Topics > Politics > Government > Barack Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama was elected president on Nov. 4, 2008, becoming the first African-American to claim the highest office in the land, an improbable candidate fulfilling a once-impossible dream. A nation that in living memory struggled violently over racial equality will have as its next president a 47-year-old, one-term U.S. senator born of a Kenyan father and Kansan mother. He is the first president elected from Chicago and the first to rise from a career in Illinois politics since Abraham Lincoln emerged from frontier obscurity to lead the nation through the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

Obama's resounding victory over Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) repudiates an unpopular incumbent and an ongoing war, shifts national leadership to a new generation and provides dramatic proof to the world of the American ideal of opportunity for all.

Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Hawaii. He graduated from Columbia University in 1983 with a political science degree, and he entered Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama published an autobiography in 1995--"Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance". He was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. In 2000, Obama ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, but lost to incumbent Bobby Rush. In 2004, Obama won the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate. That summer, he delivered the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His opponent in the senate race was supposed to Jack Ryan. However, Ryan withdrew from the race amid sexual allegations by his ex-wife. Alan Keyes replaced Ryan on the ballot, and in the general election, Obama won easily, grabbing 70 percent of the vote. « Show less

Sort By: Relevancy | Date | Type

Displaying items 1-12 of 11758

» View baltimoresun.com items only

Nov 23, 2008 |Story| Associated Press

Democratic official: Obama set to name former rival Bill Richardson as commerce secretary

Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ A Democratic official says President-elect Barack Obama will name New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as commerce secretary. The official says Obama plans to announce Richardson's selection after Thanksgiving. The official spoke on...

Tags: Local Elections, Government, Bill Richardson, Bill Clinton, National Government

Nov 23, 2008 |Story| Associated Press

Obama adviser promotes economic aid plan, seeks swift congressional action; automakers warned

Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The market's positive reaction to President-elect Barack Obama's choice of treasury secretary was gratifying, a top Obama adviser said Sunday, and set the stage for a massive economic aid plan in January. The market soared almost 500...

Tags: Ben Bernanke, David Axelrod, Bill Clinton, Vehicles, National Government

Nov 23, 2008 |Story| Associated Press

Pacific Rim powers aim to restore confidence in world economy, fight protectionism

Associated Press Writer
LIMA, Peru (AP) _ Pacific Rim nations struggled Sunday to restore confidence in the world's ailing financial system, wrapping up a summit that focused on guarding against protectionism and resuscitating moribund free-trade talks. In two days of meetings,...

Tags: Contracts, George Bush, Financial Markets, Treaties, Economic Organization

Nov 23, 2008 |Story| Associated Press

President Bush expresses confidence global hard times will be overcome

AP Economics Writer
LIMA, Peru (AP) _ President George W. Bush, wrapping up his final summit with world leaders on Sunday, offered a message of hope that despite the worst economic crisis in decades, the global economy will emerge in better shape. At a summit of the 21-...

Tags: Great Depression, Globalization, Financial Markets, George Bush, National Government