Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Lip
latin	labia oris
system	|non visible organ
artery	inferior labial, superior labial
vein	inferior labial, superior labial
nerve	frontal, infraorbital
dorlandspre	l_01
dorlandssuf	12473861 }}

Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be erogenous when used in kissing and other acts of intimacy.

Anatomical basics of the human lip

One differentiates between the upper (''Labium superius'') and lower lip (''Labium inferius''). The lower lip is usually somewhat larger. The border between the lips and the surrounding skin is referred to as the vermillion border, or simply the vermilion. The vertical groove on the upper lip is known as the philtrum.

The skin of the lip, with three to five cellular layers, is very thin compared to typical face skin, which has up to 16 layers. With light skin color, the lip skin contains fewer melanocytes (cells which produce melanin pigment , which give skin its color). Because of this, the blood vessels appear through the skin of the lips, which leads to their notable red coloring. With darker skin color this effect is less prominent, as in this case the skin of the lips contains more melanin and thus is visually darker. The skin of the lip forms the border between the exterior skin of the face, and the interior mucous membrane of the inside of the mouth.

The lip skin is not hairy, and does not have sweat glands or sebaceous glands. Therefore it does not have the usual protection layer of sweat and body oils which keep the skin smooth, inhibit pathogens, and regulate warmth. For these reasons, the lips dry out faster and become chapped more easily.

Anatomy in detail

The skin of the lips is stratified squamous epithelium. The mucous membrane is represented by a large area in the sensory cortex, and is therefore highly sensitive. The ''Frenulum Labii Inferioris'' is the frenulum of the lower lip. The ''Frenulum Labii Superioris'' is the frenulum of the upper lip.

Sensory nerve supply

Trigeminal nerve

* The infraorbital nerve is a branch of the maxillary branch. It supplies not only the upper lip, but much of the skin of the face between the upper lip and the lower eyelid, except for the bridge of the nose.

* The mental nerve is a branch of the mandibular branch ( via the inferior alveolar nerve). It supplies the skin and mucous membrane of the lower lip and labial gingiva (gum) anteriorly.

Blood supply

The facial artery is one of the six non-terminal branches of the external carotid artery. It supplies the lips by its superior and inferior labial branches, each of which bifurcate and anastomose with their companion artery from the other side.

Muscles acting on the lips

The muscles acting on the lips are considered part of the muscles of facial expression. All muscles of facial expression are derived from the mesoderm of the second pharyngeal arch, and are therefore supplied (motor supply) by the nerve of the second pharyngeal arch, the facial nerve (7th cranial nerve). The muscles of facial expression are all specialized members of the panniculus carnosus, which attach to the dermis and so wrinkle, or dimple the overlying skin. Functionally, the muscles of facial expression are arranged in groups around the orbits, nose and mouth.

The muscles acting on the lips:

Sphincters of the oral orifice

*Buccinator

*Orbicularis oris

Anchor point for several muscles

*Modiolus

Lip elevation

*Levator labii superioris

*levator labii superioris alaeque nasi

*Levator anguli oris

*Zygomaticus minor

*Zygomaticus major

Lip depression

*Risorius

*Depressor anguli oris

*Depressor labii inferioris

*Mentalis

Functions of the lips

Food intake

Because they have their own muscles and bordering muscles, the lips are easily movable. Lips are used for eating functions, like holding food or to get it in the mouth. In addition, lips serve to close the mouth airtight shut, to hold food and drink inside, and to keep out unwanted objects. Through making a narrow funnel with the lips, the suction of the mouth is increased. This suction is essential for babies to breast feed. Lips can also be used to suck in other contexts, such as sucking on a straw to drink liquids.

Articulation

The lips serve for creating different sounds - mainly the labial, bilabial, and labiodental consonant sounds - and thus create an important part of the speech apparatus. The lips enable whistling and the performing of wind instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet, flute and saxophone.

Tactile organ

The lip has many nerve endings and reacts as part of the tactile (touch) senses. Lips are very sensitive to touch, warmth, and cold. It is therefore an important aid for exploring unknown objects for babies and toddlers.

Erogenous zone

Because of their high number of nerve endings, the lips are an erogenous zone. The lips therefore play a crucial role in kissing and other acts of intimacy.

A woman's lips are also a visible expression of her fertility. In studies performed on the science of human attraction, psychologists have concluded that a woman's facial and sexual attractiveness is closely linked to the makeup of her hormones during puberty and development. Contrary to the effects of testosterone on a man's facial structure, the effects of a woman's oestrogen levels serve to maintain a relatively "childlike" and youthful facial structure during puberty and during final maturation. It has been shown that the more oestrogen a woman has, the larger her eyes and the fuller her lips. Surveys performed by sexual psychologists have also found that universally, men find a woman's full lips to be more sexually attractive than lips that are less so. A woman's lips are therefore sexually attractive to males because they serve as a biological indicator of a woman's health and fertility. As such, a woman's lipstick (or collagen lip enhancement) takes advantage of this fact by "tricking" men into thinking that a woman has more oestrogen than she actually has, and thus that she is more fertile and attractive.

Lip size is linked to sexual attraction in both men and women. Women are attracted to men with masculine lips, that are more middle size and not too big or too small; they are to be rugged and sensual. In general, the researchers found that a small nose, big eyes and voluptuous lips are sexually attractive both in men and women.

Facial expressions

The lips visibly express emotions such as a smile or frown. Lips can also be made pouty when whining, or perky to be provocative.

Symbolic meaning

Lips are often viewed as a symbol for sensuality and sexuality. This has many origins; above all, the lips are a very sensitive erogenous and tactile organ. Furthermore, in many cultures of the world, a woman's mouth and lips are veiled because of their representative association with the vulva, and because of their role as a woman's secondary sexual organ.

As part of the mouth, the lips are also associated with the symbolism associated with the mouth as orifice by which food is taken in. The lips are also linked symbolically to neonatal psychology (see for example oral stage of the psychology according to Sigmund Freud).

Changes to the lip

One of the most frequent changes of the lips is a blue coloring due to cyanosis; the blood contains less oxygen, and thus has a dark red to blue color, which shows through the thin skin. Cyanosis is the reason why corpses sometimes have blue lips. In cold weather cyanosis can appear, so especially in the winter, blue lips may not be an uncommon sight.

Lips can (temporarily) swell. The reasons for this are varied and can be from sexual stimulation, injuries and side effects of medications, sleeping, or misalignment of teeth.

Cracks or splits in the angles of the lips could be the result of an inflammation of the lips, Angular cheilitis.

Diseases

As an organ of the body, the lip can be a focus of disease or show symptoms of a disease:

Lip herpes (technically ''Herpes labialis'', a form of herpes simplex) is a viral infection which appears in the formation of painful blisters at the lip. It is also commonly known as a cold sore.

Carcinoma (a malignant cancer that arises from epithelial cells) at the lips, is caused predominantly by using tobacco and overexposure of sunlight. To a lesser extent, it could also come from lack of oral hygiene or poor fitting dentures. Alcohol appears to increase the carcinoma risk associated with tobacco use.

In other animals

In most vertebrates, the lips are relatively unimportant folds of tissue lying just outside the jaws. However, in mammals, they become much more prominent, being separated from the jaws by a deep cleft. They are also more mobile in mammals than in other groups, since it is only in this group that they have any attached muscles. In some teleost fish, the lips may be modified to carry sensitive barbels. In birds and turtles, the lips are hard and keratinous, forming a solid beak.

Additional images

See also

Chapped lips

Cleft lip

Cupid's bow

Facial expression

Herpes

Kiss

Lip balm

Lip enhancement

Lip gloss

Lip piercing

Lipstick

References

Further reading

External links

Anatomy at oralhealth.dent.umich.edu

Category:Digestive system * Category:Facial features

af:Lip ar:شفة an:Labio arc:ܣܦܬܐ ast:Llabiu gn:Tembe az:Dodaqlar bo:མཆུ། br:Gweuz bg:Устни ca:Llavi cs:Ret cy:Gwefus de:Lippe dv:ތުންފަތް es:Labio eo:Lipo eu:Ezpain fa:لب fr:Lèvre gd:Bile (corp) ko:입술 hy:Շրթունք hr:Usne io:Labio id:Bibir ik:Qaqłuk it:Labbro he:שפתיים pam:Labi kk:Ерін sw:Mdomo ht:Lèv ku:Lêv lbe:Мурччи la:Labrum (anatomia) lv:Lūpas lt:Lūpa ln:Mbɛbú lmo:Laver ms:Bibir nl:Lip ne:ओठ ja:唇 no:Lepper nn:Lippe pag:Bibil pnb:بل pl:Wargi ust pt:Lábio ro:Buză qu:Wirp'a ru:Губы sq:Buza scn:Labbru simple:Lip sk:Pery so:Faruur sr:Усна fi:Huulet sv:Läpp tl:Labi (anatomiya) te:పెదవి tr:Dudak uk:Губи vi:Môi war:Im-ím diq:Lew zh:唇

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Birth name	Naitia Jessica Kirkland
Birth date	October 04, 1989
Origin	New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop, R&B;
Occupation	Rapper, singer, songwriter, musician
Years-active	2007–present
Label	Jive
Background	solo_singer }}

Niatia Jessica Kirkland (born October 4, 1989) professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer.

Early life

Lil Mama was born in Harlem in 1989. She was raised in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Edward R. Murrow High School. In 2006, Kirkland signed a recording contract with Jive Records. Her mother Tara died on December 15, 2007 following a four-year battle with breast cancer. Kirkland faced personal and financial struggles at an early age. As one of eight brothers and sisters, she started to express herself artistically through poetry and dance.

2006-2008

Lil Mama released her first album, VYP (Voice of the Young People), on April 29, 2008. The album spawned four singles: "Lip Gloss", "G-Slide (Tour Bus)", "Shawty Get Loose" and "L.I.F.E." The album sold 19,000 copies in the first week, debuting at number 25 on the Billboard 200.

2009 VMA Incident

On September 13, 2009, at the MTV Video Music Awards, Lil Mama came onstage during Jay-Z and Alicia Keys's performance of "Empire State of Mind". While Jay-Z was ending his final verse, Lil Mama came from her seat in the crowd onto the stage and started bobbing her head to the beat. Jay-Z was surprised but continued to perform. Jay-Z patted Lil Mama on the leg to fall back and threw in a quick joke, saying, "You T-Paining right now," a reference to a similar incident at Summer Jam two months earlier when T-Pain jumped onstage with Jay-Z at Summer Jam during his performance of "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". Lil Mama ignored Jay-Z's gesture and, at the end of the performance, Lil Mama came to the front and posed alongside Jay-Z and Keys.

2011-Present

Since the release of her first album, Lil Mama has been in the studio working on new music. She released the singles "Dough Boy" featuring Mishon, "On & On & On", and "NYNYLALA" featuring Snoop Dogg, all of which failed to chart. Lil Mama has stated that she doesn't know if she's going to release another album yet, she's just taking it step by step.

Other ventures

''America's Best Dance Crew''

Lil Mama is a judge on the dance contest show ''America's Best Dance Crew''.

''America's Next Top Model''

Lil Mama appeared in Cycle 13 of ''America's Next Top Model'' with Benny Ninja.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
!width="35"	!width="35"	!width="35"
2008		*Released: April 29, 2008	*Label: [[Jive Records	25	5	3

Singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions	Album
! width="30"	! width="30"	! width="30"	! width="30"	! width="30"	! width="30"
	align="left"	10	36	—	—	—	—
	124	—	—	—	8	—
	align="left"	10	43	41	38	3	57

Other Appearances

"Girlfriend (Dr. Luke Remix)" by Avril Lavigne off the Limited Edition of her 2007 album, "The Best Damn Thing", as well as some editions of Lil Mama's debut.

"Umbrella (Remix)" by Rihanna. It was not featured on any album, however the original version of the song without Lil Mama is on Rihanna's 2007 album, "Good Girl Gone Bad".

"Just Fine" by Mary J. Blige. It was not featured on any album, but the original version without Lil Mama is on Mary J. Blige's 2007 album, "Growing Pains".

"Beautiful Girls (Remix)" by Sean Kingston. It was not featured on any album, however the original version of the song without Lil Mama is on Sean Kingston's 2007 self-titled album.

"Gimme More (Remix)" by Britney Spears. It was not featured on any album, however the original version of the song without Lil Mama is on Britney Spears' 2007 album, "Blackout".

"Amazed" by Vanessa Hudgens off her 2008 album, "Identified".

"Block Party" by Lisa Lopes off of her 2009 posthumous album, "Eye Legacy".

"Video Chat", "Big Boy Rims" and "Cupid" by College Boyys off of their 2010 debut album, "Spring Break".

"Sexiest" a song by Colombian singer "Yahaira" and featured by her.

Awards and nominations

BET Awards

*2009, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)

*2008, Best female Hip-Hop Artist (Nominated)

MTV Video Music Awards

*2007, Monster Single of the Year: "Lip Gloss" (Nominated)

Teen Choice Awards

*2008, Choice Rap/Hip-Hop Track: "Shawty Get Loose" (Winner)

*2008, Choice TV Personality: Randy Jackson's America's Best Dance Crew (Nominated)

*2007, Choice Rap Artist (Nominated)

*2007, Choice Summer Song: "Lip Gloss" (Winner)

*2007, Choice Music Hookup: "Shawty Get Loose" (Nominated)

MTV Asia Awards

*2008, Best Hook-up: "Girlfriend" - featured by Avril Lavigne (Nominated)

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:African American rappers Category:American rappers Category:Female rappers Category:Jive Records artists Category:Hip hop singers Category:People from Harlem Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York City Category:American pop singers Category:People from New York Category:Rappers from New York

ca:Lil mama de:Lil’ Mama es:Lil Mama fa:لیل ماما fr:Lil Mama ko:릴 마마 it:Lil Mama ja:リル・ママ no:Lil Mama pl:Lil' Mama pt:Lil Mama ro:Lil Mama ru:Lil Mama fi:Lil Mama sv:Lil Mama tr:Lil Mama zh:Lil Mama

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
name	Black Moth Super Rainbow
background	group_or_band
alias	Satanstompingcaterpillars, BMSR
origin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
genre	ExperimentalPsychedelic popElectronicaNeo-psychedelia
years active	2003–2009 (hiatus), 2011-present
label	Graveface, The 70's Gymnastics Recording Company
website	www.blackmothsuperrainbow.com
current members	Tobacco (Songwriter, Vocoder) The Seven Fields of Aphelion (Keyboards/Monosynth)d.kyler (Drums)Ryan Graveface (Bassist/Guitar)
past members	Power Pill Fist (bassist/atari)Father Hummingbird (Keyboard/Polysynth)
notable instruments	Vocoder Rhodes pianoNovatron }}

Black Moth Super Rainbow is an American experimental band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Their music contains elements of psychedelia, folk, electronica, and pop. Their distinctive sound is characterized by analog electronic instruments including the vocoder, Rhodes piano, and Novatron.

A Graveface insert included inside the album ''Dandelion Gum'' describes them as such: "Deep in the woods of western Pennsylvania vocoders hum amongst the flowers and synths bubble under the leaf-strewn ground while flutes whistle in the wind and beats bounce to the soft drizzle of a warm acid rain. As the sun peeks out from between the clouds, the organic aural concoction of Black Moth Super Rainbow starts to glisten above the trees."

History

I had started off really noisy and abstract with Allegheny White Fish. We were all so happy with ourselves for coming up with that name in 10th grade, but it wasn’t too funny 4 years later. Then ssc [satanstompingcaterpillars] was like my way to be more melodic all the time, and a little more serious. Then when it started to shift again into something I might be a little more comfortable performing live, I brought in the rest of the band and we changed over again. I’ve always felt like these ideas shouldn’t outstay their welcome. 3 or 4 records is enough, because I get really bored, and I like to keep these bands and ideas as pure as I can, in their places in time, until it seems like I’ve finally gotten it right.

-Tobacco, via FMLY interview

From 1996 to 2000 Tobacco existed as Allegheny White Fish [Pittsburghese for a condom floating down the river] Power Pill Fist (who is no longer with the band) joined and from 2000 to 2002 were known as satanstompingcaterpillars. Under satanstompingcaterpillars, the band self-released their music on different labels, including Fuckeroo (''Flower Slides'') and Side 8. After their third album in 2002 (''The Most Wonderfulest Thing''), the band added three members (Father Hummingbird, The Seven Fields of Aphelion, and Iffernaut) and changed their name to form Black Moth Super Rainbow in 2003. BMSR began releasing their music on the 70's Gymnastics Recording company, which is the band's own imprint (characterized by a tree-person jumping rope in a dress). Black Moth Super Rainbow's first album, ''Falling Through A Field'' serves as a best-of collection for satanstompingcaterpillars. Little is known about the band or its members, as they have kept themselves something of an enigma. On March 17, 2007, the band played alongside The Octopus Project as one band at the South by Southwest music festival, playing music from their collaborative project, ''The House of Apples and Eyeballs''. Black Moth Super Rainbow also opened for the band The Flaming Lips on their Fall 2007 tour. More recently, BMSR performed at the 2008 SXSW music festival in a badges and wristbands only, packed-to-capacity show at The Thirsty Nickel. Tobacco has released some albums (''Fucked Up Friends'', ''Super Gum [Destroying Dandelion Gum] {Rumored to be a remix album}''). After 2005, Graveface picked them up with Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods and bonus re-issued versions of their first two albums. Dandelion Gum was BMSR's third album, released in 2007, and possibly their most successful album with many good reviews. With it came their first music video for the track "Sun Lips". In early 2008, they continued to release ''Zodiac Girls - Single'' and ''Drippers - EP'' in November. Along with ''Drippers - EP'', BMSR released for MP3 download on their MySpace ''Bonus Drippers (The Older Unlreased & Hard-To-Find Songs)'', older and unreleased tracks or bonus tracks like "The Dark Forest Joggers", a ''Dandelion Gum'' vinyl exclusive, "Side 9", a ''Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods'' vinyl bonus track. or "Melting in the Meadow", a ''Start a People'' outtake track.

The band has appeared at the WIDR Barking Tuna, Sasquatch, South By Southwest and several other festivals.

On November 4, BMSR released ''Drippers - EP'' which not only includes new tracks like "Happy Melted City" or "Milk Skates" but also features some lost tracks from the Dandelion Gum era ("We Are the Pagans" and "One Day I Had an Extra Toe") it also features Mike Watt and BMSR's first official remix of Laura Burhenn's song "Just for the Night".

Their fourth full-length album Eating Us was released on May 26, 2009. The band's 2009 tour featured a video introduction created by Eric Wareheim. Mike Watt also occasionally joined the band on stage to play bass during this tour. In the same year TOBACCO released ''The Allegheny White Fish Tapes'', a collection of mix-tapes and limited CDs from pre-BMSR. The name "Allegheny White Fish" is slang for a used condom floating down the Allegheny River. And around the end of the year Rad Cult re-published the satanstompingcatterpilars ''The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed''.

In recent news under her Myspace, The Seven Fields of Aphelion is the third member from BMSR to release a solo project. Her debut solo album ''Periphery'' was released in February 2010 on Graveface. On May 25, Tobacco released his second solo album ''Maniac Meat,'' featuring vocals by Beck on two tracks, "Fresh Hex," and "Grape Aerosmith."

BMSR is confirmed to play at the Austin Music Festival in April 2011 as well as TOBACCO.

Discography

Albums

''Falling Through a Field'' (2003)

''Start a People'' (2004)

''Dandelion Gum'' (2007)

''Eating Us'' (2009)

''Psychic Love Damage'' (2012)

EPs

''Chinese Witch Guy With an Ax'' (70s Gymnastics, 3" CD-R, 2004)

''Lost, Picking Flowers in the Woods'' (70s Gymnastics/Graveface, CD/LP, 2005 and 2006)

''Drippers'' (70s Gymnastics, CD/LP, 2008)

''Bonus Drippers'' (2008 Free Download)

''The Autumn Kaleidoscope Got Changed (Album, Sing to Us) + Ep, Sing to Us'' (Rad Cult, Reissue Double-LP, 2009)

''Extra Flavor'' (2011, Graveface Records)

Collaborations

''The House of Apples and Eyeballs'' with The Octopus Project (Graveface, 2006)

Singles

''Zodiac Girls'' (2008)

''Don't You Want To Be In A Cult?'' (2009)

''Born On A Day The Sun Didn't Rise'' (2009)

Unreleased Album

In a Myspace bulletin from July 14, 2009, one of the members of BMSR (presumably Tobacco) mentioned an "abandoned" album from 2006. "I made this record for myself but I'm in the mood to post a song from it for a little bit today." One song was posted as a teaser as it was only active for an hour.

References

Notes

External links

Kotori Magazine interviews Tobacco

Band's biography/discography

Black Moth Super Rainbow (official site)

Graveface Records: Black Moth Super Rainbow

Eating Us Review

FMLY Interview with Tobacco/Black Moth Super Rainbow

Interview With Tom Fec aka Tobacco

Category:Psychedelic musical groups Category:American electronic music groups Category:Musical groups from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Category:Musical groups established in 2002

Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
Birthname	James Richard Perry
Order	47th
Office	Governor of Texas
Lieutenant	Bill Ratliff (2000-03)David Dewhurst (since 2003)
Term start	December 21, 2000
Predecessor	George W. Bush
Order2	39th
Office2	Lieutenant Governor of Texas
Term start2	January 19, 1999
Term end2	December 21, 2000
Governor2	George W. Bush
Predecessor2	Bob Bullock
Successor2	Bill Ratliff
Office3	9th Commissioner of Agriculture of Texas
Governor3	Ann RichardsGeorge W. Bush
Term start3	January 15, 1991
Term end3	January 19, 1999
Predecessor3	Jim Hightower
Successor3	Susan Combs
Office4	Member of the House of Representatives of Texasfrom District 64
Term start4	1985
Term end4	1991
Predecessor4	Joe Hanna
Successor4	John Cook
Birth date	March 04, 1950
Birth place	Paint Creek, Texas
Residence	West Austin, Texas(Temporary residence since 2007, during repairs to the Texas Governor's Mansion)
Spouse	Anita Thigpen
Children	GriffinSydney
Alma mater	Texas A&M; University
Party	Republican Party (since 1989)Democratic Party (until 1989)
Profession	Military Officer, Farmer, Politician
Religion	Christian (evangelical)
Signature	Rick Perry signature.svg
Branch	United States Air Force
Serviceyears	1972–1977
Rank	Captain
Website	www.governor.state.tx.us }}

James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full gubernatorial terms in 2002, 2006 and 2010. With a tenure in office to date of , Perry is the longest continuously serving current U.S. governor, and the second longest serving current U.S. governor after Terry Branstad of Iowa.

Perry served as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association in 2008 (succeeding Sonny Perdue of Georgia) and again in 2011. Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas state history. As a result, he is the only governor in modern Texas history to have appointed at least one person to every eligible state office, board, or commission position (as well as to several elected offices to which the governor can appoint someone to fill an unexpired term, such as six of the nine current members of the Texas Supreme Court).

Perry won the Texas 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary election, defeating U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County Republican Party Chairwoman and businesswoman Debra Medina. In the 2010 Texas gubernatorial election, Perry won a third term by defeating former Houston mayor Bill White and Kathie Glass.

On August 13, 2011, Perry announced in South Carolina that he was running for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election.

Early life and education

A fifth-generation Texan, Perry was born in Paint Creek, about north of Abilene in West Texas, to ranchers Joseph Ray Perry and the former Amelia June Holt. His father, a Democrat, was a long-time Haskell County commissioner and school board member. Perry has said that his interest in politics probably began in November 1961, when his father took him to the funeral of U.S. Representative Sam Rayburn (D-TX), who during his long public career served as speaker of the Texas House for a short time at the age of 29 and then later for 17 years as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Perry was in the Boy Scouts (BSA) and earned the rank of Eagle Scout; his son, Griffin, would later become an Eagle Scout as well. The BSA has honored Perry with the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

Perry graduated from Paint Creek High School in 1968. He then attended Texas A&M; University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, a member of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, was elected senior class social secretary, and was also elected as one of A&M;'s five yell leaders (a popular Texas A&M; tradition analogous to male cheerleaders). Perry graduated in 1972 with a 2.5 GPA, earning a bachelor's degree in animal science.

Perry said that the Corps of Cadets gave him the discipline to complete his animal sciences degree and earn a commission in the Air Force. In a 1989 interview he said that "I was probably a bit of a free spirit, not particularly structured real well for life outside of a military regime, I would have not lasted at Texas Tech or the University of Texas. I would have hit the fraternity scene and lasted about one semester." Perry was a prankster in college: he once placed live chickens in the closet of an upperclassman during Christmas break and used M-80 firecrackers to prank students using the toilet.

In the early 1970s, Perry interned during several summers with the Southwestern Company, as a door-to-door book salesman. "I count my time working for Dortch Oldham [President of the Southwestern Company] as one of the most important formative experiences of my life," Perry said in 2010. "There is nothing that tests your commitment to a goal like getting a few doors closed in your face." He said that "Mr. Oldham taught legions of young people to communicate quickly, clearly and with passion, a lesson that has served me well in my life since then."

Upon graduation, Perry was commissioned in the Air Force, completed pilot training, and flew C-130 tactical airlift in the United States, the Middle East, and Europe until 1977. He left the Air Force with the rank of captain, returned to Texas, and went into business farming cotton with his father.

Personal life

In 1982, Perry married Anita Thigpen, his childhood sweetheart whom he had known since elementary school. They have two grown children, Griffin and Sydney. Anita Perry attended West Texas State University and earned a degree in nursing. She has spearheaded a number of health-related initiatives such as the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, which focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development. Anita has also helped develop and host the Texas Conference for Women.

Early political career

Texas Legislature

In 1984, Perry was elected to the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat from district 64, which included his home county of Haskell. He served on the House Appropriations and Calendars committees during his three two-year terms in office. He befriended fellow freshman state representative Lena Guerrero of Austin, a staunch liberal Democrat who endorsed Perry's reelection bid in 2006 on personal, rather than philosophical, grounds.

Perry was part of the "Pit Bulls", a group of Appropriations members who sat on the lower dais in the committee room (or "pit") who pushed for austere state budgets during the 1980s. At one point, ''The Dallas Morning News'' named him one of the ten most effective members of the legislature.

In 1987, Perry voted for a $5.7 billion tax increase proposed by Republican governor Bill Clements. Perry supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic presidential primaries and chaired the Gore campaign in Texas. In 1989, Perry announced that he was switching parties, becoming a Republican.

Agriculture Commissioner

In 1990, as a newly minted Republican, Perry challenged Jim Hightower, the incumbent Democratic Agriculture Commissioner. Hightower had worked on behalf of Jesse Jackson for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988, while Perry had supported U.S. Senator Al Gore of Tennessee.

During 1990, Hightower's office was embroiled in a FBI investigation into corruption and bribery. Three aides were convicted in 1993 of using public funds for political fundraising, although Hightower himself was not found to be involved in the wrongdoings. Perry narrowly defeated Hightower in November 1990. In that election, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Clayton Williams, lost to Democrat Ann Richards.

As Agriculture Commissioner, Perry was responsible for promoting the sale of Texas farm produce to other states and foreign nations, and for supervising the calibration of weights and measures, such as gasoline pumps and grocery store scales.

In 1993, Perry, while serving as Texas agriculture commissioner, expressed support for the Clinton health care reform proposal, describing it as "most commendable." The health care plan was ultimately unsuccessful due to Republican congressional opposition. In 2005, after being questioned on the issue by a potential opponent in the Republican governor primary, Perry said that he expressed his support only in order to get Clinton to pay more attention to rural health care.

In 1994, Perry was reelected Agriculture Commissioner by a large margin, getting 2,546,287 votes (62 percent) to Democrat Marvin Gregory's 1,479,692 (36 percent). Libertarian Clyde L. Garland received the remaining 85,836 votes (2 percent). Gregory, a chicken farmer from Sulphur Springs, Texas, was on the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority with Perry in the early nineties, as a Republican. He became a Democrat before running against Perry in 1994.

Lieutenant Governor

In 1998, Perry chose not to seek a third term as Agriculture Commissioner, running instead for Lieutenant Governor to succeed the retiring Democrat Bob Bullock. During this election, Rick Perry had a notable falling out with his previous top political strategist Karl Rove, which began the much-reported rivalry between the Bush and Perry camps. Perry polled 1,858,837 votes (50.04 percent) to the 1,790,106 (48.19 percent) cast for Democrat John Sharp of Victoria, who had relinquished the Comptroller's position after two terms to seek the lieutenant governorship. Libertarian Anthony Garcia polled another 65,150 votes (1.75 percent).. Perry thus became the state's first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction, taking office on January 19, 1999, until he assumed the governorship on December 21, 2000 following the resignation of then-Governor George W. Bush.

Governor of Texas

Perry assumed the office of Governor late in 2000 when George W. Bush resigned as governor of Texas to prepare for his presidential inauguration. Perry became the first Texas A&M; graduate to serve as governor.

Perry is a member of the Republican Governors Association, the National Governors Association, the Western Governors Association, and the Southern Governors Association. Perry is currently serving as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association; he previously served as its Chairman in 2008.

Early in his term as governor, Perry convinced the state Legislature to increase health funding by $6 billion. Some of these programs have since faced funding reductions, and Perry has refused to resume funding to previous levels because of the additional financial burden he says it would place on the state, even though Federal Matching Funds for Healthcare above and beyond the amount dedicated by the legislature are available. He also increased school funding prior to the 2002 election and created new scholarship programs, including $300 million for the Texas GRANT Scholarship Program. Perry has advocated an emphasis on accountability, raising expectations, and funding programs that work in order to improve the quality of Texas schools.

Perry's campaigns for lieutenant governor and governor focused on a tough stance on crime. In June 2002, he vetoed a ban on the execution of mentally retarded inmates. He has also supported block grants for crime programs.

Perry has also supported tort reform to limit malpractice lawsuits against doctors, and as lieutenant governor he had tried and failed to limit class action awards and allowing plaintiffs to allocate liability awards among several defendants. In 2003, Perry sponsored a controversial state constitutional amendment to cap medical malpractice awards, which was narrowly approved by voters. According to a tort reform advocate, this legislation has resulted in a 21.3 percent decrease in malpractice insurance rates. According to the Texas Medical Board, there has also been a significant increase in the number of doctors seeking to practice in the state.

Perry has drawn attention for his criticism of the Obama administration's handling of the recession, and for turning down approximately $555 million in stimulus money for unemployment insurance. Perry was lauded by the Texas Public Policy Foundation for this decision and his justification—that the funds and the mandatory changes to state law would have placed an enduring tax burden on employers. In September 2009, Perry declared that Texas was recession-proof: "As a matter of fact ... someone had put a report out that the first state that's coming out of the recession is going to be the state of Texas ... I said, 'We're in one? Paul Burka, senior executive editor of ''Texas Monthly'', criticized Perry's remarks, saying "You cannot be callous and cavalier when people are losing their jobs and their homes."

The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported on August 16, 2011, that Perry received $37 million over 10 years from just 150 donors, which adds up to over a third of the $102 million he had raised as governor through December 2010, according to the group Texans for Public Justice. Almost half of those donors received big contracts, tax breaks or appointments during Perry's tenure.

Elections

2002

Perry won the office in his own right in the 2002 gubernatorial election when he defeated Laredo businessman Tony Sanchez, polling 2,632,591 votes (57.80 percent) to Sanchez's 1,819,798 (39.96 percent). Four minor party candidates shared 2.21 percent of the vote.

2006

The 2006 gubernatorial election proved to be a stiffer challenge for Perry than his 2002 campaign. Though he easily defeated token opposition in the primary election, Perry faced three major opponents: former Democratic Congressman Chris Bell, as well as two major independent candidates – outgoing Republican state Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn ) and well-known Texas country music singer Kinky Friedman. Perry won the race in a plurality, polling 1,714,618 votes (39 percent) to Bell's 1,309,774 (29.8 percent), Strayhorn's 789,432 (18 percent), Friedman's 553,327 (12.6 percent), with a Libertarian candidate and a write-in independent garnering another 27,444 votes (0.6 percent). Perry became only the third governor in state history to have been elected by a plurality of less than 40 percent of votes cast (the 1853 and 1861 races also featured plurality winners carrying under 40 percent).

Late in the 2006 campaign, the Republican Governors Association received one million dollars from Houston businessman Bob Perry (no relation), and the association thereafter contributed the same amount to Rick Perry. Bell brought suit, contending that the Bob Perry donations had been improperly channeled through the association to conceal their source. In 2010, the Rick Perry campaign paid Bell $426,000 to settle the suit.

2010

In April 2008, Perry announced his intent to run for re-election. Perry defeated Senator Hutchison and Debra Medina in the March 2, 2010, primary election, becoming the Republican nominee. He faced Democratic nominee William Howard "Bill" White, the former mayor of Houston. During the general election campaign, Perry refused to debate White until White released his tax returns from 1995, his last year as deputy energy secretary in the Clinton administration. White released his tax returns for his six years as mayor of Houston. According to his spokesperson, White had taxes withheld from his $133,000 salary in 1995, the amount of which was offset by losses in the starting of an energy business.

On November 2, 2010, Perry handily won re-election to an unprecedented third four-year term in the general election. He carried 226 out of 254 counties and polled 2,733,784 votes (54.97 percent) to White's 2,102,606 votes (42.28 percent). Perry made history by becoming the first Texas governor to be elected to three four-year terms and the fourth to serve three terms since Shivers, Price Daniel, and John Connally; his third term began on January 18, 2011.

Economy

Since the beginning of his presidential campaign, Perry has made what he calls the economic success of Texas the centerpiece of his campaign. According to Perry and his supporters, the state economy has improved as a result of his policy, including the lack of an income tax and predictable regulation. Others, meanwhile, have questioned whether the Texan economy is truly as successful as Perry claims.

As of August 2011, Texas has an 8.2% unemployment rate. In comparison, the national unemployment rate was 9.1% in August 2011. 25 states have a lower unemployment rate than Texas, and 25 states (including the District of Columbia) have a higher unemployment rate, meaning that Texas has median unemployment among U.S. states. Between June 2009 and August 2011, 237,000 jobs were created in Texas.

According to a March 28 2011 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9.54% of hourly-paid workers in Texas are paid at or below minimum wage. In comparison, the national percentage is 6.0%. Among the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Texas has the highest percentage of workers paid at or below minimum wage; the state with the second-highest percentage is Mississippi, with 9.50%.

As of 2011, 26% of the Texan population does not have health insurance. In comparison, the statistic among the entire U.S. is 17%.

Paul Krugman, a recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics, attributed Texas' job growth to its growing population, which he said decreased wages and attracted businesses to the state. According to Krugman, the high population growth in the state was due to a high birth rate, immigration from Mexico, and internal migration of other Americans, due to the warm weather and low cost of living - especially the low housing prices from less restrictive zoning policies, which he described as the "one area where Texas does in fact do something right."

Perry's defenders responded by stating that the median hourly wage is 93% of the national average, and wages have increased at 3.4% in 2010

Several of the business leaders who moved to Texas have ascribed their decision partly to business-friendly policies (including the lack of income tax, low regulation, anti-union laws, and financial incentives), and partly to the convenient Texas geography in the middle of the country with transportation hubs, a large bilingual population, mild winters and abundant space.

Fiscal policy

Perry, a proclaimed proponent of fiscal conservatism, has often campaigned on tax reform and job growth. Perry opposed creating a Texas state income tax and increasing sales tax rates, choosing instead to increase user fees and debt, adding $2 billion for road bonds, borrowing from the Federal Unemployment Trust Fund and adding surcharges to various traffic offenses, protected the state's "Rainy Day fund", balanced the state budget as required by state law, and was reelected on a platform to reduce property taxes that rose with the inflation of property values in the late 1990s and the 21st century.

Tax policy

In 2002, although his Democratic opponent pledged to never raise taxes, Perry refused to make such a promise. In 2009, however, Perry signed Grover Norquist's pledge to "oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes".

In early 2006, Perry signed legislation that delivered a $15.7 billion reduction in property taxes while raising other taxes such as a state franchise tax. The tax was condemned as a "back door" state income tax by many organizations. Perry claimed that the bill would save the average taxpayer $2,000 in property taxes. Critics contended that Perry inflated these numbers; the actual tax savings, some sources said, would average only $150 per family in the first year, and $1,350 over a three-year period.

In 2004, Perry proposed a number of tax increases to pay for public schools, including a tax on strip clubs. The "pole tax" idea went nowhere until 2007, when the Legislature approved a $5 per patron fee. The measure subsequently became tied up in litigation as the adult entertainment industry sued citing performers' First Amendment rights.

Industrial policy

In 2003, Perry signed legislation that created the Texas Enterprise Fund to enhance the development of the Texas economy. In 2004, he authorized the fund to grant $20 million to Countrywide Financial in return for a promise "to create 7,500 new jobs in the state by 2010." Critics argue those jobs would have been created with or without tax payer money. The grant (all of which are approved by the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and Speaker of the House) is one of the largest made from the fund in terms of the size and the number of jobs promised. In the fall of 2007, while slashing jobs and with its stock price plummeting, Countrywide assured Perry's office that the company "believed" it would meet its 2010 commitment only to be acquired in a fire sale two months later by Bank of America. Thanks to the "claw-back" provisions in the program, grantees return funds to the state for jobs not created.

The Texas Enterprise Fund has given $435 million in grants to businesses since 2003. The Texas Emerging Technology Fund has given nearly $200 million to businesses since 2005. The New York Times reported that more than a quarter of the companies that have received grants from the enterprise fund in the most recent fiscal year, or their chief executives, made contributions to either Mr. Perry’s campaign dating back to 2001 or to the Republican Governors Association since 2008. For example, John McHale, Austin, Texas, gave millions of dollars to Democratic candidates and causes, but 2 years ago wrote a $50,000 check to Perry, then seeking a third term as governor, and in September 2010, wrote another $50,000 check. In May 2010 an economic development fund administered by the governor’s office gave $3 million to G-Con, a pharmaceutical start-up that Mr. McHale helped start. At least two other executives with connections to G-Con had also given Mr. Perry tens of thousands of dollars.

Perry has appointed at least four top donors or fund-raisers to the board of the Teacher Retirement System, a $110 billion pension fund. Perry’s trustees encouraged the fund to invest more money with hedge funds and private equity firms whose investors, officers, or partners were Perry donors.

Staff expenses

In June 2010, Perry went on a 12-day trade mission to East Asia. The security detail for the trip cost $129,000 in state money. The Texas Government attempted to block the media's scrutiny of the use of the funds as they contained information that could compromise the future security of the state's senior executive. A member of White's gubernatorial campaign stated that Perry should, "stop hiding the facts on fiscal issues like what he's charging taxpayers for travel". Perry's campaign countered that the trip led to greater exposure for Texas business opportunities in Asia. In all, Perry made 23 foreign trips from 2004 to 2010, including a vacation on Grand Cayman and an education policy retreat in The Bahamas. The state paid only 1% of the travel expenses for these excursions, but security details for all trips combined cost over $1 million in state money. Perry's chief of staff remarked that the trips were "good business sense" as they enhanced the profile of Texan goods and services in foreign markets. White's campaign, however, accused Perry of staging the trips for self-promotion.

Social policy

Perry is pro-life and opposes government funding for elective abortions. In 2003, Perry signed the Prenatal Protection Act, which explicitly included fetuses in its definition of human life.

In 2005, Perry, a social conservative, signed a bill that limited late-term abortions and required girls under the age of 18 who procure abortions to notify their parents. Perry signed the bill in the gymnasium of Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Worth, an evangelical Christian school. In 2005, Gov. Perry signed a parental consent bill into law. Perry has signed legislation prohibiting abortions in the third trimester of pregnancy, and has also signed into law a bill that required abortion providers to offer informational brochures to women considering abortion.

In May 2011, Perry signed a "Mandatory Ultrasound Bill" which stipulates that, prior to every abortion, the abortion practitioner or a certified sonographer must perform a sonogram before any sedative or anesthesia is administered. Before every abortion, the abortion practitioner must give an explanation of the sonogram images of the unborn child. The woman has the right to waive the explanation only in cases of rape, incest, fetal abnormality, and judicial bypass for a minor. The abortion practitioner must also allow the woman to see the sonogram images of the unborn child and hear the heartbeat along with a verbal explanation of the heartbeat before an abortion can be administered. Critics stated that the law was "government intrusion", pointing out that in the first trimester, only transvaginal sonograms (in which a probe is inserted up the woman's vagina) can be performed, and stated that such a procedure would be inappropriate for victims of incest or rape, which the law does not exempt.

Also in 2011, Perry signed a bill that prohibited taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood, along with a bill that created a “Choose Life” license plate to promote infant adoption in Texas.

Christian religious beliefs

Perry grew up in the Methodist church, and he and his family had been members of Tarrytown United Methodist Church since the 1990s, the same church that President George W. Bush attended in Austin. In 2010, Perry began attending Lake Hills Church in Austin. Perry's former deputy director of communications and principal speechwriter of four years, Andrew Barlow, was pastor of creative development at Lake Hills Church for seven years. Lake Hills was originally named Lake Hills Baptist Church, but pastor Mack Richard dropped "Baptist" from the name in 1999 to remove what he regarded as a barrier to people of other denominations. Perry says that as governor he regularly attends numerous churches to speak. As for why he ultimately chooses to go to one place and not another, he said he administers a simple test: "If I remember on Wednesday what the message was on Sunday, it was a good message."

In May 2011, at a meeting in East Texas with business leaders, Perry stated that at age 27, he felt "called to the ministry".

On June 6, 2011, Perry proclaimed Saturday, August 6, as a Day of Prayer and Fasting. He invited governors across the country to join him on that day to participate in The Response, which was presented as a non-denominational, apolitical, Christian prayer meeting hosted by the American Family Association at Reliant Stadium in Houston. Perry also urged fellow governors to issue similar proclamations encouraging their constituents to pray that day for "unity and righteousness". Major roles in The Response were played by members of the New Apostolic Reformation, a religious movement that also engages in political activism. The event was criticized as going beyond prayer and fasting to include launching Perry's presidential campaign.

After the September 11, 2001, attacks, Perry attended a student assembly at a public middle school in East Texas. During the assembly, a Baptist minister offered a prayer, concluding with the words "in Jesus' name." Perry, like many of the students standing in bleachers, responded with "Amen." Perry said he had no problem ignoring the Supreme Court's 1962 ruling that barred organized prayer in public schools.

In his first book, ''On My Honor'', published in February 2008, Perry expressed his views on the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause. "Let's be clear: I don't believe government, which taxes people regardless of their faith, should espouse a specific faith. I also don't think we should allow a small minority of atheists to sanitize our civil dialogue on religious references." In August 2011, at a Houston prayer and fasting event, Perry noted "God is wise enough not to be affiliated with any political party."

Intelligent design

Perry has called himself "a firm believer in intelligent design as a matter of faith and intellect", and has expressed support for its teaching alongside evolution in Texas schools but also that "educators and local school officials, not the governor, should determine science curriculum." When asked about evolution, Perry responded: "Well, God is how we got here. God may have done it in the blink of the eye or he may have done it over this long period of time, I don't know. But I know how it got started."

In August 2011, Perry stated that Texas taught both creationism and evolution in public schools. PolitiFact.com researched the issue and labeled the statement as false, saying: "No doubt, some Texas teachers address the subject of creationism. But it's not state law or policy to intermix instruction on creationism and evolution." Politifact.com also received a clarification from Perry's spokesperson stating: "It is required that students evaluate and analyze the theory of evolution, and creationism very likely comes up and is discussed in that process. Teachers are also permitted to discuss it with students in that context." In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Edwards v. Aguillard that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools, along with evolution, was unconstitutional because the law was specifically intended to advance a particular religion. It also held that "teaching a variety of scientific theories about the origins of humankind to school children might be validly done with the clear secular intent of enhancing the effectiveness of science instruction."

HPV vaccine controversy

On February 2, 2007, Perry issued an executive order mandating that Texas girls receive HPV vaccine that protects against some strains of the human papilloma virus, a contributing factor to some forms of cervical cancer. The order provided vaccination free of charge to those who were not covered by insurance, and included an opt-out provision for parents. At the time of the order, Gardasil, a newly approved drug manufactured by Merck, was the only HPV vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The move made national headlines, and apparent financial connections between Merck and Perry were reported by news outlets, such as a $6,000 campaign contribution and Merck's hiring of former Perry Chief of Staff Mike Toomey to handle its Texas lobbying work and Perry's "current chief of staff's mother-in-law, Texas Republican state Rep. Dianne White Delisi [as] state director for Women in Government".

Perry's decision was criticized by some social conservatives and parents due to concerns about possible moral implications of the vaccine and safety concerns. On February 22, 2007, a group of families sued in an attempt to block Perry's executive order.

In May 2007, the Texas Legislature passed a bill to undo Perry's executive order. Perry did not veto it, saying the Legislature would have sufficient time and votes to override his veto.

Gun ownership

Perry has an A+ rating from the National Rifle Association. He possesses a Concealed Handgun License (CHL), and in 2005, he signed a number of bills that, among other things, reduced CHL fees for military veterans and senior citizens, reduced the CHL age requirement from 21 to 18 for members of the military, exempted military veterans from taking the range portion of the CHL licensing process (if they had been weapons certified in the military within the past five years), and extended the renewal period for a CHL from four to five years. In 2007, Perry signed castle doctrine legislation, enhancing a person's legal right to use deadly force in self defense against an intruder within one's place of residence.

In 2011, Perry criticized the U.S. Department of Justice's creation of a reporting requirement for purchases of semi-automatic rifles within the four states bordering Mexico, saying "...the Obama administration should target actual criminals rather than law-abiding citizens and immediately secure our southern border against the northbound and southbound illegal smuggling of drugs, humans, cash, guns, fugitives and stolen vehicles."

Vetoes

Perry set a record in the 2001 legislative session for the use of the veto: he rejected legislation a total of 82 times, more than any other governor in any single legislative session in the history of the state since Reconstruction. Perry's use of the veto drew criticism from some in the 2002 gubernatorial campaign, having used the veto only nine fewer times than preceding Governor George W. Bush had during three legislative sessions and 22 times more than Ann Richards cast in two sessions. In the two legislative sessions following the 2001 session, Perry was more conservative in his use of the veto, employing it 51 times. As of 2011, he had used the veto 273 times, more than any other Texas governor.

Trans-Texas Corridor

In January 2001, Perry proposed the Trans-Texas Corridor, a $145+ billion-dollar project that would build multi-lane highways, rail lines and data lines from Oklahoma to Mexico, and from east to west in southern Texas. Instead of paying for the project with taxes, Perry proposed that it be partially financed, partially built and wholly operated by private contractors who, in exchange for a multi-billion dollar investment, would receive all toll proceeds, notably Cintra, a Spanish-owned company, and its minority partner, San Antonio-based Zachry Construction Corporation, one of Texas' largest road construction companies. Some of the more controversial aspects of the project include tolls, private operation of toll collections (at rates set by local municipalities), and extensive use of eminent domain (or the option for landowners to maintain a lucrative equity stake in the project) to acquire property.

Opponents portrayed the proposal as a "land grab", and criticized Perry for opposing the public release of the actual terms of the 50-year deal with Cintra to the public for fear they would chill the possibility of the company's investment; Perry's former liaison to the legislature, former State Senator Dan Shelly, returned to his consulting/lobbying work with Cintra after securing the TTC deal while on the state payroll. All of Perry's gubernatorial opponents opposed the corridor project, as did the 2006 state party platforms of both the Democratic and Republicans parties. After much contentious debate between supporters and opponents, an official decision of "no action" was issued by the Federal Highway Administration on July 20, 2010, formally ending the project.

In 2001, Perry appointed Ric Williamson of Weatherford, an old friend and former legislative colleague, to the Texas Transportation Commission. Williamson became the commission chairman in 2004 and worked for the improvement of the state's transportation infrastructure until his sudden death of a heart attack on December 30, 2007.

Death penalty

Perry supports the death penalty. On June 2, 2009, Texas carried out the 200th execution since Perry assumed the office of governor. As of August 10, 2011, Texas has carried out 234 executions since Rick Perry became governor.

Under the Texas Constitution, the governor is not permitted to grant pardon, parole, or to commute a death penalty sentence to life imprisonment on his own initiative (the Constitution was changed in 1936 due to concerns that pardons were being sold for cash under the administrations of former Governor James E. Ferguson and later his wife and Texas' first female Governor Miriam A. Ferguson). Instead, all requests for pardon, parole, and commutation are channelled through the Board of Pardons and Paroles who then reviews each application and makes a recommendation to the governor. Although the Governor can accept or reject a positive recommendation of commutation or pardon from the Board of Pardons and Paroles, he has no power to override a negative recommendation. The only unilateral action which the Governor can take is to grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve to the defendant.

Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham

Cameron Todd Willingham was a Texas man whose three young children died in a 1991 fire at the family home in Corsicana, Texas. Willingham, accused of having set the fire, was convicted of murder and was executed in 2004. Shortly before the execution and after several years of unsuccessful appeals, an arson expert, Gerald Hurst, filed a report advising the 7-member Board of Pardons and Paroles that the investigation of the case had not been based on good science and that there was no proof of arson, but the Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency to the governor. Perry did not use his authority to grant a one-time, 30 day reprieve to Willingham. Willingham's case gained renewed attention in 2009 after ''The New Yorker'' published a story that drew upon the investigations of Hurst and anti-death penalty advocate Elizabeth Gilbert.

In 2005, Texas established a nine-member Texas Forensic Science Commission (TFSC). As part of the Commission's inquiry into the Willingham case, another fire scientist wrote a report that agreed with Gerald Hurst that the charge of arson could not be sustained given the available evidence. Two days before the Commission was to hold a hearing on this report, Perry replaced three of members of the TFSC. Perry's newly appointed Chairman promptly canceled the hearing. Perry denied that the dismissals were related to the case, noting that the terms of the replaced persons were expiring.

In July 2011, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott ruled that the commission did not have jurisdiction to investigate evidence in cases that occurred before the panel was created in 2005, thus implying that a Commission conclusion regarding the forensic science used in the Willingham case would not be forthcoming.

Execution of Mexican nationals

Two Mexican nationals have been executed under the Perry administration – José Medellín in 2008 for the 1993 murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Peña, and Humberto Leal Garcia in 2011 for the 1994 rape, torture, and murder of Adria Sauceda. At the time of their arrests in the early 1990s, neither had been informed that as Mexican nationals they have the right to inform the Mexican Consulate of the charges and ask for legal assistance. A 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice concluded that the U.S. had violated the rights of 51 Mexican nationals, including Medellin and Garcia, under the terms of a treaty the U.S. had signed. In response to the ruling, the Bush administration issued an instruction that states comply, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that he had exceeded his authority. The Supreme Court also ruled in ''Medellin v. Texas'' that the treaty was not binding on states until Congress enacted statutes to implement it, and in ''Leal Garcia v. Texas'' declined to place a stay on the executions in order to allow Congress additional time to enact such a statute. A 2008 ruling by the International Court of Justice asked the United States to place a stay on the executions, but Texas officials stated that they were not bound by international law.

Garcia supporters complained about the use of controversial techniques such as bite mark analysis and luminol in determining his guilt. Garcia however, confessed responsibility for his crimes, and apologized before his execution.

Regarding the Garcia execution, Perry stated that "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws."

Pardons and commutations

In 2005, Frances Newton's appeal for a commutation of her death penalty was declined. Her attorney had argued Newton was incapable of standing trial. The Board of Pardon and Parole did not recommend a commutation, and Perry did not grant the one-time reprieve. Newton was executed on September 14, 2005.

In 1990, Tyrone Brown was sentenced to life in a Texas maximum security prison for smoking marijuana while on probation. Texas Judge Keith Dean had originally placed Brown on probation, but changed the sentence after Brown tested positive for marijuana. After being defeated in the last Dallas election, Dean requested the governor pardon Brown. On March 9, 2007, Perry granted Brown a conditional pardon after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

On August 30, 2007, Perry commuted the death sentence of Kenneth Foster, an accomplice in a 1996 murder, doing so three hours before Foster was to die by lethal injection. Evidence had shown that while Foster was present at the scene of the crime (transporting the individual who actually committed the crime away from the scene in his car), he had nothing to do with the actual commission of the murder, and may not have even been aware that it had been taking place, as he was outside in his car at the time. The Board of Pardon and Parole recommended commutation, and Perry accepted the recommendation, converting the sentence to life in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.

Education

As lieutenant governor, Perry initially sponsored a controversial school voucher bill as an alternative to the "Robin Hood" school finance proposal. In 2004, Perry attacked the same "Robin Hood" plan as detrimental to the educational system and attempted to get the legislature to replace it with one that he said would encourage greater equity, cost less, hold down property and sales taxes, and foster job growth. Perry supported the legalization of video lottery terminals at racetracks and on Indian reservations as well as increases in cigarette taxes.

A special session of the legislature was convened on June 21, 2005, to address education issues, but resistance developed from House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Republican from Midland. Perry's proposal was attacked by members from property-poor districts and was rejected. During the session, Perry became involved in a heated debate with Comptroller Carole Strayhorn about the merits of his school finance proposal. Strayhorn initially planned to oppose Perry in the 2006 Republican primary, but she instead ran as an independent in the general election. Another special session was convened on July 21, 2005, after Perry vetoed all funding for public schools for the 2007–2008 biennium. He vowed not to "approve an education budget that shortchanges teacher salary increases, textbooks, education technology, and education reforms. And I cannot let $2 billion sit in some bank account when it can go directly to the classroom."

Perry's campaign office in 2006 declared that without the special session, some "$2 billion that had been intended for teacher pay raises, education reforms, and other school priorities would have gone unused because House Bill 2 [the public school reform package] didn’t pass." The bill failed to pass in the first session, and was refiled in a second session, in which the bill was defeated 62-79, after 50 amendments were added without discussion or debate.

Late in 2005, to maximize the impact of a bipartisan education plan, Perry asked his former rival in the race for lieutenant governor, John Sharp—a former Texas State Comptroller and a member of the Texas Railroad Commission, Texas State Senate and Texas House of Representatives—to head an education task force charged with preparing a bipartisan education plan. Sharp accepted Perry's offer and removed himself as a potential candidate for governor in 2006. The task force issued its final plan several months later, and the legislature adopted it. For his successful efforts, Sharp was later nominated by ''The Dallas Morning News'' for the "Texan of the Year" award.

In 2007, Perry vetoed government provided health insurance for community college faculty due to revelations that schools had been using state funds to pay benefits for non-state employees. Funding for state-employed school personnel was restored in a joint agreement and funding re-allocation later that same year.

In June 2011, Perry signed into law Senate Bill 1736, which establishes the "College Credit for Heroes" program. The new law is intended to help veterans get college credit for military training.

As of 2011, Texas still ranks at the bottom of many educational indicators. Texas has the fewest percentage of adults with high school diplomas, compared to the other U.S. states. Texas is also ranked low in high school graduation rate, though the exact ranking depends on how the statistic is defined. . Texas is 49th in verbal SAT scores in the nation and 46th in average math SAT scores. Texas Democrats, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, and other detractors of Perry have criticized him regarding Texas schools' performance and class size. Pay increases for Texas's teachers have not kept up with the national average.

Inauguration concert controversy

Perry invited his friend, rock musician Ted Nugent, to perform at a black-tie gala hours after Perry's second inauguration ceremony on January 16, 2007. Nugent appeared onstage during the inaugural ball wearing a cutoff T-shirt emblazoned with the Confederate flag and shouting derogatory remarks about non-English speakers, according to press reports. The NAACP condemned Nugent's wearing the Confederate flag. Perry's spokesman, Robert Black, downplayed the Tuesday-night incident. "Ted Nugent is a good friend of the governor's. He (Perry) asked him (Nugent) if he would play at the inaugural. He didn't put any stipulation of what he would play."

Redistricting

In 2003, Perry called three consecutive special legislative sessions to procure a congressional redistricting plan he said would be more reflective of the state's population. The plan finally adopted—supported by then U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Sugar Land—brought about a five-seat Republican gain in the delegation. In 2006, however, the five-seat edge was reduced to three seats. Thereafter, Republicans gained one seat in 2008 and an additional three seats in the 2010 election; they now hold a 23-9 majority.

Texas and states' rights

In April 2009, Perry endorsed a resolution in support of states' rights under Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, reaffirming that power that is not delegated to the federal government by the U.S. Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States. In his speech, Perry stated "A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government. ". On April 9, 2009, Perry said, "I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our State. That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the States' rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our State from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union." Similar legislation has been passed by other states.

After a Tea Party rally held on April 15, 2009, Perry told a group of reporters:

Texas is a unique place. When we came into the union in 1845, one of the issues was that we would be able to leave if we decided to do that... My hope is that America and Washington in particular pays attention. We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, who knows what may come of that.

Perry’s statement was widely interpreted as raising the possibility of the secession of Texas from the union, and was criticized on that basis. A spokesperson for Perry said that Perry "never advocated seceding". Perry's statement that Texas, in joining the union, had reserved the right to leave was also widely disputed.

Immigration

In 2001, Perry expressed his pride in the enactment of the statute extending in-state tuition to children of undocumented workers. He said:

We must say to every Texas child learning in a Texas classroom, “we don’t care where you come from, but where you are going, and we are going to do everything we can to help you get there.” And that vision must include the children of undocumented workers. That’s why Texas took the national lead in allowing such deserving young minds to attend a Texas college at a resident rate.

Perry has opposed the creation of the Mexico – United States barrier, which is meant to keep out illegal aliens. Instead of barricading the border completely with a fence, Perry believes that the federal government should fulfill its responsibility to its citizens by securing the borders with "boots on the ground" and technology to improve safety while not harming trade with the state's biggest trading partner, Mexico. Perry said the Arizona immigration law SB 1070 “would not be the right direction for Texas” and would distract law enforcement from fighting other crimes.

Response to 2011 drought and wildfires

On April 21, 2011, Perry proclaimed a three-day period, from April 22 to April 24, as "Days of Prayer for Rain in the State of Texas" in response to the wildfires then covering much of the state.

By late July, 75% of the state was experiencing exceptional drought conditions, as opposed to 10-20% in April.

Presidential campaign

Until 2011, Perry persistently denied aspirations to higher office; he was originally included on the 2012 Presidential Straw Poll ballot at the Values Voter Summit in September 2009, but his name was removed at his own request. In April 2008 while appearing as a guest on CNBC's ''Kudlow & Company'', he specifically stated that he would not agree to serve as Vice President in a McCain administration, stating that he already had "the best job in the world" as governor of Texas. Further, during a Republican gubernatorial debate in January 2010, when asked if he would commit to serving out his term if re-elected, he replied that "the place hasn't been made yet" where he would rather serve than the governor of Texas. In December 2010, when asked if he was a "definite maybe" to run for President in 2012, he replied, "a definite no, brother".

On May 27, 2011, he said he is "going to think about" running for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination after the close of the Texas legislative session. Perry said in a response to a question from a reporter, "but I think about a lot of things," he added with a grin.

On August 11, a Perry spokesman said that he will be running for President in 2012, with plans to announce his formal entry into the race the next day, August 12. Perry himself confirmed it on a visit to KVUE, the ABC affiliate in Austin. As the Associated Press bulletin announcing his entry into the race came across the wire, Perry signed and dated a printed copy of the bulletin.

On August 13, Perry officially announced that he will be running for president.

Political views

Constitutional issues

Some of Perry's views are in opposition to Constitutional amendments already adopted. In his 2010 book ''Fed Up!'', he takes issue with the Federal government's right to collect income tax, saying "if you want to know when Washington really got off the track, the 16th Amendment, giving them the opportunity to take your money with a personal income tax." He also criticizes the 17th Amendment, which allows for the direct election of U.S. Senators. According to Perry, the 16th and 17th Amendments caused states to "[hand] over significant chunks of their sovereignty and wealth to the federal government. Congress was free to tax and spend to its heart's content."

Perry has expressed support for amending the Constitution to set a nationwide policy on social issues, by prohibiting abortion and same-sex marriage. He also supports abolishing life tenure for judges, empowering Congress to overrule Supreme Court decisions by a two-thirds vote, requirement of a balanced budget, and placing a limit on federal expenditures.

Criticism of Federal Reserve

On August 16, 2011, Perry sharply criticized the Federal Reserve, stating that it would be "almost treacherous – or treasonous in my opinion" to be "printing money to play politics". Many prominent Republicans criticized Perry for his statements. For instance, Tony Fratto, a Republican who had worked in the Treasury and White House under the Bush administration, described Perry's remarks as "inappropriate and unpresidential". Perry also suggested that if Chairman Ben Bernanke visited Texas, "we would treat him pretty ugly", a remark criticized by the White House as threatening.

Same-sex marriage

Perry opposes the legal recognition of same-sex marriages, and supported the 2005 ballot proposition which amended the Texas constitution by defining marriage as "only a union between a man and a woman" and prohibiting the state from creating or recognizing "any legal status identical or similar to marriage". In 2011, after New York legalized same-sex marriage, Perry stated that it was their right to do so under the principle of state's rights delineated in the 10th Amendment. A spokesman later reiterated Perry's support for a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, saying that position was not inconsistent since an amendment would require approval by three-fourths of the states.

In his first book, ''On My Honor'', published in 2008, Perry drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism regarding a choice to engage in the lifestyle, and writing that he is “no expert on the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate,” but that gays should simply choose abstinence. In 2002, Perry had described the Texas same-sex anti-sodomy law as "appropriate". The United States Supreme Court decision in ''Lawrence v. Texas'' struck down the law the following year.

Israel

While visiting Israel in August 2009, Perry gave an interview to the ''Jerusalem Post'' in which he affirmed his support for Israel from his religious background, "I'm a big believer that this country was given to the people of Israel a long time ago, by God, and that's ordained."

Environmental issues

Perry has been a skeptic on human contributions to climate change. In Perry's book, ''Fed Up!'', he called climate science a "contrived phony mess" and later stated that he thinks there are "a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling in to their projects". Perry has said that "Virtually every day another scientist leaves the global warming bandwagon. ... But you won't read about that in the press because they have already invested in one side of the story." Perry's views have been criticized, with fact-checkers stating that surveys showed that more that 97% of climate scientists believed that global warming is anthropogenic and arguing that the ranks of dissenters don’t appear to be swelling.

Texas-based TXU had been planning a $10 billion investment in 11 new coal-fired power plants over the next several years, but drastically reduced those plans in 2007 under the terms of a buyout by a consortium of private equity firms. The Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council continues to explore ways to generate clean energy with coal. After the 2009 legislative session, Perry signed House Bill 469 which includes incentives for clean coal technology breakthroughs.

Perry opposes regulation of greenhouse gas emissions because he says it would have "devastating implications" for the Texas economy and energy industry. He has stated that he supports an "all of the above" energy strategy including oil, coal, nuclear, biofuels, hydroelectric, solar, and wind energy. Perry has collaborated with T. Boone Pickens, who has advocated reduced use of oil, primarily through replacing it with natural gas.

Entitlements

In Perry's book, ''Fed Up!'', published in the fall of 2010, he said that Social Security was "a crumbling monument to the failure of the New Deal.” He likened the program to "an illegal Ponzi scheme" and also suggested that it was unconstitutional, having been enacted "at the expense of respect for the Constitution and limited government." During the promotion of the book he said that the Federal government should leave health care to the states and focus on putting Social Security on "better and more solid footing".

In 2011, after he announced his candidacy for the presidency, a spokesman for Perry said that the book was written “as a review and critique of 50 years of federal excesses, not in any way as a 2012 campaign blueprint or manifesto”. However, shortly after, Perry stated in a campaign appearance that he still believed the views in his book, and that he "[hadn't] backed off anything in [his] book." Perry has continued to sharply criticize Social Security, describing it as a "monstrous lie" and a "Ponzi Scheme".

Defense

Perry has said that under President Bush's defense secretary Robert Gates, the Pentagon vastly underestimated China's defense modernization.

2008 presidential endorsements

In October 2007, despite their political differences on many social issues, Perry endorsed Rudy Giuliani for President. "Rudy Giuliani is the most prepared individual of either party to be the next President... I'm not talking about any mayor, I'm talking about America's Mayor," Perry said. Some conjectured that, if Giuliani were elected, Perry might have been considered for a position in the new president's cabinet, or perhaps the vice presidency. However, Giuliani withdrew from the race on January 30, 2008, after failing to gain support in early primaries.

Both Giuliani and Perry immediately endorsed Arizona Senator John McCain for President. Shortly after Mitt Romney's withdrawal from the race in early February, Perry reportedly called McCain rival Mike Huckabee and suggested that he withdraw as well to clear the way for McCain to secure the nomination. Huckabee declined this request and made it clear publicly that he would abandon his presidential bid only if McCain secured enough delegates. Huckabee withdrew his presidential bid on March 5, 2008, after John McCain won the Texas and Ohio primaries.

Publications

Rick Perry has written two books: ''On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts are Worth Fighting For'' was published in February 2008. In his book, Perry celebrates the positive impact of the organization on the youth of America and criticizes the ACLU for its legal actions against the Boy Scouts of America. His second book, ''Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America from Washington'' was published in November 2010. Perry's second book discusses his support for limited central government.

Perry has also written a lecture about the role of the federal government and the military in disaster management titled ''Federalizing Disaster Response''.

Electoral history

References

External links

Governor Rick Perry ''official state site''

Rick Perry for President ''official presidential campaign site''

Meet Rick Perry ''opposition site by the Texas Democratic Party''

;2012 Presidential campaign related links

;National and International media coverage

Rick Perry category at ''CNN

Rick Perry page at ''Fox News''

Rick Perry category at ''The New York Times''

Rick Perry section at ''The Wall Street Journal''

Rick Perry index at ''The Economist

Rick Perry collection at '' The (London) Guardian

Rick Perry directory at ''The Open Directory Project''

Our Guide to the Best Coverage on Gov. Rick Perry and His Record at ProPublica

;Local media coverage

The Perry Trap at ''The Austin Chronicle''

Perry Watch at ''The Dallas Morning News''

Rick Perry 2012 at the ''Fort Worth Star-Telegram''

Rick Perry at the ''Houston Chronicle''

The Perry Trove at the ''Texas Monthly''

The Perry Trail at ''The Texas Observer''

Rick Perry at ''The Texas Tribune''

|- |- |- |- |- |- }} |- Category:1950 births Category:Agriculture commissioners of Texas Category:American farmers Category:American Methodists Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War Category:Distinguished Eagle Scouts Category:Federal Emergency Management Agency critics Category:Governors of Texas Category:Lieutenant Governors of Texas Category:Living people Category:Members of the Texas House of Representatives Category:People from Haskell County, Texas Category:Railroad Commission of Texas Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States Category:Texas A&M; University alumni Category:Texas Republicans Category:United States Air Force officers Category:United States presidential candidates, 2012

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Coordinates	34°03′″N118°15′″N
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 Senate
State2	Illinois
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	November 16, 2008
Predecessor2	Peter Fitzgerald
Successor2	Roland Burris
Office3	Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th District
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 (born 1998) Sasha (born 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	barackobama.com
Footnotes	}}

Barack Hussein Obama II (; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.

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 of 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 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 of 2010 and the Budget Control Act of 2011. In foreign policy, he ended the war in Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered US involvement in the 2011 Libya military intervention, 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 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 mostly English ancestry, along with Scottish, Irish, German, and Swiss. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian 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 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.

In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, and with the aid of a scholarship attended Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, from 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." Reflecting later on his 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 Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale on Chicago's South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. 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. As an editor, Obama delivered a Black History Minutes segment televised by TBS. 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 taught 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, 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 Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In the November 2004 general election, Obama won with 70 percent 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 National 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 supporters to endorse Obama, and she and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches in his support. Obama delivered his acceptance speech, not at the center where the Democratic National Convention was held, but at Invesco Field at Mile High to a crowd of over 75,000; 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 percent of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7 percent. 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 uninsured children. 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 enacting a five-year freeze in domestic spending, eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans, banning congressional earmarks, and reducing healthcare costs. Looking to the future, Obama promised that by 2015, the United States would have one 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 signing the [[American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009|American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law on February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado, with Vice President Joe Biden standing 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 percent equity stake in the company, with the Canadian government shouldering a 12 percent 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 been spent by the end of November 2009. However, Obama and the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the 2010 budget deficit will be $1.5 trillion or 10.6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the 2009 deficit of $1.4 trillion or 9.9 percent 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 90 percent 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 percent and averaging 10.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Following a decrease to 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year. Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8 percent, which was less than the average of 1.9 percent experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries. GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a rate of 1.6 percent, followed by a 5.0 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7 percent 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 Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the economic outlook was "unusually uncertain." Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent 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 percent of 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 the 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 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 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.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act includes health-related provisions to take effect over four years, including expanding Medicaid eligibility for people making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) starting in 2014, subsidizing insurance premiums for people making up to 400 percent of the FPL ($88,000 for family of four in 2010) so their maximum "out-of-pocket" payment for annual premiums will be from 2 to 9.5 percent of income, providing incentives for businesses to provide health care benefits, prohibiting denial of coverage and denial of claims based on pre-existing conditions, establishing health insurance exchanges, prohibiting annual coverage caps, and support for medical research. According to White House and Congressional Budget Office figures, the maximum share of income that enrollees would have to pay would vary depending on their income relative to the federal poverty level.

The costs of these provisions are offset by taxes, fees, and cost-saving measures, such as new Medicare taxes for those in high-income brackets, taxes on indoor tanning, cuts to the Medicare Advantage program in favor of traditional Medicare, and fees on medical devices and pharmaceutical companies; there is also a tax penalty for those who do not obtain health insurance, unless they are exempt due to low income or other reasons. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the net effect of both laws will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143 billion over the first decade.

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. On May 22 he announced 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

On February 27, 2009, Obama declared that combat operations in Iraq would end 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. 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, 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 percent approval rating before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41 percent 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.

In a February 2009 poll conducted by Harris Interactive for France 24 and the ''International Herald Tribune'', Obama was rated as the most respected world leader, as well as the most powerful. In a similar poll conducted by Harris in May 2009, 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.

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 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. On his 2010 income of $1.7 million, he gave 14 percent to non-profit organizations, including $131,000 to Fisher House Foundation, a charity assisting wounded veterans' families, allowing them to reside near where the veteran is receiving medical treatments.

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

Obama is a Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote in ''The Audacity of Hope'' 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

Graff, Garrett. "Legend of Barack Obama", ''Washingtonian'', November 1, 2006. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

Koltun, Dave (2005) ''"The 2004 Illinois Senate Race: Obama Wins Open Seat and Becomes National Political "Star""'' in ''"The Road to Congress 2004"'' Editors: Sunil Ahuja (Youngstown State University) and Robert Dewhirst (Truman State University), Nova Science Publishers, Hauppauge, New York, 2005, ISBN 1-59454-360-7

Lizza, Ryan. "Above the Fray", ''GQ'', September 2007. Retrieved on October 27, 2010.

MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", ''New Yorker'', May 7, 2007. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

McClelland, Edward, ''Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President'', Bloomsbury Press, 2010.

Zutter, Hank De. "What Makes Obama Run?", ''Chicago Reader'', December 8, 1995. Retrieved on January 14, 2008.

External links

;Official

President Barack Obama ''White House official website''

BarackObama.com (official re-election campaign website)

;Other

Collected news and commentary at the ''Chicago Tribune''

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