The Senator’s position, however, rises above the moral dimensions surrounding it.  In his keynote speech during the Call to Renewal Conference on June 28, 2006, he declared that the issue should not be addressed on the merits of religion alone.  He argued that while abortion is disagreeable when discussed along the lines of morality, there exists the voice of reason that looks beyond the predetermined and oftentimes ambiguous answers we derive from religion. Obama proposed that we look into the practical dimensions of abortion, build relevant solutions, and weigh consequences from that point of view.

Senator Obama stands by his pro-choice position on the precept that women alone contend with the social and emotional consequences of abortion. Keeping it as a legal option would serve to unburden the moral issues confronting women and prevent them from seeking out unsafe abortions in the absence of authorized medical practitioners when abortion is restricted.  Thus, women should be left with the ultimate decision—to submit to an abortion or carry through their offspring.

Obama also mentioned in his book The Audacity of Hope, that a more constructive approach to this issue is to conceive ways of reducing the number of women seeking abortion today.

IMMIGRATION

Senator Obama finds the present immigration laws of the United States “inefficiently enforced” and in effect has not controlled entry of illegal immigrants into the country.  In a floor statement, delivered on May 23, 2006, he pointed out that the existing employer enforcement system cannot effectively prevent illegal migrants from finding work in any of the states.  While it has been reported that workplace arrests have been significantly reduced recently since the existing laws have been implemented, illegal immigration is still on the rise; particularly immigrants with overstayed visas.  What with all the documents required to ascertain the work status of an immigrant with employers not knowing how to detect fraudulent documents and the considerably low ratio of Wage and Hour investigators against the millions of immigrants working in the US today.

One with the public in the growing concerns over the rise of illegal immigration in the country, Senator Obama believes that mass deportation is not the solution but a reform law that would establish the rule of law and promote the surfacing of illegal workers into the open without prejudice to legal workers.

It is in this context that Senator Obama with Senators Grassley, Kennedy and Kyl introduced an amendment to the 1986 Immigration Bill that proposed the implementation of an electronic verification system which Obama says can “effectively detect the use of fraudulent documents, significantly reduce the employment of illegal workers, and give employers the confidence that their workforce is legal.”  He also recommended the imposition of stiffer penalties to employers hiring undocumented workers as well as the filing of appropriate criminal charges against repeat violators.  The immigration bill is largely supported by the Bush Administration.

Barack Obama needs no introduction. He is an inspiration to everyone and people want to know Barack Obama’s biography and his success story. Here we are giving you briefly Barack Obama’s biography. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States. He was a lecturer at the University of Chicago who became the member of Illinois State senate who while serving as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate was elected as the President of the United States on November 4, 2008.

 

Barack Obama as President:

While serving as US Senator from Illinois he decided to be the candidate for President of the United States. And finally, Barack Obama became the United States’ first African-American President.He is the 44th President of the United States of America.

Barack Obama net worth:

His net worth stands at approximately $47.2 million(source). He donated $1.4 million to charity, which he got in Nobel
Prize money.

Barack Obama awards:

Till now Barack Obama has been awarded Nobel Peace Prize, Time’s Person Of The Year, Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album, NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work, Non-fiction, NAACP Image Award- Chairman’s Award, Award for Hero of the Year.

Barack Obama books:

He has written many books including Dreams From My Father, The Audacity Of Hope, Of Thee I Sing, Change We Can Believe In.

Barack Obama best speech:

It is actually very difficult to decide which is the best speech delivered by Obama till now but the speech
where he use “grace” a lot of times and the speech “More Perfect Union” are considered to be his best.

Barack Obama Quotes and Thoughts:

President Barack Obama is both a prolific writer and a charismatic speaker.  In the course of his political career he also mouthed quite a number of interesting quotes that deserves mention in a compilation of Obama Quotes below:

Personal Thoughts 

“I probably always feel on some level I can persuade anybody I talk to.” –Obama told Time Magazine’s Perry Bacon, Jr. on a February 12,2006, interview.

“I’ve been blessed with a relatively calm, steady temperament and am someone who reminds myself that it’s never as good as it seems and never as bad as it seems”—A deep personal assessment by Senator Obama

“It’s just not my style to go out of my way to offend people or be controversial just for the sake of being controversial. That’s offensive and counterproductive. It makes people feel defensive and more resistant to changes.” –Obama quipped in an interview with Time Correspondent Joe Klein

“What’s truly audacious is to believe that something different is possible, to hope, to aspire to change.” Obama told a crowd at a book signing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; December 11, 2006

“I stand here today, grateful for the diversity of my heritage, aware that my parents’ dreams live on in my precious daughters. I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.”—one of the highlights of Obama’s keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention   

Education 

“I always felt that the value of a really good education is you can take more risks. Ultimately, if I really need a job, if I’ve got to pay the bills, I’m going to be able to find one.” –Obama speaks on the merits of a  Harvard Law Degree

“The great thing about teaching constitutional law is that all the tough questions land in your lap: abortion, gay rights, affirmative action. And you need to be able to argue both sides. I have to be able to argue the other side, as well as Scalia, does. I think that’s good for one’s politics.” – Obama talks about the beauty of his job as a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago

Political Quotes

“My name comes from Kenya, and my accent comes from Kansas.”—The way Obama introduced himself to crowds during the campaign trail.

“I think that the reason I got into politics was simply because I saw the law as being inadequate to the task.”— Obama’s reply at Charlie Rose when asked for his intentions in seeking public office.

On Meet the Press after the election Tim Russert asked Obama if it is possible to negotiate on divisive issues such as abortion. Obama replies: “I think some are more difficult than others”

About the US war on Iraq, Obama airs his contention: “I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.”

 “It is time to give Iraqis their country back, and it is time to refocus America’s efforts on the wider struggle yet to be won.”–CNN August 20, 2006; Obama calls for the withdrawal of US Troops from war-torn Iraq

Obama criticizes the nastiness of politics, trumpets positive messages and likes to say that “Americans are ready for politicians who can disagree without being disagreeable”

Most Amazing Facts about Barack Obama:

There have been quite a number of truths and untruths that are gradually emerging about Barack Obama, since the time he announced his plans to compete for the Presidential elections in the United States. There are many facts about President Barack Obama, the popular president of the United States that would be of interest to many people.

♦Fact 1: He is bi-racial. Obama comes from a family where his mother is a white American and father is Kenyan.

♦Fact 2: His middle name is Hussein. Barack Hussein Obama has been named after his father and received his education at Harvard University. As a matter of fact, initially many of the journalists showed concern about his name being the biggest hindrance in the 44th Presidential elections.

♦Fact 3: His birthplace is Honolulu, Hawaii. His parents met in Hawaii while attending a university meet. They got divorced when Obama was just 2 years old. When he turned 6years, he went stay with his mother and stepfather in Indonesia and returned back to Hawaii when he was in 5th standard. He stayed with his grandparents and finished his high school there.

♦Fact 4: He was an African-American President at the Harvard Law. After completing his graduation from the University of Columbia, he joined the Harvard Law school, where he got an opportunity to get elected as the President.

♦Fact 5: He has even tried drugs. During his teenage, Barack Obama has tried cocaine and marijuana. He has mentioned this in his “Dreams from My Father”.

♦Fact 6: Why did he take the option of entering into politics? After completing his graduation from Columbia, Barack Obama joined hands with one of the churches in Chicago with the intention of improving the livelihoods of the violent and the poor neighborhoods. After attaining some success in this field, he realized that there are drastic changes that are to made especially in the field of politics and laws.

♦Fact 7: He has written books that have been in the list of the best sellers. In 1995 Barack Obama wrote Dreams from my father which gained a lot of popularity among the masses. His next two books in 2004 and 2006 which were on Illinois Senate Campaign and The audacity of hope respectively have been able to hit the list of the bestsellers.

♦Fact 8: He is keen to quit. The fact here is that Barack Obama wants to quit smoking. The main reason for this is that the White House follows a no-smoking policy. Therefore he has been taking enough measures to quit smoking.

♦Fact 9: Although he has worked for Baskin Robbins in his teenage, Barack Obama does not like eating ice creams.

♦Fact 10: He is very fond of playing scrabble although he himself has never commented on how good he is at it.

He was believed to be the biggest opponent of Hillary Clinton during the presidential elections. Barack Obama has been able to create history by becoming the first black president of the United States of America.