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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union, ending slavery, and rededicating the nation to nationalism, equal rights, liberty and democracy. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, he was mostly self-educated and became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives, but failed in two attempts at a seat in the United States Senate. He was an affectionate, though often absent, husband, and father of four children.
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African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa. In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry.
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Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. He ran for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1988, 1992, and 2004. Keyes served in the U.S. Foreign Service, was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations under President Ronald Reagan, and served as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987.
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Alexi Giannoulias
Alexi Giannoulias (; or jeh-NOO'-lee-us) born March 16, 1976 is the Illinois State Treasurer. A Democrat, Giannoulias defeated Republican candidate State Senator Christine Radogno in November 2006 with 54 percent of the vote, becoming the first Democrat to hold the office in 12 years and, at the age of 30, the youngest State Treasurer in the nation.
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Barack Obama, Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936 − 24 November 1982) () was a Kenyan senior governmental economist, and the father of the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama. He is a central subject in his son's memoir, Dreams from My Father.
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Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (, also Binyamin Netanyahu, born 21 October 1949) is the ninth and current Prime Minister of Israel, serving since March 2009. Netanyahu also serves as the current Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.
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Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957August 9, 2008) better known by his stage name Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.
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Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19, 1946) is the former 42nd President of the United States and served from 1993 to 2001. At 46 he was the third-youngest president. He became president at the end of the Cold War, and was the first baby boomer president. His wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is currently the United States Secretary of State. Each received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Yale Law School.
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Bo (dog)
Bo (born October 9, 2008) is the pet dog of the Obama family, the First Family of the United States. Bo is a neutered male Portuguese Water Dog, or Portie. President Barack Obama and his family were given the dog as a gift after months of speculation about the breed and identity of their future pet. The final choice was made in part because Malia Obama's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed. The White House has referred to him as the "First Dog", a US cultural term occasionally used during recent administrations.
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Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946, Albany, Georgia) is an American politician from Illinois. A Democrat, he has served in the United States House of Representatives as the member from Illinois' 1st congressional district since 1993. Rush's district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans (65%) than any other congressional district in the nation. Rush has the distinction of being the only person to date to defeat President Barack Obama in an election for public office. Rush is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
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Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun (born August 16, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. She was the first and, , the only, African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator in an election, and the first and to date only female Senator from Illinois. From 1999 until 2001, she was the United States Ambassador to New Zealand. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination during the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
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David D. McKiernan
David D. McKiernan is a retired United States Army four-star general who served in Afghanistan as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from June 3, 2008 to June 15, 2009. He served concurrently as Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from October 6, 2008 to June 15, 2009.
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David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus (; born November 7, 1952) is a United States Army general who serves as the current Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and
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Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30, 1941) served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under George W. Bush. He briefly served as Acting President of the United States on two occasions during which Bush underwent medical procedures.
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Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph "Dick" Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is the senior United States Senator from the U.S. state of Illinois and Democratic Party Whip, the second highest position in the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate, and became Majority Whip when Democrats took control of the Senate on January 3, 2007. In April 2006, Time magazine identified Durbin as one of "America's 10 Best Senators." He was the first United States Senator to support the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama, then the other senator from Illinois. He was reelected in November 2008 for a term ending in January 2015.
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Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (; born 14 September 1965) is the third and current President of the Russian Federation, inaugurated on 7 May 2008. He won the presidential election held on 2 March 2008 with 71.25% of the popular vote.
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Evan Bayh
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III (, respell|; born December 26, 1955) is an American Democratic politician who has served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana since 1999. He earlier served as the 46th Governor of Indiana.
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George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924, in Milton, Massachusetts) was the 41st President of the United States (1989–1993). He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President (1981–1989), a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (; born July 6, 1946, in New Haven, Connecticut) was the 43rd President of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009, and the 46th Governor of Texas, serving from 1995 to 2000.
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Harold Ford, Jr.
:"Harold Ford" redirects here. For his father, the congressman from Tennessee from 1975 to 1997, see Harold Ford, Sr.
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Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953). As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice-president and the 34th Vice President of the United States, he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his historic fourth term.
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Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen (born January 28, 1947), an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, is the junior United States Senator from New Hampshire. The first woman in U.S. history to be elected as both a Governor and U.S. Senator, she was the first woman to be elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving from 1997 to 2003. Shaheen ran for the United States Senate in 2002, but was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger John E. Sununu. She then served as Director of the Harvard Institute of Politics, before resigning to run again for the U.S. Senate in the 2008 election, defeating Sununu in a rematch. Shaheen is the first Democratic Senator from NH since John A. Durkin, who retired in 1980.
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Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as the President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history, 1861 to 1865.
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Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright, Jr. (born September 22, 1941) is Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), a megachurch in Chicago exceeding 6,000 members. In early 2008, Wright retired after 36 years as the Senior Pastor of his congregation and no longer has daily responsibilities at the church.
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Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981 and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia, from 1971 to 1975, and was a peanut farmer and naval officer.
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Joe Biden
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John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election.
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John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history. He was nominated by President Gerald Ford to replace the Court's longest serving justice, William O. Douglas. Stevens is widely considered to have been on the liberal side of the Court. Ford praised Stevens in 2005: "He is serving his nation well, with dignity, intellect and without partisan political concerns." Asked in an interview in September 2007 if he still considers himself a Republican, Stevens declined to comment.
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Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar (; born March 2, 1955) is the United States Secretary of the Interior in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.
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Kwame Raoul
Kwame Raoul (born September 30, 1964) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2004. He is the Senate chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.
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lame duck (politics)
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Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, who reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence and the President of the United States of America. An American Democratic politician, lawyer, and professor, Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. He is the founder and director of the Panetta Institute, served as Distinguished Scholar to Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the California State University System and professor of public policy at Santa Clara University. In January 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Panetta for the post of CIA Director; he was confirmed by the full Senate on February 12, 2009 and assumed the office the next day.
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Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo (; Mandarin pronunciation: ; born 28 December 1955) is a Chinese intellectual, writer, and human rights activist and a political prisoner in China.
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Lolo Soetoro
Lolo Soetoro, also known as Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo or Mangundikardjo, (EYD: Lolo Sutoro) (pronounced ; January 2, 1935- March 2, 1987) was the Indonesian stepfather of Barack Obama, later to become the 44th President of the United States of America.
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Lynn Sweet
Lynn Sweet is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times and a columnist for The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers the U.S. Congress, and for The Huffington Post.
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Madelyn Dunham
Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham ( ; October 26, 1922 – November 2, 2008) was the American maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, the President of the United States of America. She and her husband Stanley Armour Dunham raised Obama from age ten in their Honolulu, Hawaii apartment, where on November 2, 2008, she died two days before her grandson was elected the 44th President of the United States.
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Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas ( Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 26 March 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen (), has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah (فتح Fataḥ) ticket.
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Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. Thatcher is the only woman to have held either post.
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Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of the Forward Together PAC. Warner delivered the keynote address before the nation at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
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Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng (; born August 15, 1970 in Jakarta, Indonesia) is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States. She previously was a high school history teacher and university instructor in Hawaii.
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Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
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Muammar Gaddafi
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Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (with numerous variations; , Usāmah bin Muḥammad bin ‘Awaḍ bin Lādin; born March 10, 1957) is a member of the prominent Saudi bin Laden family and the founder of the Islamic extremist organization al-Qaeda, best known for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. As a result of his dealings in violent, extremist jihad, Osama bin Laden lost his Saudi citizenship and was disowned by his wealthy Saudi Arabian family. Bin Laden is on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives due to several 1998 US embassy bombings.
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Robert Gates
Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is the 22nd and current United States Secretary of Defense. He took office on December 18, 2006. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W. Bush as Director of Central Intelligence. Immediately after being recruited by the CIA, he served as an officer in the United States Air Force. After leaving the CIA, Gates became president of Texas A&M; University and was a member of several corporate boards. Gates also served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, the bipartisan commission co-chaired by James A. Baker III and Lee Hamilton, that has studied the Iraq War. He was also the first pick to serve as the first Director of National Intelligence (DNI), but he declined the appointment in order to remain President of Texas A&M; University.
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Roland Burris
Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is the junior United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.
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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975).
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Suharto
(8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 32 years from 1967 following Sukarno's removal until his resignation in 1998.
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Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26, 1958) was the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and is the current chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
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Tom Carper
Thomas Richard "Tom" Carper (born January 23, 1947) is an American politician from Wilmington, in New Castle County, Delaware. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War and a member of the Democratic Party, who served five terms as United States Representative from Delaware, two terms as Governor of Delaware and currently is the senior United States Senator from Delaware.
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Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. (born March 14, 1948), is an American politician, medical doctor, and ordained Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he currently serves as the junior U.S. Senator from Oklahoma.
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Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007; he resigned from all these positions in June 2007.
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Tony Rezko
Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born July 1955) is a political fundraiser, restaurateur, and real estate developer in Chicago, Illinois, convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. Rezko has been involved in fundraising for local Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians since the 1980s. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years. Rezko was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006, for using their connections to the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wanted to do business with the state. While the others pleaded guilty to the charges, Rezko pleaded not guilty and was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him.
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Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni (born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He also served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.
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Abbottabad () is a city located in Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa province of Pakistan . The city is situated in the Orash Valley, 150 km north of Islamabad and 200 km east of Peshawar at an altitude of . The city is well-known throughout Pakistan for its pleasant weather, high standard educational institutions and military establishments. It remains a major hub for tourism of the Northern Areas in the summer.
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Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 100 kilometers or 60 miles NNW of Washington, D.C. in Thurmont, Frederick County, Maryland.
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Chicago ( or ) is the largest city in the state of Illinois. With over 2.8 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous city in the country. Its metropolitan area, commonly named "Chicagoland," is the 26th most populous in the world, home to an estimated 9.7 million people spread across the U.S. states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Chicago is the county seat of Cook County.
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Colorado (pronounced or, chiefly by outsiders, ) is a U.S. state that encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is part of the Western United States, the Mountain States, and the Southwestern United States.
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Columbia University in the City of New York (Columbia University) is a private research university in New York City and a member of the Ivy League. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. It was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain, and is one of only three United States universities to have been founded under such authority.
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Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom (what is now called) Cape Henlopen was originally named.
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Fiat S.p.A., an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (), is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial and industrial group based in Turin in the Piedmont region. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. Fiat has also manufactured railroad vehicles, tanks and aircraft. As of 2009, Fiat is the world's sixth largest carmaker as well as Italy's largest carmaker.
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Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country.
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: For geographic details see Geography and environment or Hawaiian Islands.
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Honolulu () is the capital of and the most populous census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Although Honolulu refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and the county are consolidated, known as the City and County of Honolulu, and the city and county is designated as the entire island. The City and County of Honolulu is the only incorporated city in Hawaii, as all other local government entities are administered at the county level. The population of the CDP was 371,657 at the 2000 census, while the population of the City and County was 909,863, making it the 57th-largest metropolitan area in the United States. Honolulu is also the most populous state capital relative to state population. In the Hawaiian language, Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter".
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Hyde Park, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States and seven miles (11 km) south of the Chicago Loop, is a Chicago neighborhood and one of 77 Chicago community areas. It is home to the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Art Center, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Oriental Institute and the Renaissance Society. It is formerly the name of a Township that included numerous other neighborhoods that have all been annexed by the city of Chicago.
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Illinois ( {{respell|-i-), is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. It is the most populous state in the Midwest region, however with 65% of its residents concentrated in the Chicago metropolitan area, most of the state has either a rural or a small town character. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and western Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is an important transportation hub; the Port of Chicago connects the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. As the "most average state", Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics, though the latter has not really been true since the early 1970s.
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India (), officially the Republic of India ( ; see also official names of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by Pakistan to the west; Bhutan, the People's Republic of China and Nepal to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands are in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share maritime border with Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea. India has a coastline of .
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Indonesia ( or ), officially the Republic of Indonesia (), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With a population of around 238 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, and has the world's largest population of Muslims. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies.
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(Punjabi, Pashto, {{lang-ur|) Islām ābād (Meaning "Abode of Islam") is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. The population of the city has increased from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.21 million in 2009. The Rawalpindi/Islamabad Metropolitan Area is the third largest in Pakistan with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants.
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Jakarta (; Indonesian: ), officially the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, it has an area of and a 2010 census count population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre. It is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The metropolitan area, Jabodetabek, is the second largest in the world. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. The city's name is derived from the Old Javanese word "Jayakarta" which translates as "victorious deed", "complete act", or "complete victory".
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Kenwood, located on the South Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the 77 well-defined Chicago community areas.
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Kisumu is a port city in western Kenya at , with a population of 355,024 (1999 census). It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya, the capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu District. It has no municipal charter. It is the largest city in Nyanza Province and second most important city after Kampala in the greater Lake Victoria basin.
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Kwame Raoul (born September 30, 1964) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2004. He is the Senate chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus.
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Libya ( ; Libyan vernacular: Lībya ; Amazigh: ), officially the '''Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya ( , also translated as Socialist People's Libyan Arab Great Jamahiriya'''), is a country located in North Africa. Bordering the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Libya lies between Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west.
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Los Angeles ( ; , Spanish for "The Angels") is the second most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of California and the western United States, with a population of 3.83 million within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Los Angeles extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of over 14.8 million and it is the 14th largest urban area in the world, affording it megacity status. The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is home to nearly 12.9 million residents while the broader Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside combined statistical area (CSA) contains nearly 17.8 million people. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most multicultural counties in the United States. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos" ().
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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, ) is an Executive Branch agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's civilian space program and aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA's self-described mission statement is to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research."
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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO ( ; ), also called the "(North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
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The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish and Norwegian: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.
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Norway (; Norwegian: (Bokmål) or (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.8 million. It is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. The majority of the country shares a border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south and Russia to the east; and Denmark lies south of its southern tip across the Skagerrak Strait. The capital city of Norway is Oslo. Norway's extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea, is home to its famous fjords.
http://wn.com/Norway -
http://wn.com/Nyang'oma_Kogelo -
Oslo ( or ) is the capital and largest city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III "Hardrada" of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish–Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania (briefly also spelt Kristiania). In 1925 the city reclaimed its original Norwegian name, Oslo. The diocese of Oslo is one of the five original dioceses in Norway, which originated around the year 1070.
http://wn.com/Oslo -
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.
http://wn.com/Oval_Office -
{{Infobox country
http://wn.com/Pakistan -
Riverdale, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located
http://wn.com/Riverdale_Chicago -
Roseland, located on the far south side of the city, is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It includes the neighborhoods of Fernwood, Princeton Park, Lilydale, West Chesterfield, Rosemoor, Sheldon Heights and West Roseland. Roseland was settled in the 1840s by Dutch immigrants who called the area "de Hooge Prairie", the High Prairie because it was built on higher, drier ground than the earlier Dutch settlement several miles further south of the Little Calumet River which was called "de Laage Prairie", the Low Prairie, now South Holland, Illinois.
http://wn.com/Roseland_Chicago -
Russia (; ), also officially known as the Russian Federation (), is a state in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the United States by the Bering Strait. At , Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 142 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 9 time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
http://wn.com/Russia -
South Shore is one of 77 well-defined community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. A predominately black neighborhood located along Chicago's southern lakefront, it has become more diverse in recent years. It is a relatively stable and gentrifying neighborhood that has been long neglected. Notable residents of this neighborhood include rapper Kanye West and First Lady Michelle Obama.
http://wn.com/South_Shore_Chicago -
#REDIRECTSouth Side (Chicago)
http://wn.com/South_Side_Chicago -
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. The extended Times Square area, also called the Theatre District, consists of the blocks between Sixth and Eighth Avenues from east to west, and West 40th and West 53rd Streets from south to north, making up the western part of the commercial area of Midtown Manhattan.
http://wn.com/Times_Square -
Turkey (), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
http://wn.com/Turkey -
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. President since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.
http://wn.com/White_House -
Wichita ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2008 estimated population of 366,046 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas. Wichita is located in south central Kansas on the Arkansas River.
http://wn.com/Wichita_Kansas
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Obama, Barack Filmography
- Rooted in Peace (2012) (actor, plays President of the United States)
- Stanley Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit (2011) (actor, plays Himself)
- Nuclear Tipping Point (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Motherland (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Fair Game? (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Atomic Jihad: Ahmadinejad's Coming War and Obama's Politics of Defeat (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- How Obama Won the West (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Barack Obama: Road to the White House (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Stand Up to Cancer (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- God Bless You Barack Obama? (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Got Healthcare? (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- What is the Electric Car? (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song: In Performance at the White House - Paul McCartney (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Big Fat Quiz of the Year: 2009 (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Cesky mir (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Climate Refugees (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Obama in NC: The Path to History (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Closer to the Dream (2010) (actor, plays Himself)
- Shark City (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.21) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Be the Change Inaugural Ball (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Becoming Barack (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Fall of the Republic: The Presidency of Barack H. Obama (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Get Schooled (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Get Schooled: You Have the Right (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- HouseQuake (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Inside the Obama White House (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Keeping the Peace (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Marching Band (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Mile High: How to Win... and Lose... the White House (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- President (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- President Obama: The Inauguration (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Presidentti Ahtisaaren Nobel-vuosi (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Right America: Feeling Wronged - Some Voices from the Campaign Trail (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.23) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Stand (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Stevie Wonder: In Performance at the White House - The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- The American Matrix: Age of Deception (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- 2009 Major League Baseball All-Star Game (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- The National Christmas Tree Lighting (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Obama Deception: The Mask Comes Off (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Young Guns (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Una periodista de a pie (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-01) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.99) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.89) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.72) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- A Call to Arms (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.71) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.69) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.42) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.29) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.28) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.27) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.20) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.2) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.17) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.15) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.138) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.137) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.135) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.133) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.123) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.117) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.115) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.114) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.108) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (#1.107) (2009) (actor, plays President, United States of America)
- (#1.104) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-01-26) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President, United States of America)
- (2009-01-29) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President, United States of America)
- (2009-02-06) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-02-07) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-03-06) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President of the United States of America)
- (2009-03-18) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-03-19) (2009) (actor, plays President, United States of America)
- (2009-03-20) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-03-23) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President)
- (2009-03-24) (2009) (actor, plays United States of America)
- (2009-03-25) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-03-26) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-03-27) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President: United States of America)
- (2009-03-28) (2009) (actor, plays Himself -President, United States of America)
- (2009-03-28) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President, United States of America)
- (2009-03-31) (2009) (actor, plays Himself - President, United States of America)
- (2009-04-01) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-02) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-04) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-06) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-07) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- Billie Jean King (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-06-02) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.28) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.66) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.96) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.95) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.92) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.53) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-04-14) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.40) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.30) (2009) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-01) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-30) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-01) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-02) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-03) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-04) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Barack Obama: The Power of Change (2008) (actor, plays Himself - Presidential Candidate)
- America Betrayed (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-31) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Swing State (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Teleflora Presents America's Favorite Mom (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-26) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- The California Democratic Debate (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-25) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Inspiration of Barack (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-24) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-24) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-04) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- US Election Night (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-02) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Yes We Can (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-28) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-03) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-06) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-03) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- A Mother's Promise: Barack Obama Bio Film (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Mother Dearest (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-27) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#2.2) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.35) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-22) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Portuguese Water Dog/Bernese Mountain Dog/Alaskan Malamute/Afghan Hound/Cairn Terrier (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-21) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-16) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-17) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-18) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-23) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-24) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-25) (2008) (actor, plays Himself - 'Pinhead')
- (2008-07-23) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-20) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-19) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-02) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-29) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-25) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-16) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-05) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-25) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-24) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-21) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-13) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-14) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-10) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-09) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-08) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-07) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-03) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-02) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-26) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-30) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-27) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-25) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-17) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-06) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-05) (2008) (actor, plays Himself - Voice on TV News)
- (2008-04-15) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-14) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-11) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- From the Corner (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Hype: The Obama Effect (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-05) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-03) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Lady Magdalene's (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-22) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Mike Gravel's Alternative Debate (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Democratic National Convention (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Citizen Kate (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-10) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-09) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- President Hollywood (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-07) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Russell & Ross: What the F*** Was All That About? (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- Saddleback Civil Forum (2008) (actor, plays Himself - US Presidential Candidate)
- Saturday Night Live Presidential Bash '08 (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-04) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-01) (2008) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-01-10) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-02-04) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-11) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- CNN Nevada Democratic Party Presidential Primary Debate (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-02-12) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-02-09) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Kleine Nachfeier der Fußball-EM (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Black Men: The Truth (2007) (actor, plays Himself - Democratic Presidential Candidate)
- The Visible Vote '08- A Presidential Forum (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Sand and Sorrow (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Mars: The New Evidence (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Senator Obama Goes to Africa (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Asteroid Attack (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- All-American Presidential Forums on PBS Moderated by Tavis Smiley (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-04-09) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-02-12) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Election But Were Afraid to Ask (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-02-10) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-28) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-04) (2007) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-12-01) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-04-02) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-05-12) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-10-22) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- ...So Goes the Nation (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-02-17) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- Legends Ball (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-04-24) (2006) (actor, plays Chairman's Award Honoree)
- (2006-10-23) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-01-22) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-01-29) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-10-18) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2006-03-12) (2006) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-06-06) (2005) (actor, plays Himself - Guest)
- 36th NAACP Image Awards (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- 36th NAACP Image Awards (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Harlem Globetrotters: The Team That Changed the World (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- The End of Time: Part One (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2005-01-18) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2005-09-27) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2005-01-11) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#5.76) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- Hillary Clinton/John Edwards/Barack Obama (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- Paul Muldoon (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2005-11-07) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2005-01-19) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-07-05) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-12-01) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-21) (2005) (actor, plays Himself)
- The Biggest Loser Couples Finale (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2004-11-26) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#2.11) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2004-09-13) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-18) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- Tanner on Tanner (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#9.5) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-20) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-01-29) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2010-01-28) (2004) (actor, plays Himself - Previous Guest)
- (2004-11-02) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2004-07-27) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2004-11-03) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2004-07-29) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1) (2004) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-10-29) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-15) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#7.9) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-03-18) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-05) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2003-07-24) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-28) (2003) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-19) (2002) (actor, plays Barack Obama)
- (2002-11-25) (2002) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#10.40) (2001) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#10.36) (2000) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2010-09-09) (2000) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1233) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1234) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1232) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#9.32) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1235) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#1.1236) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-30) (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- Where's George? (1999) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2010-07-29) (1997) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-09-27) (1997) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-22) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-25) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-26) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-27) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-29) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-03) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-05) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-06) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-21) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-10) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-12) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-13) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-14) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-17) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-19) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-20) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-27) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-02) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-03) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-16) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-17) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-21) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-23) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-29) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-30) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-02) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-07) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-08) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-09) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-13) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-14) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-15) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-07-24) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-04-30) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-09) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-10) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-12) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-13) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-16) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-19) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-23) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-24) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-26) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-07) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-29) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2010-10-27) (1996) (actor, plays Himself - Iawa Caucus Winner)
- (2007-12-13) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-17) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-19) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-20) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-26) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-27) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-12-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-04) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-07) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-09) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-10) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-14) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-16) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-21) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-22) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-25) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-30) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-31) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-01) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-04) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-05) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-06) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-07) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-08) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-13) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-14) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-15) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-19) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-20) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-21) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-15) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-16) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-15) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-21) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-22) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-25) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-26) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-27) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-28) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-01) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-03) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-04) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-05) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-08) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-09) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-10) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-12) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-14) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-15) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-16) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-17) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-18) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- Talk Radio and the Presidential Election (1996) (actor, plays Himself - Top Ten List Presenter)
- (2009-09-25) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-11) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-07-10) (1996) (actor, plays Himself - Guest)
- (2008-07-09) (1996) (actor, plays Himself - Top Ten List Presenter)
- (2008-07-08) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-08-22) (1996) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-02-20) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#15.51) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#17.10) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-30) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#16.7) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#15.107) (1993) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#19.25) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#33.66) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- From D.C., with Love (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- White House, Glass House (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#35.21) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.112) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.13) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.16) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.17) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.23) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.24) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.5) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.60) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.65) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.73) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.8) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.80) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#18.85) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#19.15) (1992) (actor, plays Himself - Om överlevande och offer)
- (#19.28) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#19.4) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#19.6) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#35.45) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2007-10-16) (1992) (actor, plays Himself - President)
- (2009-03-19) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-05-28) (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- Haitikatastrofen (1992) (actor, plays Himself)
- (#35.2) (1990) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-05) (1990) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-26) (1987) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2010-01-06) (1985) (actor, plays Himself)
- Obama's Deal (1983) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-12-14) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-19) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-17) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-05) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-05-21) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-03-05) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-28) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-26) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-25) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-14) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-02-08) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-29) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-08) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-01-04) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-11-18) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-02-26) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-02-04) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-02-02) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-01-20) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-01-15) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-12-30) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-11-26) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2009-12-16) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-17) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-10) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-09) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-10-07) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-09-30) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-29) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-28) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-08-22) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
- (2008-06-27) (1981) (actor, plays Himself)
Barack Obama
Releases by album:
Album releases
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 55:05
- Published: 07 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:54
- Published: 09 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: BarackObamadotcom
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:38
- Published: 08 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: BarackObamadotcom
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 17:38
- Published: 02 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:41
- Published: 07 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:24
- Published: 02 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:40
- Published: 05 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 13:48
- Published: 01 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:49
- Published: 29 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:35
- Published: 02 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:09
- Published: 25 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:28
- Published: 02 May 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Published: 19 Sep 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: BadLipReading
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:08
- Published: 21 Oct 2010
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:33
- Published: 21 Oct 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:55
- Published: 02 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:14
- Published: 26 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: Thesharktank1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:03
- Published: 05 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 08 Dec 2011
- Author: telegraphtv
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:17
- Published: 09 Dec 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: whitehouse
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:01
- Published: 17 Nov 2011
- Uploaded: 09 Dec 2011
- Author: Akaczynski1
size: 8.5Kb
size: 4.5Kb
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Iran files complaint over purported US drone
Al Jazeera
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Euro crisis summit: The night Europe changed
BBC News
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Before Voting, If Only Death Had Been Before Their Own Eyes
WorldNews.com
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Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza civilians
Sydney Morning Herald
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Italian police arrest alleged Mafia boss hiding in bunker
CNN
- 2005 ALCS
- A New Beginning
- Abbottabad
- ABC News
- Abraham Lincoln
- African American
- Al Arabiya
- Al Jazeera
- Alan Keyes
- Alexi Giannoulias
- American Civil War
- Ann Dunham
- anthropology
- apartheid
- Arab League
- Ares I
- Ares V
- Associate attorney
- Associated Press
- audiobook
- Author
- Bachelor of Arts
- Barack Obama, Sr.
- Bay Windows
- Ben Bernanke
- Benjamin Netanyahu
- Bernie Mac
- Bill Clinton
- black church
- Bloomberg L.P.
- Bo (dog)
- Bobby Rush
- BP
- Bush tax cuts
- Cairo University
- Camp David
- Cannabis (drug)
- Carol Moseley Braun
- caucus
- Chicago
- Chicago Bears
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago White Sox
- Christian
- Christianity
- Christianity Today
- Chrysler
- cocaine
- Colorado
- Columbia University
- Community organizing
- Constitutional law
- counter-terrorism
- David Axelrod
- David D. McKiernan
- David Petraeus
- David Souter
- Daytime Emmy Award
- debt ceiling
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Coordinates | 48°42′″N44°31′″N |
---|---|
Honorific-prefix | The Honorable |
Name | Barack Obama |
Alt | A portrait shot of Barack Obama, looking straight ahead. He has short black hair, and is wearing a dark navy blazer with a blue striped tie over a light blue collared shirt. In the background are two flags hanging from separate flagpoles: the American flag, and the flag of the Executive Office of the President. |
Office | 44th President of the United States |
Vicepresident | Joe Biden |
Term start | January 20, 2009 |
Predecessor | George W. Bush |
Jr/sr2 | United States Senator |
State2 | Illinois |
Term start2 | January 3, 2005 |
Term end2 | November 16, 2008 |
Predecessor2 | Peter Fitzgerald |
Successor2 | Roland Burris |
State senate3 | Illinois |
District3 | 13th |
Term start3 | January 8, 1997 |
Term end3 | November 4, 2004 |
Predecessor3 | Alice Palmer |
Successor3 | Kwame Raoul |
Birth name | Barack Hussein Obama II |
Birth date | August 04, 1961 |
Birth place | Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. |
Party | Democratic |
Spouse | Michelle Robinson (1992–present) |
Children | Malia (b.1998) Sasha (b.2001) |
Residence | White House (Official)Chicago, Illinois (Private) |
Alma mater | Occidental CollegeColumbia University (B.A.)Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
Profession | Community organizerLawyerConstitutional law professorAuthor |
Religion | Christianity |
Signature | Barack Obama signature.svg |
Signature alt | Barack Obama |
Website | The White HouseBarack Obama@BarackObama (Twitter)Barack Obama (Facebook)Barack Obama (Google Plus) |
Footnotes | }} |
Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.
Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act in 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act and the Budget Control Act of 2011. In foreign policy, he gradually withdrew combat troops from Iraq and announced that all troops would be home by the end of 2011, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered enforcement of the UN-sanctioned no-fly zone over Libya, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. In April 2011, Obama declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election.
Early life and career
Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital (now called Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children) in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is the first President to have been born in Hawaii. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas and was of English and Irish descent. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a Luo from Nyang'oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship. The couple married on February 2, 1961, separated when Obama Sr. went to Harvard University on scholarship, and divorced in 1964. Obama Sr. remarried and returned to Kenya, visiting Barack in Hawaii only once, in 1971. He died in an automobile accident in 1982.After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian student Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Suharto, a military leader in Soetoro's home country, came to power in 1967, all Indonesian students studying abroad were recalled, and the family moved to the Menteng neighborhood of Jakarta. From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School. Because of his childhood background, today Obama is quite popular in Indonesia.
In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, and with the aid of a scholarship he attended Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, from the fifth grade until his graduation from high school in 1979. Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972, remaining there until 1977 when she went back to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. She finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year, before dying of ovarian cancer.
Of his early childhood, Obama recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind." He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. Reflecting later on his formative years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear." Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind." At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama identified his high-school drug use as a great moral failure.
Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, he made his first public speech, calling for Occidental's disinvestment from South Africa due to its policy of apartheid. In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and sister Maya, and visited the families of college friends in Pakistan and India for three weeks.
Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation, then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Chicago community organizer and Harvard Law School
Two years after graduating, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from one to thirteen. He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. He returned in August 2006 for a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.In late 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School. He was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review at the end of his first year, and president of the journal in his second year. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as an associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.
University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney
In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then served as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years—as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004—teaching constitutional law.From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to Crain's Chicago Business naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.
From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project; and of the Joyce Foundation. Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws. He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.
Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the general election, and was reelected again in 2002. In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.
In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms. Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Senate campaign
In May 2002, Obama commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 2004 U.S. Senate race; he created a campaign committee, began raising funds and lined up political media consultant David Axelrod by August 2002, and formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.
Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war. Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun to not participate in the election resulted in wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates. In the March 2004 primary election, Obama won in an unexpected landslide—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.
In July 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, and it was seen by 9.1 million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Democratic Party.
Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004. Six weeks later, Alan Keyes accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination to replace Ryan. In the November 2004 general election, Obama won with 70% of the vote.
U.S. Senator: 2005–2008
Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2005, becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus. CQ Weekly characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007. Obama announced on November 13, 2008, that he would resign his Senate seat on November 16, 2008, before the start of the lame-duck session, to focus on his transition period for the presidency.
Legislation
Obama cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. He introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons; and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending. On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama—along with Senators Tom Carper, Tom Coburn, and John McCain—introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.
Obama sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Senate after being heavily modified in committee. Regarding tort reform, Obama voted for the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which grants immunity from civil liability to telecommunications companies complicit with NSA warrantless wiretapping operations.
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. In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007. Obama also introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, and the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, neither of which has been signed into law.
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges. This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008. He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which has not passed committee; and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism. Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.
Committees
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006. In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He met with Mahmoud Abbas before Abbas became President of the Palestinian Authority, and gave a speech at the University of Nairobi condemning corruption within the Kenyan government.
Presidential campaigns
2008 presidential campaign
On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care, in a campaign that projected themes of "hope" and "change".
A large number of candidates entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. The field narrowed to a duel between Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process but with Obama gaining a steady lead in pledged delegates due to better long-range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing in caucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules. On June 7, 2008, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama.
On August 23, Obama announced his selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate. Biden was selected from a field speculated to include former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Hillary Clinton called for her delegates and supporters to endorse Obama, and she and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches in support of Obama. Obama delivered his acceptance speech, not at the convention center where the Democratic National Convention was held, but at Invesco Field at Mile High to a crowd of over 75,000 and presented his policy goals; the speech was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide.
During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.
McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate and the two engaged in three presidential debates in September and October 2008. On November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain. Obama won 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7%. He became the first African American to be elected president. Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.
2012 presidential campaign
On April 4, 2011, Obama announced his re-election campaign for 2012 in a video titled "It Begins with Us" that he posted on his website and filed election papers with the Federal Election Commission.
Presidency
First days
The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President, and Joe Biden as Vice President, took place on January 20, 2009. In his first few days in office Obama issued executive orders and presidential memoranda directing the U.S. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq. He ordered the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp "as soon as practicable and no later than" January 2010, but during his first two years in office he has been unable to persuade Congress to appropriate funds required to accomplish the shutdown. Obama reduced the secrecy given to presidential records and changed procedures to promote disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. He also reversed George W. Bush's ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions.
Domestic policy
The first bill signed into law by Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits. Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million children currently uninsured.In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy which had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research. Obama stated that he believed "sound science and moral values ... are not inconsistent" and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research.
Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his Presidency. Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by Obama on May 26, 2009, to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter, was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice. Elena Kagan, nominated by Obama on May 10, 2010, to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, was confirmed on August 5, 2010, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three, for the first time in American history.
On September 30, 2009, the Obama administration proposed new regulations on power plants, factories and oil refineries in an attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to curb global warming.
On October 8, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a measure that expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, a reconciliation bill which ends the process of the federal government giving subsidies to private banks to give out federally insured loans, increases the Pell Grant scholarship award, and makes changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
In a major space policy speech in April 2010, Obama announced a planned change in direction at NASA, the U.S. space agency. He ended plans for a return of human spaceflight to the moon and ended development of the Ares I rocket, Ares V rocket and Constellation program. He is focusing funding (which is expected to rise modestly) on Earth science projects and a new rocket type, as well as research and development for an eventual manned mission to Mars. Missions to the International Space Station are expected to continue until 2020.
On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, a bill that provides for repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993 that has prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces. Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" had been a key campaign promise that Obama had made during the 2008 presidential campaign.
On January 25, 2011, in his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama focused strongly on the themes of education and innovation, stressing the importance of innovation economics in working to make the United States more competitive globally. Among other plans and goals, Obama spoke of a enacting a five-year freeze in domestic spending, eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans, banning congressional earmarks, and reducing healthcare costs. Looking to the future, Obama promised that by 2015, the United States would have 1 million electric vehicles on the road and by 2035, clean-energy sources would be providing 80 percent of U.S. electricity.
Economic policy
On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession. The act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals, which is being distributed over the course of several years.thumb|President Barack Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.]] In March, Obama's Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, took further steps to manage the financial crisis, including introducing the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets, which contains provisions for buying up to $2 trillion in depreciated real estate assets. Obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry in March 2009, renewing loans for General Motors and Chrysler to continue operations while reorganizing. Over the following months the White House set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including the sale of Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat and a reorganization of GM giving the U.S. government a temporary 60% equity stake in the company, with the Canadian government shouldering a 12% stake. In June 2009, dissatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus, Obama called on his cabinet to accelerate the investment. He signed into law the Car Allowance Rebate System, known colloquially as "Cash for Clunkers", that temporarily boosted the economy.
Although spending and loan guarantees from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department authorized by the Bush and Obama administrations totaled about $11.5 trillion, only $3 trillion had actually been spent by the end of November 2009. However, Obama and the Congressional Budget Office predict that the 2010 budget deficit will be $1.5 trillion or 10.6% of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the 2009 deficit of $1.4 trillion or 9.9% of GDP. For 2011, the administration predicted the deficit will slightly shrink to $1.34 trillion, while the 10-year deficit will increase to $8.53 trillion or 80% of GDP. The most recent increase in the U.S. debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion was signed into law on February 12, 2010. On August 2, 2011, after a lengthy congressional debate over whether to raise the nation's debt limit, Obama signed the bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011. The legislation enforces limits on discretionary spending until 2021, establishes a procedure to increase the debt limit, creates a Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose further deficit reduction with a stated goal of achieving at least $1.5 trillion in budgetary savings over 10 years, and establishes automatic procedures for reducing spending by as much as $1.2 trillion if legislation originating with the new joint select committee does not achieve such savings. By passing the legislation, Congress was able to prevent an unprecedented U.S. government default on its obligations. The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.1% and averaging 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Following a decrease to 9.7% in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year. Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8%, which was less than the average of 1.9% experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries. GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter. Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year. In July 2010, the Federal Reserve expressed that although economic activity continued to increase, its pace had slowed and its Chairman, Ben Bernanke, stated that the economic outlook was "unusually uncertain." Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9% in 2010.
The Congressional Budget Office and a broad range of economists credit Obama's stimulus plan for economic growth. The CBO released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1–2.1 million, while conceding that "It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package." Although an April 2010 survey of members of the National Association for Business Economics showed an increase in job creation (over a similar January survey) for the first time in two years, 73% of the 68 respondents believed that the stimulus bill has had no impact on employment.
Within a month of the 2010 midterm elections, Obama announced a compromise deal with the Congressional Republican leadership that included a temporary, two-year extension of the 2001 and 2003 income tax rates, a one-year payroll tax reduction, continuation of unemployment benefits, and a new rate and exemption amount for estate taxes. The compromise overcame opposition from some in both parties, and the resulting $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress before Obama signed it on December 17, 2010.
Health care reform
Obama called for Congress to pass legislation reforming health care in the United States, a key campaign promise and a top legislative goal. He proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured, to cap premium increases, and to allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. His proposal was to spend $900 billion over 10 years and include a government insurance plan, also known as the public option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. It would also make it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage for pre-existing conditions, and require every American carry health coverage. The plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans.
On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,017-page plan for overhauling the U.S. health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of 2009. After much public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over his administration's proposals. In March 2009, Obama lifted a ban on stem cell research.
On November 7, 2009, a health care bill featuring the public option was passed in the House. On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its own bill—without a public option—on a party-line vote of 60–39. On March 21, 2010, the health care bill passed by the Senate in December was passed in the House by a vote of 219 to 212. Obama signed the bill into law on March 23, 2010.
Gulf of Mexico oil spill
On April 20, 2010, an explosion destroyed an offshore drilling rig at the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, causing a major sustained oil leak. The well's operator, BP, initiated a containment and cleanup plan, and began drilling two relief wells intended to stop the flow. Obama visited the Gulf on May 2 among visits by members of his cabinet, and again on May 28 and June 4. He began a federal investigation and formed a bipartisan commission to recommend new safety standards, after a review by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and concurrent Congressional hearings. On May 27, he announced a 6-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits and leases, pending regulatory review. As multiple efforts by BP failed, some in the media and public expressed confusion and criticism over various aspects of the incident, and stated a desire for more involvement by Obama and the federal government.
Foreign policy
In February and March, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in U.S. foreign relations with Russia and Europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration. Obama attempted to reach out to Arab leaders by granting his first interview to an Arab cable TV network, Al Arabiya.On March 19, Obama continued his outreach to the Muslim world, releasing a New Year's video message to the people and government of Iran. This attempt at outreach was rebuffed by the Iranian leadership. In April, Obama gave a speech in Ankara, Turkey, which was well received by many Arab governments. On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt calling for "a new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States and promoting Middle East peace.
On June 26, 2009, in response to the Iranian government's actions towards protesters following Iran's 2009 presidential election, Obama said: "The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. We see it and we condemn it." On July 7, while in Moscow, he responded to a Vice President Biden comment on a possible Israeli military strike on Iran by saying: "We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East."
On September 24, 2009, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
In March 2010, Obama took a public stance against plans by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue building Jewish housing projects in predominantly Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. During the same month, an agreement was reached with the administration of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new pact reducing the number of long-range nuclear weapons in the arsenals of both countries by about one-third. The New START treaty was signed by Obama and Medvedev in April 2010, and was ratified by the U.S. Senate in December 2010.
Iraq War
During his presidential transition, President-elect Obama announced that he would retain the incumbent Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, in his Cabinet.
On February 27, 2009, Obama declared that combat operations would end in Iraq within 18 months. His remarks were made to a group of Marines preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. Obama said, "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." The Obama administration scheduled the withdrawal of combat troops to be completed by August 2010, decreasing troops levels from 142,000 while leaving a transitional force of 35,000 to 50,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011. On August 19, 2010, the last United States combat brigade exited Iraq. The plan is to transition the mission of the remaining troops from combat operations to counter-terrorism and the training, equipping, and advising of Iraqi security forces. On August 31, 2010, Obama announced that the United States combat mission in Iraq was over. On October 21, 2011 President Obama announced that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq in time to be, "home for the holidays."
War in Afghanistan
Early in his presidency, Obama moved to bolster U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan. He announced an increase to U.S. troop levels of 17,000 in February 2009 to "stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan", an area he said had not received the "strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires". He replaced the military commander in Afghanistan, General David D. McKiernan, with former Special Forces commander Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal in May 2009, indicating that McChrystal's Special Forces experience would facilitate the use of counterinsurgency tactics in the war. On December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan. He also proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date. McChrystal was replaced by David Petraeus in June 2010 after McChrystal's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article.
Israel
During the initial years of the Obama administration, the U.S. increased military cooperation with Israel, including a record number of U.S. troops participating in military exercises in the country, increased military aid, and the re-establishment of the U.S.-Israeli Joint Political Military Group and the Defense Policy Advisory Group. It was reported high-ranking defense officials from both countries had been making an unusual number of trips between the two countries, including Ehud Barak. Part of the military aid increase in 2010 was to fund Israel's missile defense shield. Before his retirement in September 2011, Adm. Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made four trips to Israel during his four-year tenure, two of them in 2010. Prior to 2007 no Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had done so for over ten years.In 2011, Obama's Ambassador to the United Nations vetoed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements, with the U.S. the only nation on the Security Council doing so. Like previous American presidential administrations, Obama supports the two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the 1967 borders with land swaps.
Libya
In March 2011, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi advanced on rebels across Libya, formal calls for a no-fly zone came in from around the world, including Europe, the Arab League, and a resolution passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In response to the unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 on March 17, Gaddafi who had previously vowed to "show no mercy" to the citizens of Benghazi—announced an immediate cessation of military activities, yet reports came in that his forces continued shelling Misrata. The next day, on Obama's orders, the U.S. military took a lead role in air strikes to destroy the Libyan government's air defense capabilities in order to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly-zone, including the use of Tomahawk missiles, B-2 Spirits, and fighter jets. Six days later, on March 25, by unanimous vote of all of its 28 members, NATO took over leadership of the effort, dubbed Operation Unified Protector. Some Representatives questioned whether Obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath.
|filename=050111 Osama Bin Laden Death Statement audioonly.ogg |title=President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011. |description= }}
Osama bin Laden
Starting with information received in July 2010, intelligence developed by the CIA over the next several months determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad. CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to President Obama in March 2011. Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers and computer drives and disks from the compound. Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing, and buried at sea several hours later. Within minutes of the President's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square. Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and from many countries around the world.
2010 midterm election
Obama called the November 2, 2010 election, where the Democratic Party lost 63 seats in, and control of, the House of Representatives, "humbling" and a "shellacking". He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.
Cultural and political image
Obama's family history, early life and upbringing, and Ivy League education differ markedly from those of African-American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. Obama is also not a descendant of American slaves. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong." Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, saying: "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."Obama is frequently referred to as an exceptional orator. During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama has delivered a series of weekly Internet video addresses.
According to the Gallup Organization, Obama began his presidency with a 68% approval rating before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41% in August 2010, a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office. He experienced a small poll bounce shortly after the death of Osama bin Laden, which lasted until around June 2011, when his approval numbers dropped back to where they were prior to the operation. Polls show strong support for Obama in other countries, and before being elected President he has met with prominent foreign figures including then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italy's Democratic Party leader and then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
According to a May 2009 poll conducted by Harris Interactive for France 24 and the International Herald Tribune, Obama was rated as the most popular world leader, as well as the one figure most people would pin their hopes on for pulling the world out of the economic downturn.
Obama won Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for abridged audiobook versions of Dreams from My Father in February 2006 and for The Audacity of Hope in February 2008. His concession speech after the New Hampshire primary was set to music by independent artists as the music video "Yes We Can", which was viewed 10 million times on YouTube in its first month and received a Daytime Emmy Award. In December 2008, Time magazine named Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments".
On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". Obama accepted this award in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2009, with "deep gratitude and great humility." The award drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures. Obama is the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the third to become a Nobel laureate while in office.
In a 2010 Siena College poll of 238 presidential scholars, Obama was ranked 15th out of 43, with high ratings for imagination, communication ability and intelligence and a low rating for background (family, education and experience).
Family and personal life
In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "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." Obama has a half-sister with whom he was raised, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband and seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family – six of them living. Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham, until her death on November 2, 2008, two days before his election to the Presidency. Obama also has roots in Ireland; he met with his Irish cousins in Moneygall in May 2011. In Dreams from My Father, Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Obama's great-uncle served in the 89th Division that overran Ohrdruf, the first of the Nazi concentration camps to be liberated by U.S. troops during World War II.
Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years. Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian at the conversational level, which he learned during his four childhood years in Jakarta. He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.
Obama is a well known supporter of the Chicago White Sox, and threw out the first pitch at the 2005 ALCS when he was still a senator. In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the all star game while wearing a White Sox jacket. He is also primarily a Chicago Bears fan in the NFL, but in his childhood and adolesence was a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and recently rooted for them ahead of their victory in Super Bowl XLIII 12 days after Obama took office as President.
In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson 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 requests to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on June 10, 2001. The Obama daughters attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the private Sidwell Friends School. The Obamas have a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.
Applying the proceeds of a book deal, the family moved in 2005 from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood, Chicago. The purchase of an adjacent lot and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend Tony Rezko attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.
In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million. Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million—up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.
Obama tried to quit smoking several times, sometimes using nicotine replacement therapy, and, in early 2010, Michelle Obama said that he had successfully quit smoking.
Religious views
As he described in The Audacity of Hope, Obama is a Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote that he "was not raised in a religious household". He described 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 described 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". Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change".In an interview with the evangelical periodical Christianity Today, Obama stated: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life."
On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views saying "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."
Obama was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ, a black liberation church, in 1988, and was an active member there for two decades. Obama resigned from Trinity during the Presidential campaign after controversial statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright became public. After a prolonged effort to find a church to attend regularly in Washington, Obama announced in June 2009 that his primary place of worship would be the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David.
Notes
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References
Further reading
External links
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af:Barack Obama als:Barack Obama am:ባራክ ኦባማ ang:Barack Obama ab:Барақ Обама ar:باراك أوباما an:Barack Obama arc:ܒܪܐܩ ܐܘܒܐܡܐ ast:Barack Obama gn:Barack Obama ay:Barack Obama az:Barak Obama bm:Barack Obama bn:বারাক ওবামা bjn:Barack Obama zh-min-nan:Barack Obama ba:Барак Обама be:Барак Абама be-x-old:Барак Абама bh:बराक ओबामा bcl:Barack Obama bi:Barak Obama bg:Барак Обама bar:Barack Obama bo:བ་རག་ཨོ་པྰ་མ། bs:Barack Obama br:Barack Obama ca:Barack Hussein Obama cv:Барак Обама ceb:Barack Obama cs:Barack Obama cbk-zam:Barack Obama co:Barack Obama cy:Barack Obama da:Barack Obama pdc:Barack Obama de:Barack Obama dv:ބަރަކް އޮބާމާ nv:Hastiin alą́ąjįʼ dahsidáhígíí Barack Obama dsb:Barack Obama et:Barack Obama el:Μπαράκ Ομπάμα eml:Barack Obama myv:Обамань Барак es:Barack Obama eo:Barack Obama ext:Barack Obama eu:Barack Obama fa:باراک اوباما fo:Barack Obama fr:Barack Obama fy:Barack Obama fur:Barack Obama ga:Barack Obama gv:Barack Obama gd:Barack Obama gl:Barack Obama gan:奧巴馬 hak:Barack Obama ko:버락 오바마 ha:Barack Obama haw:Barack Obama hy:Բարաք Օբամա hi:बराक ओबामा hsb:Barack Obama hr:Barack Obama io:Barack Obama ilo:Barack Obama id:Barack Obama ia:Barack Obama ie:Barack Obama os:Обама, Барак is:Barack Obama it:Barack Obama he:ברק אובמה jv:Barack Obama kl:Barack Obama kn:ಬರಾಕ್ ಒಬಾಮ pam:Barack Obama ka:ბარაკ ობამა kk:Барак Обама kw:Barack Obama rw:Barack Obama sw:Barack Obama ht:Barack Obama ku:Barack Obama ky:Барак Хусеин Обама lo:ບາຣັກ ໂອບາມາ ltg:Baraks Obama la:Baracus Obama lv:Baraks Obama lb:Barack Obama lt:Barack Obama li:Barack Obama ln:Barack Obama jbo:byRAK.obamas lmo:Barack Obama hu:Barack Obama mk:Барак Обама mg:Barack Obama ml:ബറാക്ക് ഒബാമ mt:Barack Obama mi:Barack Obama mr:बराक ओबामा arz:باراك اوباما mzn:باراک اوباما ms:Barack Obama mn:Барак Обама my:ဘာရတ်အိုဘားမား nah:Barack Obama na:Barack Obama nl:Barack Obama nds-nl:Barack Obama ne:बाराक ओबामा ja:バラク・オバマ nap:Barack Obama no:Barack Obama nn:Barack Obama nrm:Barack Obama nov:Barack Obama oc:Barack Obama mhr:Обама, Барак uz:Barack Obama pa:ਬਰਾਕ ਓਬਾਮਾ pag:Barack Obama pnb:بارک اوبامہ pap:Barack Obama ps:باراک حسين اوباما km:បារ៉ាក់ អូបាម៉ា pms:Barack Obama tpi:Barack Obama nds:Barack Obama pl:Barack Obama pt:Barack Obama crh:Barak Obama ksh:Barack Obama ro:Barack Obama rm:Barack Obama qu:Barack Obama ru:Обама, Барак sah:Барак Обама se:Barack Obama sc:Barack Obama sco:Barack Obama nso:Barack Obama sq:Barack Obama scn:Barack Obama si:බැරැක් ඔබාමා simple:Barack Obama sk:Barack Obama sl:Barack Obama szl:Barack Obama so:Barack Obama ckb:باراک ئۆباما srn:Barack Obama sr:Барак Обама sh:Barack Obama su:Barack Obama fi:Barack Obama sv:Barack Obama tl:Barack Obama ta:பராக் ஒபாமா roa-tara:Barack Obama tt:Baraq Husseyın Obama II te:బరాక్ ఒబామా tet:Barack Obama th:บารัก โอบามา tg:Барак Ҳусейн Обама tr:Barack Obama tk:Barak Obama uk:Барак Обама ur:بارک اوبامہ ug:باراك ئوباما vec:Barack Obama vi:Barack Obama wa:Barack Obama vls:Barack Obama war:Barack Obama wo:Barack Obama wuu:巴拉克·奥巴马 yi:באראק אבאמא yo:Barack Obama zh-yue:奧巴馬 diq:Barack Obama zea:Barack Obama bat-smg:Barack Obama zh:贝拉克·奥巴马
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