- published: 14 Dec 2012
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Abbottabad
Abbottabad /əˈbɒtəbɑːd/ (Urdu, Hindko: ایبٹ آباد Ābṭābād [aːbʈaːˈbaːd̪]) is a city located in the Hazara region of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in Pakistan. The city is situated in the Orash Valley, 50 kilometres (31 mi) northeast of the capital Islamabad and 150 kilometres (93 mi) east of Peshawar at an altitude of 1,260 metres (4,134 ft) and is the capital of the Abbottabad District. It borders Azad Kashmir to the east. The city is well-known throughout Pakistan for its pleasant weather, high-standard educational institutions and military establishments.
The town of Abbottabad, under the British Raj, was the headquarters of the Hazara District during British rule of India. It was named after Major James Abbott who founded the town and district in January 1853 after the annexation of Punjab. He remained the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district from 1849 until April 1853. Major Abbott is noted for having written a poem titled "Abbottabad", before he went back to Britain, in which he wrote of his fondness for the town and his sadness at having to leave it. In the early 20th century, Abbottabad became an important military cantonment and sanatorium, serving as the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of the Northern Army Corps. The garrison consisted of four battalions of native infantry, of the Frontier Force (including the 5th Gurkha Rifles) and two native mountain batteries.
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Arab League
The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻa al-ʻArabiyya), officially called the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabiyya), is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia (Middle East). It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. The Arab League currently has 22 members (including Syria, whose participation was suspended in November 2011). The main goal of the league is to "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries."
Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programs designed to promote the interests of the Arab world. It has served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to settle some Arab disputes, and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter which sets out the principles for economic activities in the region.
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Camp David
Coordinates: 39°38′54″N 77°27′54″W / 39.64833°N 77.465°W / 39.64833; -77.465
Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States and his guests. It is located in low wooded hills about 100 kilometers (62 mi) north-northwest of Washington, D.C., on the property of Catoctin Mountain Park in unincorporated Frederick County, Maryland, near Thurmont, at an elevation of approximately 560 meters (1,840 ft). It is officially known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont and is technically a military installation; staffing is primarily provided by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.
First known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was originally built as a camp for federal government agents and their families, by the WPA, starting in 1935, opening in 1938. In 1942, it was converted to a presidential retreat by Franklin D. Roosevelt and renamed "Shangri-La" (for the fictional Himalayan paradise). Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David. Camp David is not open to the general public. Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on its official park maps due to privacy and security concerns.
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Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is an American private Ivy League research university located in New York City, New York, United States. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution. Today the university operates seven Columbia Global Centers overseas in Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Paris, Mumbai, Santiago and Nairobi.
The university was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of George II of Great Britain. After the American Revolutionary War, King's College briefly became a state entity, and was renamed Columbia College in 1784. The University now operates under a 1787 charter that places the institution under a private board of trustees, and in 1896 it was further renamed Columbia University. That same year, the university's campus was moved from Madison Avenue to its location in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, where it occupies more than six city blocks, or 32 acres (0.13 km2). The university encompasses twenty schools and is affiliated with numerous institutions, including Teachers College, Barnard College, and the Union Theological Seminary, with joint undergraduate programs available through the Jewish Theological Seminary of America as well as the Juilliard School.
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Delaware
Delaware (
i/ˈdɛləwɛər/ DEL-ə-wair) is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, to the northeast by New Jersey, and to the north by Pennsylvania. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, an English nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom what is now called Cape Henlopen was originally named.
Delaware is located in the northeastern portion of the Delmarva Peninsula and is the second least extensive, the sixth least populous, but the sixth most densely populated of the 50 United States. Delaware is divided into three counties. From north to south, these three counties are New Castle, Kent, and Sussex. While the southern two counties have historically been predominantly agricultural, New Castle County has been more industrialized.
The history of the state's economic and industrial development is closely tied to the impact of the Du Pont family, founders and scions of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, one of the world’s largest chemical companies.
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Fiat
Fiat S.p.A., (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino) (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin), is an Italian automobile manufacturer based in Turin. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli. During its more than a century long history, Fiat has also manufactured railway engines and carriages, military vehicles, and aircraft. As of 2009, the Fiat group (not inclusive of its subsidiary Chrysler) was the world's ninth largest carmaker and the largest in Italy.
Fiat-based cars are built around the world. Outside Italy, the largest country of production is Brazil, where the Fiat brand is the market leader. The group also has factories in Argentina and Poland and a long history of licensing production of its products in other countries. It also has numerous alliances and joint ventures around the world, the main ones being located in Italy, France, Turkey, Serbia, India and China.
Agnelli's grandson Gianni Agnelli was Fiat's chairman from 1966 until 1996; he then served as honorary chairman from 1996 until his death on 24 January 2003, during which time Cesare Romiti served as chairman. After their[clarification needed] removal, Paolo Fresco served as chairman and Paolo Cantarella as CEO. Umberto Agnelli then took over as chairman from 2003 to 2004. After Umberto Agnelli's death on 28 May 2004, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was named chairman, with Agnelli heir John Elkann becoming vice chairman (at the age of 28), and other family members also serving on the board. At this point, CEO Giuseppe Morchio resigned, and Sergio Marchionne was named to replace him on 1 June 2004.
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Harvard University
Harvard University is an American private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard. Although never formally affiliated with a church, the college primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Harvard's curriculum and students became secular throughout the 18th century and by the 19th century had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's forty year tenure (1869–1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a centralized research university, and Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900.James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. Drew Gilpin Faust was elected the 28th president in 2007 and is the first woman to lead the university. Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world, standing at $32 billion as of September 2011.
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Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′41″N 157°47′47″W / 21.31139°N 157.79639°W / 21.31139; -157.79639
Hawaii (i/həˈwaɪ.iː/ or /həˈwaɪʔiː/; Hawaiian: Hawaiʻi Hawaiian pronunciation: [hɐˈvɐiʔi]) is the most recent of the 50 U.S. states (August 21, 1959), and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean.
Hawaii’s diverse natural scenery, warm tropical climate, abundance of public beaches and oceanic surrounding, and active volcanoes make it a popular destination for tourists, surfers, biologists, and volcanologists alike. Due to its mid-Pacific location, Hawaii has many North American and Asian influences along with its own vibrant native culture. Hawaii has over a million permanent residents along with many visitors and U.S. military personnel. Its capital is Honolulu on the island of Oʻahu.
The state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which comprises hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km). At the southeastern end of the archipelago, the eight "main islands" are (from the northwest to southeast) Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui, and the island of Hawaiʻi. The last is by far the largest and is often called "The Big Island" to avoid confusion with the state as a whole. The archipelago is physiographically and ethnologically part of the Polynesian subregion of Oceania.
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Honolulu
Honolulu
/hoʊnoʊˈluːluː/ is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as Honolulu County which covers the entire island. For statistical purposes, the U.S. Census Bureau recognizes the urban part of Honolulu as a census-designated place. Honolulu is a major financial center of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. The population of the census-designated place was 337,256 at the 2010 census, while the population of the city and county was 953,207. Honolulu is the most populous state capital relative to state population.
In the Hawaiian language, Honolulu means "sheltered bay" or "place of shelter". The old name is said to be Kou, a district roughly encompassing the area from Nuuanu Avenue to Alakea Street and from Hotel Street to Queen Street which is the heart of the present downtown district. The city has been the capital of the Hawaiian islands since 1845 and gained historical recognition following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor near the city on December 7, 1941, and as the birthplace of Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States.
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Hyde Park, Chicago
Hyde Park is a neighborhood and community area located on the South Side of Chicago, in Cook County, Illinois, United States, seven miles (11 km) south of the Chicago Loop. Established in the 1850s by Paul Cornell, Hyde Park Township was incorporated in 1861 and independent of Chicago until it was annexed to the city in 1889.
As a neighborhood, Hyde Park's definition has been restricted to the core area of the former township centered on Cornell's development on E 53rd Street and the lakefront. Today, the name Hyde Park is officially applied to E 51st Street-E Hyde Park Blvd. to the Midway Plaisance (between E 59th and 60th), with eastern and western boundaries being Lake Michigan and Washington Park.
Other definitions consider Hyde Park to include a section to the north, between E 47th and 51st Street-E Hyde Park Blvd., although this area is actually the south half of the Kenwood community area. The area encompassing Hyde Park and South Kenwood is also referred to as Hyde Park-Kenwood. Hyde Park hosts the University of Chicago and two of the four Chicago Registered Historic Places from the original October 15, 1966 National Register of Historic Places list (Chicago Pile-1 and Robie House). Part of the neighborhood comprises the Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District.
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Illinois
Illinois (i/ˌɪlɨˈnɔɪ/ IL-i-NOY) is the 25th most extensive and the 5th most populous of the 50 United States, and is often noted as a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a broad economic base. Illinois is a major transportation hub. The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean; as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois River. For decades, O'Hare International Airport has ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics.
Although the state's largest population centers today are in northern Illinois, originally the state's population grew from south to north, with settlers arriving from Kentucky in the 1810s. In 1818, Illinois achieved statehood. Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River, one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan. Railroads and John Deere's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois' rich prairie into some of the world's most productive and valuable farmlands, attracting immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden. By 1900, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars. The Great Migration established a large community of African Americans in Chicago that created the city's famous jazz and blues cultures.
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Islamabad
Islamabad (Urdu: اسلام آباد Islām ābād, lit. Abode of Islam) is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.152 million in 2011. The greater Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area is the third largest conurbation in Pakistan with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants.
Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the northern part of the country, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Margalla pass acting as the gateway between the two regions. The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. Islamabad is a well-organized city divided into different sectors and zones. It is regarded as the most developed city in Pakistan. Islamabad is ranked as a Gamma world city. The city is home to Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in South Asia and the sixth largest mosque in the world.
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Jakarta
Jakarta ( /dʒəˈkɑrtə/), officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta (Indonesian: Daerah Khusus Ibu Kota Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre, and with a population of 10,187,595 as of November 2011, it is the most populous city in Indonesia and in Southeast Asia, and is the twelfth-largest city in the world. The official metropolitan area, known as Jabodetabekjur, is the second largest in the world, yet the city's suburbs still continue beyond it. Jakarta is listed as a global city in the 2008 Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) research. and has an area of 661 square kilometres (255 sq mi)
Based on Brooking Institute survey about growth, in 2011 Jakarta ranked 17th among the world's 200 largest cities, a significant jumps from 2007 when Jakarta ranked 171st. Jakarta has seen more rapid growth than Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Bangkok.
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Kenwood, Chicago
Kenwood, located along Lake Michigan on the South Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois, is one of the 77 well-defined Chicago community areas. Kenwood was part of Hyde Park Township, which was annexed by the City of Chicago in 1889. Kenwood was once one of the most elite neighborhoods in Chicago and contains some of the largest homes in the city. It includes two Chicago Landmark districts, Kenwood and North Kenwood. Burnham Park runs along Kenwood's lakefront. A large part of the southern part of this region is in the Hyde Park-Kenwood Historic District. In recent years, the neighborhood has received national attention as the home of United States President Barack Obama.
Kenwood is bisected by 47th Street, which marks a dramatic sociocultural and architectural boundary. North Kenwood suffered significant depopulation and attendant decline of the housing stock and retail base, bottoming out around 1990, although the area has been gradually redeveloping since then. South Kenwood fared this period rather better, and did not experience the same middle-class flight in the 1970s. In the real estate boom of the mid-2000s, houses sold for in excess of two million dollars, and long-vacant lots were redeveloped with high-end luxury houses.
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Kisumu
Kisumu is a port city in western Kenya at 1,131 m (3,711 ft), with a population of 355,024 (1999 census). It is the third largest city in Kenya, the principal city of western Kenya, the immediate former capital of Nyanza Province and the headquarters of Kisumu County. It has a municipal charter but no city charter. It is the largest city in Nyanza region and second most important city after Kampala in the greater Lake Victoria basin.
The port was founded in 1901 as the main inland terminal of the Uganda Railway and named Port Florence. Although trade stagnated in the 1980s and 1990s, it is again growing around oil exports.
Kisumu literally means a place of barter trade "sumo". The city has "Friendship" status with Cheltenham, UK and "sister city" status with Roanoke, Virginia and Boulder, Colorado, USA.
Kisumu was identified by the British explorers in early 1898 as an alternative railway terminus and port for the Uganda railway, then under construction. It was to replace Port Victoria, then an important centre on the caravan trade route, near the delta of River Nzoia. Kisumu was ideally located on the shores of Lake Victoria at the cusp of the Winam Gulf, at the end of the caravan trail from Pemba, Mombasa, Malindi and had the potential for connection to the whole of the Lake region by steamers. In July 1899, the first skeleton plan for Kisumu was prepared. This included landing places and wharves along the northern lake shore, near the present day Airport Road. Demarcations for Government buildings and retail shops were also included in the plan.
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Kwame Raoul
Kwame Raoul (born September 30, 1964) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2004. He is the chair of the Illinois Senate's Redistricting Committee and the Senate's Pension & Investments Committee.
Raoul was born in Chicago to Haitian immigrant parents, Dr. Janin and Marie Raoul, whose parents' roots are from present-day Ghana. Raoul earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from DePaul University and went on to receive his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Raoul was appointed on November 6, 2004 to fill the state Senate vacancy caused by the resignation of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who had just been elected to the United States Senate.
Since his arrival in Springfield, Raoul has successfully advanced legislation promoting civil justice, early childhood education, domestic violence prevention and political reform. In his first year in the General Assembly, Raoul established a progressive agenda. His work led to the passage of laws expanding access to early voting in Illinois, and the state’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program and a crack down on the Pay Day loan industry.
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Moneygall
Moneygall (Irish: Muine Gall, meaning "foreigners' thicket") is a small village on the border of counties Offaly and North Tipperary, in Ireland. It is situated on the R445 road between Dublin and Limerick. The village had a population of 298 in the 2006 census. Moneygall has a Catholic church, five shops, a post office, a national school, a Garda station and two pubs. The nearest Church of Ireland church, Borrisnafarney, is 2 km from the village beside the former Loughton Demense.
While most of the village is located in County Offaly, the Gaelic Athletic Association (G.A.A.) playing field is located in County Tipperary, and Moneygall GAA play in the Tipperary Hurling Championship. It was part of the Tipperary North constituency in the 2011 general election.
Moneygall is on the R445 regional road and close to the M7 motorway where Junction 23 provides access to the village.
The Bus Éireann route 12 between Limerick and Dublin passes through Moneygall. Regular services run each hour so the town is well served. Additional bus services are provided by JJ Kavanagh and Sons. There is no train station in the town but the nearest stations are in Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Roscrea, all on the Ballybrophy to Limerick line, a feeder service to the main Cork to Dublin line, operated by Iarnród Éireann. There are two airstrips nearby one of which is Moneygall Aerodrome The closest airport with scheduled passenger services is Shannon Airport in County Clare. Dublin Airport is easily accessible with direct Bus Éireann services.
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NASA
Coordinates: 38°52′59″N 77°0′59″W / 38.88306°N 77.01639°W / 38.88306; -77.01639
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research. Since February 2006, NASA's mission statement has been to "pioneer the future in space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research." On September 14, 2011, NASA announced that it had selected the design of a new Space Launch System that it said would take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before and provide the cornerstone for future human space exploration efforts by the U.S.
NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The agency became operational on October 1, 1958. U.S. space exploration efforts have since been led by NASA, including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle and Commercial Crew vehicles. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program (LSP) which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches.
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NATO
Coordinates: 50°52′34.16″N 4°25′19.24″E / 50.8761556°N 4.4220111°E / 50.8761556; 4.4220111
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO ( /ˈneɪtoʊ/ NAY-toh; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord (OTAN)), also called the (North) Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programs. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70% of the world's defence spending.
For its first few years, NATO was not much more than a political association. However, the Korean War galvanized the member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two U.S. supreme commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, which formed in 1955. The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, stated in 1949 that the organization's goal was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down." Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion—doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of the French from NATO's military structure in 1966.
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Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Norwegian and Swedish: Nobels fredspris) is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature. It is awarded to those who have "done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
Per Alfred Nobel's will, the recipient is selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, a 5-member committee appointed by the Parliament of Norway. Since 1990, the prize is awarded in Oslo City Hall on 10 December each year. The prize was formerly awarded in the Atrium of the University of Oslo Faculty of Law (1947–89), the Norwegian Nobel Institute (1905–46) and the Parliament (1901–04).
According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."
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Nyang’oma Kogelo
Nyang’oma Kogelo, also known as Kogelo, is a village in Siaya District, Nyanza Province, Kenya. It is located near the equator, 60 kilometres (37 mi) west-northwest of Kisumu, the provincial capital. The population of Nyangoma-Kogelo is 3,648 .
It is a typical Kenyan rural village with most residents living modestly through small-scale farming. The village has a shopping centre with shops and a bar. The village has a primary school (Senator Obama Primary School) and a high school (Senator Obama Secondary School). The land for both schools was donated by Barack Obama, Sr., a native of the village and they were renamed after his son and then U.S. senator Barack Obama in 2006. There is also a health centre. Previously the village had no electricity, but it was connected to the power network immediately after the 2008 US presidential election. In 2008 Kenya Police set up a police post at the village. The Nyang’oma Seventh-day Adventist Church is among the local places of worship .
The village is along the unpaved C28 road between Ng’iya and Ndori junctions. Less than 10 kilometres north of Kogelo, Ngiya is located along the Kisumu - Siaya road (C30 road) . Few kilometres south of Nyang’oma Kogelo, a bridge built in 1930 crosses the Yala River flowing to Lake Victoria , before the road reaches Ndori along the Kisumu - Bondo road (C27 road).
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Oslo
Oslo (English pronunciation: /ˈɒzloʊ/, OZ-loh,Norwegian pronunciation: [²ʊʃlʊ] (
listen) or [²ʊslʊ]) is the capital of and most populous city in Norway. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III, the city was elevated to a bishopric in 1070 and a capital under Haakon V around 1300. Personal unions with Denmark from 1397 to 1523 and again from 1536 to 1814 and with Sweden from 1814 to 1905 reduced its influence. After being destroyed by a fire in 1624, the city was moved closer to Akershus Castle during the reign of King Christian IV and renamed Christiania in his honour. It was established as a municipality (formannskapsdistrikt) on 1 January 1838. Following a spelling reform, it was known as Kristiania from 1877 to 1925, when its original Norwegian name was restored.
Oslo is the economic and governmental centre of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are amongst the world's largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers. Oslo is a pilot city of the Council of Europe and the European Commission intercultural cities programme.
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Oval Office
The Oval Office, located in the West Wing of the White House, is the official office of the President of the United States.
The room features three large south-facing windows behind the president's desk, and a fireplace at the north end. It has four doors: the east door opens to the Rose Garden; the west door leads to a private smaller study and dining room; the northwest door opens onto the main corridor of the West Wing; and the northeast door opens to the office of the president's secretary.
Presidents generally change the office to suit their personal taste, choosing new furniture, new drapery, and designing their own oval-shaped carpet to take up most of the floor. Paintings are selected from the White House’s own collection, or borrowed from other museums for the president’s term in office.
The Oval Office has become associated in Americans' minds with the presidency itself through memorable images, such as a young John F. Kennedy, Jr. peering through the front panel of his father's desk, President Richard Nixon speaking by telephone with the Apollo 11 astronauts during their moonwalk, and daughter Amy Carter bringing her Siamese cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang to brighten President Jimmy Carter's day.
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Riverdale, Chicago
Riverdale, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois, is located on the city's far south side.
The town of Riverdale is at the far south end of Chicago extending beyond the Chicago boundary of 138th Street to 144th Street. The town hall is at 157 West 144th Street. The University of Chicago sociology study designates Riverdale as one of the 77 Chicago communities and Wiki has two sites: one for the Cook County community and this site for the all inclusive town of Riverdale. According to the University of Chicago map, Riverdale extends from 115th Street to the city boundary of 138th street and on the east, the Bishop Ford Freeway west to the Illinois Central Railroad tracks.
The first non-native settler in the area was David Perriam who, in 1837, claimed land north of the horseshoe bend in the Calumet River in an area referred to as Wildwood. This land was later acquired by Colonel James H. Bowen who was instrumental in construction of the Cal-Sag canal connecting the Calumet River to the Illinois River. After he lost his home in the Chicago Fire, Bowen moved to Wildwood and made this a palatial summer home where Chicago's elite gathered in the 1870s. Another early resident, George Dolton, settled near the Calumet River by the Chicago-Thornton Road (today's Indiana Avenue). He operated a chain ferry across the river. Levi Osterhoudt operated a tavern/road house at 133rd and Thornton Road from 1840 and the area became known as the Riverdale Crossing. In 1842, Dolton and Osterhoudt replaced the ferry with a toll bridge and called it the "Dolton Bridge.
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Roseland, Chicago
Roseland, located on the far south side of the city, is one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It includes the neighborhoods of Fernwood, Princeton Park, Lilydale, West Chesterfield, Rosemoor, Sheldon Heights and West Roseland. Roseland was settled in the 1840s by Dutch immigrants who called the area "de Hooge Prairie", the High Prairie because it was built on higher, drier ground than the earlier Dutch settlement several miles further south of the Little Calumet River which was called "de Laage Prairie", the Low Prairie, now South Holland, Illinois.
The community was entirely agrarian until the late 19th century when the town of Pullman, Chicago was built between Roseland and Lake Calumet. George M. Pullman planned a model industrial city built around a factory that manufactured his "Palace" railway coaches. Modern brick homes were built with electricity, plumbing and gas utilities. Skilled tradesmen from all over Europe immigrated to the town of Pullman with many settling in nearby Roseland. Roseland was annexed into Chicago in 1892. The Roseland area became a very cosmopolitan community made up of multi cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds. There was large population of Italian Americans just east of Roseland in the Kensington community. Most came to the area from the Little Italy neighborhood on Taylor Street making Kensington the center of South Side Italian life. San Antonia de Padua (St. Anthony's) cathedral was a cultural landmark of the area. Supporting businesses flourished rapidly changing the farmland into commercial and residential communities surrounded by a number of industries. Stores on Michigan Avenue served the entire south side of Chicago.
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Russia
Russiai/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ( listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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South Shore, Chicago
South Shore is one of 77 well-defined community areas of the City of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. A predominately black neighborhood located along Chicago's southern lakefront, it is a relatively stable and gentrifying neighborhood. Notable residents of this neighborhood include rapper Kanye West and First Lady Michelle Obama.
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South Side, Chicago
The South Side is a major part of the City of Chicago, which is located in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Much of it has evolved from the city's incorporation of independent townships, such as Hyde Park Township which voted along with several other townships to be annexed in the June 29, 1889 elections. Regions of the city, referred to as sides, are divided by the Chicago River and its branches.
The South Side of Chicago was originally defined as all of the city south of the main branch of the Chicago River, but it now excludes the Loop. The South Side has a varied ethnic composition, and it has great disparity in income and other demographic measures. The South Side covers 60% of the city's land area, with a higher ratio of single-family homes and larger sections zoned for industry than the rest of the city.
Although it has endured a reputation as being poor or crime-infested, the reality is more varied. The South Side ranges from affluent to working class to impoverished. Neighborhoods such as Armour Square, Back of the Yards, Bridgeport, and Pullman tend to be composed of more blue collar residents, while Hyde Park, the Jackson Park Highlands District, Kenwood, and Beverly tend to have middle, upper-middle class, and affluent residents.
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Stewart Greenleaf
Stewart J. Greenleaf (born October 4, 1939) is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 12th District since 1979. His district includes portions of Montgomery and Bucks Counties.
Greenleaf is a 1961 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law. He served as an assistant district attorney in Montgomery County from 1970 to 1977 and also an assistant public defender in Bucks County. Greenleaf continues to serve as a partner in his law firm, Elliott Greenleaf, whose attorneys include Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor and former State Rep. Melissa Murphy Weber.
In 1971, Greenleaf was elected as a Commissioner for Upper Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. After one term, Greenleaf was elected to a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1976. He served a single term in the house before winning his bid for the State Senate in 1978. Greenleaf has been re-elected seven times, most recently over Democrat Jeff Albert in 2006.
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Times Square
Coordinates: 40°45′28″N 73°59′09″W / 40.75773°N 73.985708°W / 40.75773; -73.985708
"The Crossroads of the World"
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. Times Square, iconified as "The Crossroads of the World" and the "The Great White Way", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway theater district, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. According to Travel + Leisure magazine's October 2011 survey, Times Square is the world's most visited tourist attraction, bringing in over 39 million visitors annually.
Formerly named Longacre Square, Times Square was renamed in April 1904 after The New York Times moved its headquarters to the newly erected Times Building, which is now called One Times Square and is the site of the annual ball drop on New Year's Eve.
The northern triangle of Times Square is technically Duffy Square, dedicated in 1937 to Chaplain Francis P. Duffy of New York City's "Fighting 69th" Infantry Regiment; a memorial to Duffy is located there, along with a statue of George M. Cohan, and the TKTS discount theatre tickets booth. The stepped red roof of the TKTS booth also provides seating for various events. The Duffy Statue and the square were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical style. It has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he (with architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe) expanded the building outward, creating two colonnades that were meant to conceal stables and storage.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior and charring much of the exterior. Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed house in October 1817. Construction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829. Because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office which was eventually moved as the section was expanded. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as a reception area for social events; Jefferson's colonnades connected the new wings. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space. By 1948, the house's load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the interior rooms were completely dismantled and a new internal load-bearing steel frame constructed inside the walls. Once this work was completed, the interior rooms were rebuilt.
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Wichita, Kansas
Wichita /ˈwɪtʃɨtɔː/ WICH-ə-taw is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area. As of 2011, the metro area had a population of 630,721.
The city was incorporated in 1870, based on the success of businessmen who came to hunt and trade with native populations. Its position on the Chisholm Trail made it a destination for cattle drives heading north to access railroads to eastern markets. In the 20th century, aircraft pioneers such as Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech and Bill Lear began projects that would lead to Wichita's nicknaming as the Air Capital of the World. The aircraft corporations Stearman, Cessna, Mooney and Beechcraft were all founded in Wichita in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft remain based in Wichita today, along with Learjet and Spirit AeroSystems, and both Airbus and Boeing maintain a workforce in Wichita. The city was also at one time the headquarters of the former Derby Oil Company, which was purchased by Coastal Corporation in 1988.
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Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincolni/ˈeɪbrəhæm ˈlɪŋkən/ (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union while ending slavery, and promoting economic and financial modernization. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, Lincoln was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, a Whig Party leader, Illinois state legislator in the 1830s, and a one-term member of the United States House of Representatives in the 1840s. After a series of debates in 1858 that gave national visibility to his opposition to the expansion of slavery, Lincoln lost a Senate race to his arch-rival Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln, a moderate from a swing state, secured the Republican Party nomination. With almost no support in the South he swept the North and was elected president in 1860. His election was the signal for seven southern slave states to declare their secession from the Union and form the Confederate States of America. The departure of the Southerners gave Lincoln's party firm control of Congress, but no formula for compromise or reconciliation was found. And the war came.
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African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans, and formerly as American Negroes) are citizens or residents of the United States that have ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa.
African Americans make up the single largest racial minority in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States. However, some immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations, or their descendants, may be identified or self-identify with the term.
African-American history starts in the 16th century with African slaves who quickly rose up against the Spanish explorer Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón and progresses to the present day, with Barack Obama as the 44th and current President of the United States. Between those landmarks there have been events and issues, both resolved and ongoing, including slavery, racism, Reconstruction, development of the African-American community, participation in the great military conflicts of the United States, racial segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement.
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Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. (born March 31, 1948) served as the 45th Vice President of the United States (1993–2001), under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President and won the popular vote in the 2000 U.S. presidential election.
Gore is currently an author and environmental activist. He has founded a number of non-profit organizations, including the Alliance for Climate Protection, and has received a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in climate change activism.
Gore was previously an elected official for 24 years, representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977–85), and later in the U.S. Senate (1985–93), and finally becoming Vice President in 1993. In the 2000 presidential election, Gore won the popular vote by a margin of more than 500,000 votes. However, he ultimately lost the Electoral College to Republican George W. Bush when the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy over the Florida vote recount by ruling 5-4 in favor of Bush. It was the only time in history that the Supreme Court has determined the outcome of a presidential election.
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Alan Keyes
Alan Lee Keyes (born August 7, 1950) is an American conservative political activist, author, former diplomat, and perennial candidate for public office. A doctoral graduate of Harvard University, Keyes began his diplomatic career in the U.S. Foreign Service in 1979 at the United States consulate in Bombay, India, and later in the American embassy in Zimbabwe.
He ran for President of the United States in 1996, 2000, and 2008, and was a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1988, 1992, and 2004. Keyes was appointed Ambassador to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations by President Ronald Reagan, and served as Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs from 1985 to 1987; in his capacities as a UN ambassador, among Keyes's accomplishments was contributing to the Mexico City Policy.
Keyes also hosted a radio talk show, The Alan Keyes Show: America's Wake-Up Call, and a television commentary show on the MSNBC cable network, Alan Keyes Is Making Sense.
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Alexi Giannoulias
Alexander "Alexi" Giannoulias (pronounced /əˈlɛksi dʒəˈnuːli.əs/; or jeh-NOO'-lee-us) (born March 16, 1976) is an American politician who served as Illinois Treasurer from 2007 to 2011. A Democrat, Giannoulias defeated Republican candidate State Senator Christine Radogno in November 2006 with 54 percent of the vote, becoming the first Democrat to hold the office in 12 years and, at the age of 30, the youngest State Treasurer in the nation.
On July 26, 2009, Giannoulias announced his candidacy in the 2010 election for the seat in the United States Senate held by Roland Burris. Burris, who was appointed by Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama following Obama's election as President of the United States, chose not to seek election. Giannoulias won the Democratic primary on February 2, 2010, then faced Republican Mark Kirk as well as Green Party candidate LeAlan Jones and Libertarian Michael Labno in the general election in November 2010. Kirk won the election.
Giannoulias was born in Chicago to Greek immigrants. His mother, Anna, is from Chania, and his late father, Alexis, was from Kalavryta. He has two older brothers, Demetris and George. Giannoulias attended The Latin School of Chicago and then the University of Chicago before transferring to Boston University. Giannoulias graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He then moved to Greece to play basketball with Panionios B.C. for a year (1998–99).
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Alyson Kennedy
Alyson Kennedy is an American politician, a member of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and was the party's candidate for vice president in the 2008 United States presidential election. The ticket campaigned for young voters especially. At the head of the ticket were two different candidates, Roger Calero and James Harris; Harris was an alternate in some states because Calero was Constitutionally ineligible because he is a lawful permanent resident of the United States (holding a green card), and not a US Citizen. They were the first pair to qualify for the ballot in Louisiana Calero/Kennedy won 5,127 votes and Harris/Kennedy 2,424.
Originally from Indianapolis, Kennedy joined the socialist movement in 1973 in Louisville, Kentucky. She has worked in coal mines in Alabama, Colorado, Utah, and West Virginia. In 1977 she ran as the SWP candidate for mayor of Cleveland, Ohio against incumbent Republican Ralph Perk, garnering 1,225 votes and losing by a wide margin to Dennis Kucinich. She first joined the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) in 1981, and was one of the leaders of a strike in Utah 2004, also being involved in litigation. In 2000, she ran for United States Senate as a certified write-in candidate in a race prompted by the death of candidate and former Governor of Missouri Mel Carnahan. Kennedy is currently employed as a garment worker.
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Amber Lee Ettinger
Amber Lee Ettinger (born October 2, 1982) is an American actress, internet celebrity, and model. She first rose to fame as Obama Girl in her Internet video "I Got a Crush... on Obama", in which she expressed her admiration of then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama. The video led to numerous sketch comedy appearances and interviews on Saturday Night Live, Geraldo at Large, The O'Reilly Factor, and Hannity.
A native of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, of German, Italian, Swedish and Irish ancestry, Ettinger moved to New York City to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology to study fashion and clothing design, having expressed hopes to create her own clothing line and other business ventures. Early in her career, Ettinger was crowned Miss NYC in the 2003 Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageant, later augmenting that title with a nod as Howard Stern's Miss Howard TV in June 2007. She has also appeared in a video for The Onion News Network, as well as the music video for the John Popper Project song "Lapdance." She was also Hooters Miss Manhattan, representing them in the 2003 International Swimsuit Pageant.
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Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh President of the United States (1829–1837). Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815). A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, as president he destroyed the national bank and relocated most Indian tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River. His enthusiastic followers created the modern Democratic Party. The 1830–1850 period later became known as the era of Jacksonian democracy.
Jackson was nicknamed "Old Hickory" because of his toughness and aggressive personality; he fought in duels, some fatal to his opponents. He was a rich slaveholder, who appealed to the common men of the United States, and fought politically against what he denounced as a closed, undemocratic aristocracy. He expanded the spoils system during his presidency to strengthen his political base.
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Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was the 17th President of the United States (1865–1869). As Vice President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American Civil War. Johnson's reconstruction policies failed to promote the rights of the Freedmen, and he came under vigorous political attack from Republicans, ending in his impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives; he was acquitted by the U.S. Senate.
Johnson, born in poverty and of Scots-Irish descent, became a master tailor and was self-educated, married and had five children. He served as an alderman and as Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee and then sat in both houses of the Tennessee legislature. He went on to spend five consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms as Governor of Tennessee, all as a Democrat. His signature legislative endeavor in the state and federal arenas was passage of the Homestead Act.
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Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (
i/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005, Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when 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. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In April 2011, he announced that he would be running for re-election in 2012.
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Barack Obama, Sr.
Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (/ˈbærək huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; 18 June 1936 − 24 November 1982) was a Kenyan senior governmental economist and the father of U.S. President Barack Obama. He is a main subject of his son's memoir, Dreams from My Father.
Obama Sr. was born in Rachuonyo District on the shores of Lake Victoria just outside Kendu Bay, Kenya Colony, at the time a colony of the British Empire. He was raised in the village of Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Nyanza Province. His family are members of the Luo ethnic group. His father was Onyango (later Hussein) Obama (c. 1895-1979) and his mother was Habiba Akumu Nyanjango of Karabondi, Kenya, Hussein Onyango's second wife. However, Barack Obama Sr. was raised by his father Hussein's third wife, Sarah Ogwel of Kogelo, after his mother Akumu separated from her husband Hussein and left her family in 1945.
Before working as a cook for missionaries in Nairobi, Barack Obama Sr.'s father Onyango had traveled widely, enlisting in the British colonial forces and visiting Europe, India, and Zanzibar, where he converted from Roman Catholicism to Islam and took the name Hussein. Hussein Onyango was jailed by the British for six months in 1949 due to his involvement in the Kenyan independence movement. According to Barack Obama Sr.'s stepmother, Sarah Onyango Obama, Hussein was subjected to beatings and abuse which caused permanent physical disabilities and a loathing of the British.
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Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States (1889–1893). Harrison, a grandson of President William Henry Harrison, was born in North Bend, Ohio, and moved to Indianapolis, Indiana at age 21, eventually becoming a prominent politician there. During the American Civil War, he served the Union as a Brigadier General in the XX Corps of the Army of the Cumberland. After the war he unsuccessfully ran for the governorship of Indiana, and was later appointed to the U.S. Senate from that state.
Harrison, a Republican, was elected to the presidency in 1888, defeating Democratic incumbent Grover Cleveland. His administration is most remembered for economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act, and for annual federal spending that reached one billion dollars for the first time. Democrats attacked the "Billion Dollar Congress", and used the issue, along with the growing unpopularity of the high tariff, to defeat the Republicans, both in the 1890 mid-term elections and in Harrison's bid for re-election in 1892. Harrison advocated, although unsuccessfully, for federal education funding and legislation to protect voting rights for African Americans. He also saw the admittance of six states into the Union.
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Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu (Hebrew: בִּנְיָמִין "בִּיבִּי" נְתַנְיָהוּ (help·info); born 21 October 1949) is the current Prime Minister of Israel. He serves also as the Chairman of the Likud Party, as a Knesset member, as the Health Minister of Israel, as the Pensioner Affairs Minister of Israel and as the Economic Strategy Minister of Israel.
Netanyahu is the first Israeli prime minister born in Israel after the founding of the state. Netanyahu joined the Israeli Defense Forces during the 1967 Six-Day War, and became a team leader in the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit. He took part in many missions, including Operation Gift and Operation Isotope, during which he was shot in the shoulder. He fought on the front lines in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, taking part in special forces raids along the Suez Canal, and then leading a commando assault deep into Syrian territory. He achieved the rank of captain before being discharged. Netanyahu served as the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988, member of the Likud Party, and was Prime Minister from June 1996 to July 1999.
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Bernie Mac
Bernard Jeffrey McCullough (October 5, 1957 – August 9, 2008), better known by his stage name, Bernie Mac, was an American actor and comedian. Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Mac gained popularity as a stand-up comedian. He joined comedians Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and D. L. Hughley as The Original Kings of Comedy.
After briefly hosting the HBO show Midnight Mac, Mac appeared in several films in smaller roles. His most noted film role was as Frank Catton in the remake Ocean's Eleven and the titular character of Mr. 3000. He was the star of The Bernie Mac Show, which ran from 2001 through 2006, earning him two Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. His other films included starring roles in Booty Call, Friday, The Players Club, Head of State, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Santa, Guess Who, Pride, Soul Men, Transformers and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, a disease in which abnormal collections of chronic inflammatory cells (granulomas) form as nodules in multiple organs, particularly the lungs and lymph nodes. Lung scarring or infection may lead to respiratory failure and death. Mac had said the condition was in remission in 2005. His death on August 9, 2008 was caused by complications from pneumonia.
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Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III; August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation. Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. Many of his policies have been attributed to a centrist Third Way philosophy of governance.
Born and raised in Arkansas, Clinton became both a student leader and a skilled musician. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University where he was Phi Beta Kappa and earned a Rhodes Scholarship to attend the University of Oxford. He is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has served as the United States Secretary of State since 2009 and was a Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009. Both Clintons received law degrees from Yale Law School, where they met and began dating. As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton overhauled the state's education system, and served as Chair of the National Governors Association.
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Bill Richardson
William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, who served as the 30th Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. Before being elected governor, Richardson served in the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary. Richardson has also served as a U.S. Congressman, chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. On December 3, 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama designated Richardson for appointment to the cabinet-level position of Commerce Secretary. On January 4, 2009, Richardson announced his decision to withdraw his nomination because of an investigation into possibly improper business dealings in New Mexico. In August 2009, federal prosecutors dropped the pending investigation against the governor, and there was speculation in the media regarding Richardson's career, as his second and final term as New Mexico governor concluded.
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Bo (dog)
Bo (born October 9, 2008) is the pet dog of the Obama family, the First Family of the United States. Bo is a neutered male Portuguese Water Dog.President Barack Obama and his family were given the dog as a gift after months of speculation about the breed and identity of their future pet. The final choice was made in part because Malia Obama's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed. The White House has referred to him as the "First Dog", a US cultural term occasionally used during recent administrations.
The Portuguese Water Dog is a fairly rare breed; only 48 Portuguese Water Dogs were entered for Britain's Crufts competition in 2009 and the author of The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog, Kitty Braund, believes there are about 50,000 in North America. Due to its fleecy coat, the Portuguese Water Dog is considered a hypoallergenic dog breed.
Bred by Julie Parker of Erie County, Pennsylvania, Bo is the son of Watson of the Rader family in the Pittsburgh suburb of Ambridge, Pennsylvania and of Penny who belongs to Art and Martha Stern of Boyd, Texas. One of Bo's nine litter mates is the late Senator Ted Kennedy's Portie named Cappy (Amigo's Captain Courageous); the litter was named "Hope and Change" in honor of Obama's victory. Bo was purchased by a person unknown to the public, but eventually the new owner returned him to the Stern family; when buying the dog, the original purchaser had signed a contract requiring him to return the dog to the breeder if things did not work out. Bo was enrolled on January 5, 2009, with Kennedy's obedience trainer Dawn Sylvia, in Hume, Virginia.
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Bob Barr
Robert Laurence "Bob" Barr, Jr. (born November 5, 1948) is a former federal prosecutor and a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Georgia's 7th congressional district as a Republican from 1995 to 2003. Barr attained national prominence as one of the leaders of the impeachment of President Bill Clinton. Barr joined the Libertarian Party in 2006, and served on its National Committee. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 election. He is noted for his austere demeanour.
Barr was born on November 5, 1948, in Iowa City, Iowa, to Bob and Beatrice Barr. His father, a West Point soldier, moved the family to various locations around the world while pursuing his career in civil engineering. The second of six children, Bob Jr. spent his boyhood in Malaysia, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Baghdad in Iraq, and finally Tehran, Iran, where he graduated from Community High School in 1966.
Barr returned to the United States, attending the University of Southern California and joining the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity in 1967 (where as of 2011[update] he holds the position of Grand Epiprytanis on the fraternity's Grand Council). Barr also joined the Young Democrats of America and rallied against the Vietnam War. His parents disapproved, and threatened to cut off financial support if he continued his "flaming liberal" activities. During this time, Barr's mother introduced him to the work of Ayn Rand. This fostered a new-found appreciation for conservatism and prompted Barr to join the Young Trojan Republican Club. Barr completed his B.A., cum laude, from University of Southern California in 1970. Barr married his first wife while still in college. They divorced in 1976.
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Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 1st congressional district, serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
The district is located principally on the South Side of Chicago. It is a minority-majority district and has a higher percentage of African Americans (65%) than any other congressional district in the nation. Rush has the distinction of being the only person to defeat President Barack Obama in an election for public office, when Obama challenged him in a primary election in 2000. Rush is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.
After dropping out of high school, Rush joined the U.S. Army in 1963 but went AWOL and yet, somehow received an honorable discharge in 1968. Throughout the 1960s Rush was involved in the civil-rights movement. He worked in civil-disobedience campaigns in the South, and co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers in 1968 and was made its "defense minister". His son, Huey, was named after Panther leader Huey Newton. "We were reacting to police brutality, to the historical relationship between African-Americans and recalcitrant racist whites," Rush later told People magazine. "We needed to arm ourselves." Rush was present when fellow Black Panther Fred Hampton was killed in a police raid and later made an official statement that the police, referred only to as "pigs" by Rush, had murdered Hampton. Rush's own apartment was raided in December 1969 where police discovered an unregistered pistol, rifle, shotgun and pistol ammunition, training manuals on explosives and booby traps, a small amount of marijuana and an assortment of communist literature. Earlier that same year Rush stated the philosophy behind his membership in the Black Panthers saying, "Black people have been on the defensive for all these years. The trend now is not to wait to be attacked. We advocate offensive violence against the power structure."
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Bradford Lyttle
Bradford Lyttle is a prominent pacifist and peace activist, and organizer with the Committee for Non-Violent Action of several major campaigns against militarism, including "Omaha Action", against land-based nuclear missiles (1959); "Polaris Action" against submarine-based nuclear missiles (1960); the San Francisco to Moscow Peace Walk (1961); and the Quebec-Washington-Guantanamo Peace Walk (1963).
Among his theoretical works are a 1958 pamphlet presenting the case for nonviolent national defense against aggression; and a mathematical formula called "The Apocalypse Equation", which argues that, over time, the probability of nuclear missiles being used approaches 100%.
He is also the founder and perennial candidate for the office of President of the United States of the United States Pacifist Party. He ran as a write-in candidate in the 1984, 1996, and 2000 elections, and on the ballot in the state of Colorado in 2008. In 2008 Lyttle came in second to last of sixteen candidates in Colorado for which he received 110 votes, beating only Gene Amondson of the Prohibition Party. In Colorado, Amondson came in last place among all candidates with ballot access (though Amondson won enough votes elsewhere to surpass Lyttle's total nationally).
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Brian Rohrbough
Brian Rohrbough (c. 1961) was the 2008 vice presidential candidate of America's Independent Party in the 2008 United States presidential election, running on the ticket with presidential candidate Alan Keyes.
Rohrbough was raised in Littleton, Colorado.
Rohrbough dropped out of high school at age 16 and later founded a car stereo business in Englewood, Colorado. His son, Daniel, was the second murder victim in the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, being wounded by Eric Harris, then fatally shot in the back by Dylan Klebold. This event profoundly affected Rohrbough's life. Afterward, he led efforts to examine the sociological reasons for this event, ultimately concluding that America's so-called "culture of death", specifically legalized abortion, and the removal of all vestiges of religion from public school classrooms, were root causes. Since then he has become involved in the anti-abortion movement, and served as president of Colorado Right to Life.
Today he is the president of the splinter anti-abortion group American Right to Life. This local Colorado organization is dedicated to prohibiting abortion. He has appeared on numerous local and national television programs across the country.
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Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. (July 4, 1872 – January 5, 1933) was the 30th President of the United States (1923–1929). A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state. His conduct during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight and gave him a reputation as a man of decisive action. Soon after, he was elected as the 29th Vice President in 1920 and succeeded to the Presidency upon the sudden death of Warren G. Harding in 1923. Elected in his own right in 1924, he gained a reputation as a small-government conservative, and also as a man who said very little.
Coolidge restored public confidence in the White House after the scandals of his predecessor's administration, and left office with considerable popularity. As a Coolidge biographer put it, "He embodied the spirit and hopes of the middle class, could interpret their longings and express their opinions. That he did represent the genius of the average is the most convincing proof of his strength." Coolidge praised the achievement of widespread prosperity in 1928, saying: "The requirements of existence have passed beyond the standard of necessity into the region of luxury." Some later criticized Coolidge as part of a general criticism of laissez-faire government. His reputation underwent a renaissance during the Ronald Reagan Administration, but the ultimate assessment of his presidency is still divided between those who approve of his reduction of the size of government programs and those who believe the federal government should be more involved in regulating and controlling the economy.
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Carol Moseley Braun
Carol Elizabeth Moseley Braun (born August 16, 1947) is an American feminist politician and lawyer who represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 1993 to 1999. She was the first and to date only African-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first woman to defeat an incumbent senator in an election, and the first and to date only female Senator from Illinois. From 1999 until 2001, she was the United States Ambassador to New Zealand. She was a candidate for the Democratic nomination during the 2004 U.S. presidential election. Following the public announcement by Richard M. Daley that he would not seek re-election, in November 2010, Braun began her campaign for Mayor of Chicago. The former Senator placed fourth in a field of six candidates, losing the February 22, 2011 election to Rahm Emanuel.
Carol Elizabeth Moseley was born in Chicago, Illinois. She attended public and parochial schools. She attended Ruggles School for elementary school, and she attended Parker High School (now the site of Paul Robeson High School) in Chicago. Her father, Joseph Moseley, was a Chicago police officer and jail guard and her mother, Edna, was a medical technician in a hospital. Both her parents were Catholic. The family lived in a segregated middle class neighborhood in the South Side of Chicago. Her parents divorced when she was in her teens, and she lived with her grandmother. She began her college studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, but dropped out after four months. She then majored in political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago, graduating in 1969 and earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Chicago Law School in 1972.
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Charles Jay
Charles Jay (born 1960) was the Presidential nominee of the United States Boston Tea Party in the 2008 United States presidential election. He was the presidential nominee of the Personal Choice Party in the 2004 election, achieving ballot status in Utah, and received 946 votes in the general election, coming in third from last.
Jay has a B.A. in business from the University of Miami, and has worked in the sport of boxing as a manager and spokesman, among other positions.
A former member of the U.S. Libertarian Party, he stepped down from the race for the Vice Presidential nomination to the 2004 ballot to run as for President under the Personal Choice Party banner. His vice presidential candidate was Marilyn Chambers, a porn star famous from the 1970s. The Jay/Chambers ticket received 946 votes in the general election.
On Monday, June 16, 2008, Jay won the Boston Tea Party's presidential nomination at its nomination convention that was held on the national party's website online and will again be the candidate of the Personal Choice Party. His running mate was blogger and online magazine editor Thomas L. Knapp.
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Chris Dodd
Christopher John "Chris" Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lawyer, lobbyist, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States Senator from Connecticut for a thirty-year period ending with the 111th United States Congress.
Dodd is a Connecticut native and a graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, and Providence College. His father, Thomas J. Dodd, was one of Connecticut's United States Senators from 1959-1971. Chris Dodd served in the Peace Corps for two years prior to entering law school at the University of Louisville, and during law school concurrently served in the United States Army Reserve.
Dodd returned to Connecticut, winning election in 1974 to the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district and was reelected in 1976 and 1978. He was elected United States Senator in the elections of 1980, and was the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history.
Dodd served as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. He served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee until his retirement. In 2006, Dodd decided to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, but eventually withdrew after running behind several other competitors. In January 2010, Dodd announced that he would not run for re-election in the 2010 midterm elections. Dodd was succeeded by Richard Blumenthal. On March 1, 2011, the Motion Picture Association of America announced that Dodd will head that organization.
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Chuck Baldwin
Charles Obadiah "Chuck" Baldwin (born May 3, 1952) is an American politician and founder-pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida. He was the presidential nominee of the Constitution Party for the 2008 U.S. presidential election and had previously been its nominee for U.S. vice president in 2004. He hosts a daily one-hour radio program, Chuck Baldwin Live, and writes a daily editorial column carried on its website, on News with Views, and on VDare.
As a Republican Party member, Baldwin was state chairman of the Florida Moral Majority in the 1980s. However, during the 2000 campaign of Republican George W. Bush for U.S. President, Baldwin left the party and began a long period of criticism of Bush. Baldwin endorsed U.S. Representative Ron Paul for the 2008 Republican nomination for president, and Paul in turn endorsed Baldwin for the presidency in the 2008 general election.
Baldwin supports ending U.S. involvement in the United Nations, reducing U.S. income taxes, and repeal of the Patriot Act. He would withdraw troops from Iraq and seek to end illegal immigration by enforcing immigration laws. He supports the gold standard, the right to keep and bear arms, homeschooling, and the proposed Sanctity of Life Act, which would define "human life" and legal personhood as beginning at conception, and prevent federal courts from hearing cases on abortion-related legislation.
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Cynthia McKinney
Cynthia Ann McKinney (born March 17, 1955) is an American politician and activist. McKinney was a member of the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party, she served six terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives. In 2008, the Green Party of the United States nominated McKinney for President of the United States. She was the first African-American woman to have represented Georgia in the House.
In the 1992 election, McKinney was elected in the newly re-created 11th District, and was re-elected in 1994. When her district was redrawn and renumbered due to the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Miller v. Johnson, McKinney was easily elected from the new 4th District in the 1996 election, and was re-elected twice without substantive opposition.
McKinney was defeated by Denise Majette in the 2002 Democratic primary. Some people believe she was defeated because of Republican crossover voting in Georgia's open primary election, which permits anyone from any party to vote in any party primary and "usually rewards moderate candidates and penalizes those outside the mainstream." Others believe that her defeat was due to her "her controversial profile, which included support for Arab causes and a suggestion that Bush knew in advance of the September 11 attacks."
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Daniel Imperato
Daniel Imperato (b. March 9, 1958, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American businessman, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States in 2008. Imperato has also unsuccessfully sought the Green Party, Reform Party, and Constitution Party nominations. A resident of West Palm Beach, Florida, the 2008 election was Imperato's first run for political office. Imperato's campaign literature describes him as an "independent Libertarian" and an "alternative candidate" for the Presidency.
Imperato grew up in Revere, Massachusetts. Daniel is the son of Paul "Sonny" Imperato and the late Mary C. Imperato. The Imperatos were originally immigrants from Italy. When promoting The Red Worm (a film he supposedly produced), Imperato claimed his family was descended from the Roman Emperor Nero.
Imperato is currently a Papal Knight [2] and a Knight of Malta [3].
Imperato was a board member and headed up the Palm Beach, Florida branch office of the African Center Foundation. Imperato's website claims the organization is a United Nations non-governmental organization [4] but in reality only works with the United Nations Economic and Social Council [5]. Imperato also is a Chaplain for the Latin/African American Chaplain's Association [6].
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Darrell Castle
Darrell Castle (born 1948) is an American political figure, activist and attorney from Memphis, Tennessee, and was the vice presidential candidate of the Constitution Party in the 2008 United States presidential election.
Castle grew up in northeastern Tennessee in a small town near Kingsport. He attended Ketron High School and East Tennessee State University, graduating from each in 1966 and 1970, respectively. At ETSU, he earned a B.S., double-majoring in political science and history.
Castle was then commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, serving for four years and attaining the rank of First Lieutenant. He cites his military service as fostering his belief that war should not be entered into capriciously nor without congressional approval. After his discharge, he returned to ETSU and began his graduate study of history. He then attended the law school at University of Memphis, then known as Memphis State University, and earned his Juris Doctor in 1979.
Upon receiving his J.D. in Memphis, Castle became an attorney. In 1984, he opened a private firm which later grew into Darrell Castle and Associates. Since then, Castle has opened firms in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Detroit, Michigan; and Kansas City, Missouri. His firms focus on consumer bankruptcy and personal injury, but also represent clients in the areas of social security/disability and workers' compensation.
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David D. McKiernan
David D. McKiernan (born December 11, 1950) is a retired United States Army four-star general who served in Afghanistan as Commander, International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) from June 3, 2008 to June 15, 2009. He served concurrently as Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from October 6, 2008 to June 15, 2009.
Prior to Afghanistan, McKiernan was Commanding General, U.S. Army, Europe and Seventh U.S. Army from December 14, 2005 to May 2, 2008. Before promotion to four-star rank, he served as Commanding General, Third U.S. Army and Coalition Forces Land Component Command (CFLCC) from 2002 to 2004, where he commanded all allied ground forces during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and as Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command, the Army's largest major command, from 2004 to 2005.
On May 11, 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates asked for McKiernan's resignation from ISAF and USFOR-A. Gates said new leadership was needed as the administration of President Barack Obama launched a new strategy in the seven-year-old Afghanistan war. McKiernan was replaced by two generals, General Stanley A. McChrystal (Commander) and Lieutenant General David Rodriguez (Deputy Commander), ISAF and USFOR-A.
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David Petraeus
David Howell Petraeus (pronunciation: /pɨˈtreɪ.əs/; born November 7, 1952) is the current Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was sworn in on September 6, 2011. Prior to his assuming the directorship of the CIA, Petraeus was a four-star general serving over 37 years in the United States Army. His last assignments in the Army were as commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) from July 4, 2010 to July 18, 2011. His other four-star assignments include serving as the 10th Commander, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) from October 13, 2008, to June 30, 2010, and as Commanding General, Multi-National Force - Iraq (MNF-I) from February 10, 2007, to September 16, 2008. As commander of MNF-I, Petraeus oversaw all coalition forces in Iraq.
Petraeus has a B.S. degree from the United States Military Academy from which he graduated in 1974 as a distinguished cadet (top 5% of his class). He was the General George C. Marshall Award winner as the top graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College class of 1983. He subsequently earned an M.P.A. in 1985 and a Ph.D. degree in International Relations in 1987 from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. He later served as Assistant Professor of International Relations at the United States Military Academy and also completed a fellowship at Georgetown University.
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Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich ( /kuːˈsɪnɪtʃ/; born October 8, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th congressional district, serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.
The district includes most of western Cleveland as well as suburbs such as Parma and Lakewood. He is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
From 1977 to 1979, Kucinich served as the 53rd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a tumultuous term in which he survived a recall election and was successful in a battle against selling the municipal electric utility before being defeated for reelection by George Voinovich.
Through his various governmental positions and campaigns, Kucinich has attracted attention for consistently delivering "the strongest liberal" perspective. This perspective has been shown by his actions, such as bringing articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, and being the only Democratic candidate in the 2008 election to have voted against invading Iraq, although eventual nominee Barack Obama had also opposed the Iraq War at the time it was started, even though he had not been in Congress at the time.
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Diane Beall Templin
Diane Beall Templin (born May 23, 1947, Buffalo, New York) was a third-party candidate for President of the United States in the 1996 election, the 2004 election, and the 2008 election.
In 1996 her running mate was Gary Van Horn; that year she was on the ballot in Utah representing the Independent American Party (IAP), where she received 1,290 votes; in Colorado she represented the American Party and received 557 votes. The 2000 ticket of the American Party, Don Rogers and Albert B. "Al" Moore, promised that if elected they would nominate Templin to head the Environmental Protection Agency and to the United States Supreme Court. When she ran again in 2004, her Vice Presidential nominee was Al Moore; they were not on the ballot in any state. They replaced the brief American Party ticket of Robert Boyd[disambiguation needed
] and Walter Thompson[disambiguation needed ], who chose to withdraw.
Templin was one of 135 candidates who ran for governor in the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, receiving 1,067 votes. The San Diego described her as a "swing dance enthusiast." During the recall campaign, Templin appeared on a statewide PBS news program as she was dipped by a dance partner while declaring that California was "upside down." She has also run for California Attorney General in 1998 and 2002 as a candidate of the American Independent Party of California and has been a perennial candidate for Congress in California's 50th and 51st district in 2004.
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Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney (born January 30, 1941) served as the 46th Vice President of the United States (2001–2009), under George W. Bush.
Born in Lincoln, Nebraska, Cheney was primarily raised in Sumner, Nebraska, and Casper, Wyoming. He began his political career as an intern for Congressman William A. Steiger, eventually working his way into the White House during the Nixon and Ford administrations, where he served the latter as White House Chief of Staff. In 1978, Cheney was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wyoming; he was reelected five times, eventually becoming House Minority Whip. Cheney was selected to be the Secretary of Defense during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, holding the position for the majority of Bush's term. During this time, Cheney oversaw the 1991 Operation Desert Storm, among other actions.
Out of office during the Clinton presidency, Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company from 1995 to 2000.
Cheney was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Marjorie Lorraine (née Dickey) and Richard Herbert Cheney. He is of predominantly English, as well as Welsh, Irish, and French Huguenot, ancestry; Cheney's 8th great-grandfather, William Cheney, immigrated from England to Massachusetts in the 17th century. Although not a direct descendant, he is collaterally related to Benjamin Pierce Cheney (1815–1895), the early American expressman. Cheney is a very distant cousin of both Harry S. Truman and Barack Obama; the three share a common ancestor in Mareen Duvall, a Huguenot who fled from France to England in the 17th century and later settled in Maryland. His father was a soil conservation agent for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and his mother was a softball star in the 1930s; Cheney was one of three children.
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Dick Durbin
Richard Joseph "Dick" Durbin (born November 21, 1944) is the senior United States Senator from Illinois and the Senate Majority Whip, the second highest position in the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate.
Born in East St. Louis, Illinois, he graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and Georgetown University Law Center. Working in state legal counsel throughout the 1970s, he made an unsuccessful run for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois in 1978. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, representing the Springfield-based 20th congressional district. In 1996 he won election to the U.S. Senate by an unexpected 15-point margin. He has served as Senate Democratic Whip since 2005, and assumed his current title when the Democratic Party obtained a majority in 2007.
Durbin was born in East St. Louis, Illinois to an Irish-American father, William Durbin, and a Lithuanian-born mother, Anna (née Kutkin; Lithuanian: Ona Kutkaitė). He graduated from Assumption High School in East St. Louis in 1962. During his high school years he worked at a meatpacking plant. He earned a B.S. from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in 1966. He was an intern in the office of Senator Paul Douglas of Illinois during his senior year in college. Durbin earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1969 and was admitted to the Illinois bar later that year.
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Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (Russian: Дми́трий Анато́льевич Медве́дев, tr. Dmitriy Anatolyevich Medvedev; IPA: [ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪˈdvʲedʲɪf] (
listen); born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been Prime Minister of Russia since 2012. He previously served as President of Russia from 2008 to 2012.
Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint Petersburg State University, where he taught civil and Roman law until 1999. Medvedev's political career began as the election campaign manager and later an adviser of St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak. During this time, Medvedev befriended Vladimir Putin. In November 1999, Medvedev was hired in the Russian presidential administration, where he worked as deputy chief of staff. In the 2000 Presidential elections, Medvedev was Putin's campaign manager. On 14 November 2005, Medvedev was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and was tasked with overseeing National Priority Projects. He also worked as the Chairman of Gazprom's board of directors, a post which he held until 2008.
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Doug Stanhope
Douglas Gene "Doug" Stanhope (born March 25, 1967) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and author known for his on-stage drinking and abrasive comedy routines.
Stanhope quit high school after his freshman year. His comedy career began in 1990 in Las Vegas.
Stanhope has made appearances at several major comedy festivals, including the Montreal Just For Laughs, US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, the Chicago Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, where he won the Strathmore Press Award in 2002.
Stanhope was the winner of the 1995 San Francisco International Comedy Competition where he edged out notable comedic actor Dane Cook in a three-week contest. He's appeared in dozens of national and international standup comedy television specials. He claims that his appearance on the BBC television show, Live Floor Show, (broadcast March 20, 2003) was fueled by "ecstasy". According to Stanhope, "TV is just for the money; live performance is where it’s at."
In 2003 and 2004, Stanhope co-hosted the fifth and sixth seasons of The Man Show with Joe Rogan.
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Duncan Hunter
Duncan Lee Hunter (born May 31, 1948) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the House of Representatives from California's 52nd, 45th and 42nd districts from 1981 to 2009.
Hunter was the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee during the 108th and 109th Congress. Hunter sought the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States for 2008, but his campaign failed to attract significant voters or delegates in early primary and caucus states, and he dropped out after the Nevada Republican caucuses.
He was succeeded as Representative for the 52nd district by his son, Duncan D. Hunter.
Hunter was born in Riverside, California to Lola L. (née Young) and Robert Olin Hunter. He graduated from Rubidoux High School in Riverside in 1966. He attended the University of Montana from 1966 to 1967, and then briefly the University of California, Santa Barbara, before being commissioned into the United States Army in 1969.
He served in South Vietnam from 1970 to 1971 during the Vietnam War in the Army Rangers' 75th Ranger Regiment, attached to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. He participated in 24 helicopter assaults as well as in a small-number of night-time reconnaissance patrols. He held the rank of First Lieutenant, and was awarded the Bronze Star,Air Medal, and service ribbons such as the Vietnam Service Medal. He has said, "I didn't do anything special in the U.S. Army, but I served with very special soldiers I will never forget."
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Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (pronounced /ˈaɪzənhaʊər/, EYE-zən-how-ər; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He had previously been a five-star general in the United States Army during World War II, and served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe; he had responsibility for planning and supervising the invasion of North Africa in Operation Torch in 1942–43 and the successful invasion of France and Germany in 1944–45, from the Western Front. In 1951, he became the first supreme commander of NATO.
Eisenhower was of Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry, and was reared in a large family in Kansas, by parents with a robust work ethic and religious background. As one of five sons, he was conditioned by a competitive atmosphere which instilled self-reliance. He attended and graduated from West Point, and later was married with two sons. After World War II Eisenhower served as Chief of Staff under President Harry S. Truman, then assumed the post of President at Columbia University.
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Earl Dodge
Earl Farwell Dodge, Jr. (December 24, 1932 – November 7, 2007) was a long-time temperance movement leader and a politician of the Prohibition Party, from the U.S. state of Colorado.
Dodge was born in Revere, Massachusetts on December 24, 1932., and joined the Prohibition Party at age 19. He was appointed Chairman of the Prohibition Party in 1979 while the party was operating under the name of the National Statesmen Party; the party name was re-instated following the 1980 election.
In addition to his work with the Prohibition Party, Dodge was active in various other temperance organizations, as well as the Right to Life movement, and in several political memorabilia collecting organizations. In his later years, Dodge began to make a living producing political items.
The following is a list of his candidacies:
Dodge was waiting to board a flight en route from Denver International Airport to Pennsylvania, when he suddenly collapsed. Doctors confirmed it was cardiac arrhythmia. He died on November 7, 2007.
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Elaine Brown
Elaine Brown (born March 2, 1943 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American prison activist, writer, singer, and former Black Panther leader who is based in Oakland, California. She is a former chairperson of the Black Panther Party. Brown briefly ran for the Green Party presidential nomination in 2008. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is a founder of Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice.
On December 28, 2007, Elaine Brown renounced her affiliation with the Green Party and her bid for Presidency.
Brown grew up in the ghetto of North Philadelphia, with a single, working mother and an absent father. Despite desperate poverty, Brown’s mother worked to provide for Elaine’s private schooling, music lessons, and nice clothing. As a young woman, Elaine had few African-American friends but spent most of her time with her white friends. After graduating from Philadelphia High School for Girls, she studied at Temple University for less than a semester. After withdrawing from Temple Brown moved to Los Angeles, California to try being a professional songwriter.
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Eric Chester
Eric Thomas Chester (born 6 August 1943) is an American author, socialist political activist, and former economics professor.
Born in New York City, he is the son of Harry (a UAW economist) and Alice (a psychiatrist née Fried) Chester. Both parents were active socialists from Vienna, opposing the rise of fascism and nazism.
Chester was a member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) while at the University of Michigan in the 1960s, when he opposed the war in Vietnam. In the spring of 1965 he was among those answering the call of the southern civil rights movement, going to Alabama to demonstrate against the federal government's support of Alabama's segregationist policies. Later that summer he once again answered the call, going to Jackson, Mississippi in support of people struggling against the segregationist policies of Mississippi and the federal government. He spent 10 days in the Hinds County, Mssissippi jail. In October, 1965 he was arrested in Ann Arbor, Michigan as part of one of the first acts of civil disobedience against the American government's warfare against the people of Viet Nam. He was a member of New American Movement in the 1970s, and has been a member of the Socialist Party USA since 1980. He helped organize the faculty union while teaching at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is currently a member of the National Writers Union (UAW), an active member in the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the Socialist Party of Massachusetts, and the Socialist Party USA, and was the Socialist Party USA’s candidate for Vice President in 1996. The 1996 Socialist Party USA presidential ticket of Mary Cal Hollis and Chester received 4,765 votes. He campaigned for the SP's Presidential nomination for the 2000, 2004 and 2008 elections, but lost to David McReynolds, Walt Brown and Brian Moore, respectively. He twice ran for Congress from Massachusetts's First Congressional District, in 2002 and 2006.
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Evan Bayh
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III (pronounced /ˈbaɪ/ BY; born December 26, 1955) is a lawyer, advisor and former Democratic politician who served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1999 to 2011. He earlier served as the 46th Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.
Bayh first held public office as the Secretary of State of Indiana, elected in 1986. He held the position for only two years before being elected Governor where he successfully advocated for state welfare reform, tax cuts, and fiscal discipline. He left his office after completing two terms and briefly took a job lecturing at Indiana University Kelley School of Business, before being elected to the U.S. Senate seat once held by his father, Birch Bayh.
On February 15, 2010, Bayh announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate in 2010. After leaving the Senate, he became a partner with the law firm McGuireWoods in the firm's Washington, D.C., office. He also serves as a senior adviser with Apollo Global Management. He was hired as a Fox News contributor in March 2011.
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Evan Thomas
Evan Welling Thomas III (born 25 April 1951) is an American journalist and author. He currently teaches journalism at Princeton University.
Thomas was born in Huntington, New York and was raised in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. A graduate of Phillips Andover, Harvard University, and the University of Virginia School of Law, since 1991 he has been the assistant managing editor at Newsweek. He formerly worked for TIME. Thomas began his reporting career at The Bergen Record in New Jersey. He won his numerous journalism awards, including the National Magazine Award in 1998 for Newsweek’s coverage of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, and the 2009 Clarion award.
Thomas is a regular panelist on the weekly public affairs TV show "Inside Washington".
June 5, 2009, while being interviewed by Chris Matthews on Hardball with Chris Matthews, Thomas provoked controversy by stating that Barack Obama was "sort of God." In response to criticism of this comment, Thomas responded with the following:
What I said was: "In a way, Obama's standing above the country, above -- above the world, a sort of god." I was not being literal. During a discussion about presidential rhetoric, I was comparing Ronald Reagan's patriotic appeals with Obama's attempt to transcend parochialism.
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Frank McEnulty
Frank Edward McEnulty (born 1956) is an American businessperson and politician. In the 2008 presidential election, he was both the Vice Presidential nominee of the Reform Party of the United States of America and the presidential nominee of the New American Independent Party. His running mate was Bobby Klingler. In total, he received 833 votes in the presidential election for his Presidential candidacy and 481 for his Vice-Presidential candidacy. [1]
McEnulty is the President and Chief Financial Officer of Our Castle Homes, a residential building company which develops neighborhoods.
McEnulty is also President of I Made A Movie, Inc, www.imadeamovie.com and the President of more than a dozen other small, entrepreneurial enterprises.
McEnulty is Catholic and a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus.
In 2010, McEnulty resurfaced to criticize Barack Obama, saying: “By the time the election was over, many people were viewing him as the second coming and no one can live up to those expectations. Unfortunately, he has also failed to live up to even more down to earth expectations as well, which is why I believe so many people are becoming more and more disenchanted with him.”
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Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804 – October 8, 1869) was the 14th President of the United States (1853–1857) and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" (a Northerner with Southern sympathies) who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army. His private law practice in his home state, New Hampshire, was so successful that he was offered several important positions, which he turned down. Later, he was nominated as the party's candidate for president on the 49th ballot at the 1852 Democratic National Convention. In the presidential election, Pierce and his running mate William R. King won by a landslide in the Electoral College. They defeated the Whig Party ticket of Winfield Scott and William A. Graham by a 50 percent to 44 percent margin in the popular vote and 254 to 42 in the electoral vote.
He made many friends, but he suffered tragedy in his personal life; all of his children died when young. As president, he made many divisive decisions which were widely criticized and earned him a reputation as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. Pierce's popularity in the Northern states declined sharply after he supported the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which replaced the Missouri Compromise and renewed debate over the expansion of slavery in the American West. Pierce's credibility was further damaged when several of his diplomats issued the Ostend Manifesto. The historian David Potter concludes that the Ostend Manifesto and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were "the two great calamities of the Franklin Pierce administration.... Both brought down an avalanche of public criticism."[citation needed] More importantly, says Potter, they permanently discredited Manifest Destiny and "popular sovereignty" as political doctrines.
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Fred Karger
Fred S. Karger (born January 31, 1950) is an American political consultant, gay rights activist and watchdog, former actor, and candidate for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US Presidential election. Although he has not held elected or public office, Karger has worked on nine presidential campaigns and served as a senior consultant to the campaigns of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford. Karger was a partner at the Dolphin Group, a California campaign consulting firm. He retired after 27 years and has since worked as an activist on gay rights causes, from protecting the gay bar The Boom to using his organization Californians Against Hate to investigate the LDS Church's and the National Organization for Marriage's campaigns to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law. His running for the Republican nomination for president makes him the first openly gay presidential candidate from a major political party in American history.
Karger was born in Glencoe, Illinois, the son of Jean (née Foreman), an active community volunteer, and Robert S. Karger, who owned a brokerage firm. Karger graduated from New Trier High School in 1968 and earned a B.A. in speech communications from the University of Denver in 1972. Karger moved to Los Angeles from Chicago and began acting. He appeared in a John Hughes-directed Edge Shave Cream commercial, as well as featured roles in Owen Marshall: Counselor at Large; Rich Man, Poor Man; Horshack! (a pilot for a spinoff from Welcome Back Kotter); and Airport – 1975. However, Karger continued to follow his passion for politics, and eventually landed with the Dolphin Group in 1977.
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Gary Johnson
Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) is an American businessman, a former Governor of New Mexico, and the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. Johnson served as the 29th Governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003, as a member of the Republican Party, and is known for his low-tax libertarian views and his regular participation in triathlons.
Johnson founded one of New Mexico's largest construction companies. He entered politics for the first time by running for Governor of New Mexico in 1994 on a fiscally conservative, low-tax, anti-crime platform. He beat incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King by 50% to 40%. He cut the 10% annual growth in the budget: using his gubernatorial veto 200 times during his first six months in office. His use of the veto over his two terms gained him the nickname "Governor Veto".
Johnson sought re-election in 1998, winning by 55% to 45%. In his second term, he concentrated on the issue of school voucher reforms, as well as campaigning for marijuana decriminalization. During his tenure as governor, Johnson adhered to an anti-tax and anti-bureaucracy policy, setting state and national records for his use of veto powers: more than the other 49 contemporary governors put together.Term-limited, Johnson could not run for re-election at the end of his second term.
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Gene Amondson
Gene Amondson, (October 15, 1943– July 20, 2009) was a landscape painter, woodcarver, Christian minister and prohibition activist who was the 2004 US presidential candidate for one faction of the Prohibition Party (Concerns of People Party) and the nominee of the unified party in 2008.
Amondson was known for his anti-Alcohol activism and reenactments of sermons by preacher Billy Sunday. He was an active member in the community of Vashon Island, Washington, and was described as a "colorful" character. During press inquiries, he often repeated such prohibition slogans as: "Prohibition was America's greatest 13 years" and "drinking responsibly is like teaching a pig to eat with a spoon. Can't happen." He died in 2009 after suffering a stroke.
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George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush (born June 12, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States (1989–93). He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States (1981–89), a congressman, an ambassador, a Director of Central Intelligence, and is currently the oldest surviving president.
Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to Senator Prescott Bush and Dorothy Walker Bush. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bush postponed going to college, enlisted in the US Navy on his 18th birthday, and became the youngest aviator in the Navy at the time. He served until the end of the war, then attended Yale University. Graduating in 1948, he moved his family to West Texas and entered the oil business, becoming a millionaire by the age of 40.
He became involved in politics soon after founding his own oil company, serving as a member of the House of Representatives, among other positions. He ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States in 1980, but was chosen by party nominee Ronald Reagan to be the vice presidential nominee, and the two were subsequently elected. During his tenure, Bush headed administration task forces on deregulation and fighting drug abuse.
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George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of Barbara Bush and George H. W. Bush, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush worked in oil businesses. He married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election. In a close and controversial election, Bush was elected President in 2000 as the Republican candidate, defeating Vice President Al Gore in the Electoral College. Bush is the second American president to have been the son of a former president. He is also the brother of Jeb Bush, former Governor of Florida.
Terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bush's first term as president on September 11, 2001. In response, Bush announced the War on Terror, an international military campaign which included the war in Afghanistan launched in 2001 and the war in Iraq launched in 2003. In addition to national security issues, Bush promoted policies on the economy, health care, education, and social security reform. He signed into law broad tax cuts, the PATRIOT Act, the No Child Left Behind Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors. His tenure saw national debates on immigration, Social Security, electronic surveillance, and enhanced interrogation techniques. His administration also withdrew the U.S. from a some international treaty processes, including the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.
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George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732 [O.S. February 11, 1731] – December 14, 1799) was the first President of the United States of America, serving from 1789 to 1797, and the dominant military and political leader of the United States from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. Washington became the first president, by unanimous choice, and oversaw the creation of a strong, well-financed national government that maintained neutrality in the wars raging in Europe, suppressed rebellion, and won acceptance among Americans of all types. His leadership style established many forms and rituals of government that have been used since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. Washington is universally regarded as the "Father of his country."
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Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King, Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974. As the first person appointed to the vice-presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment (after Spiro Agnew had resigned), when he became President upon Richard Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, he became the only President of the United States who was never elected President nor Vice-President by the Electoral College. Before ascending to the vice-presidency, Ford served nearly 25 years as the Representative from Michigan's 5th congressional district, eight of them as the Republican Minority Leader.
As President, Ford signed the Helsinki Accords, marking a move toward détente in the Cold War. With the conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam nine months into his presidency, U.S. involvement in Vietnam essentially ended. Domestically, Ford presided over arguably the weakest economy since the Great Depression, with growing inflation and a recession during his tenure. One of his more controversial acts was to grant a presidential pardon to President Richard Nixon for his role in the Watergate scandal. During Ford's incumbency, foreign policy was characterized in procedural terms by the increased role Congress began to play, and by the corresponding curb on the powers of the President. In 1976, Ford narrowly defeated Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination, but lost the presidential election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
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Gloria La Riva
Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954, in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American politician associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She was the party's 2008 presidential candidate, and was also vying for the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party in California, but lost the bid to Ralph Nader. La Riva launched her presidential campaign in January 2008, with Eugene Puryear running for vice president.
La Riva was first a third-party candidate for President of the United States in the United States presidential election, 1992, representing the Workers World Party, although this was an unofficial run as basically a placeholder on a few state ballots. She had also been the Workers World vice-presidential candidate in the elections of 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000. She joined the Party for Socialism and Liberation in its split from the Workers World Party in 2004.
La Riva was also the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Governor of California in 1994, receiving 72,774 votes (0.9%). She ran again in the 1998 gubernatorial election, capturing 59,218 votes (0.71%).
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Gloria LaRiva
Gloria Estela La Riva (born August 13, 1954, in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is an American politician associated with the Party for Socialism and Liberation. She was the party's 2008 presidential candidate, and was also vying for the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party in California, but lost the bid to Ralph Nader. La Riva launched her presidential campaign in January 2008, with Eugene Puryear running for vice president.
La Riva was first a third-party candidate for President of the United States in the United States presidential election, 1992, representing the Workers World Party, although this was an unofficial run as basically a placeholder on a few state ballots. She had also been the Workers World vice-presidential candidate in the elections of 1984, 1988, 1996, and 2000. She joined the Party for Socialism and Liberation in its split from the Workers World Party in 2004.
La Riva was also the Peace and Freedom Party candidate for Governor of California in 1994, receiving 72,774 votes (0.9%). She ran again in the 1998 gubernatorial election, capturing 59,218 votes (0.71%).
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Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897) and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents. He was the winner of the popular vote for president three times—in 1884, 1888, and 1892—and was the only Democrat elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1861 to 1913.
Cleveland was the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats who opposed high tariffs, Free Silver, inflation, imperialism and subsidies to business, farmers or veterans. His battles for political reform and fiscal conservatism made him an icon for American conservatives of the era. Cleveland won praise for his honesty, independence, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism. Cleveland relentlessly fought political corruption, patronage, and bossism. Indeed, as a reformer his prestige was so strong that the reform wing of the Republican Party, called "Mugwumps", largely bolted the GOP ticket and swung to his support in 1884.
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Harold Ford, Jr.
Harold Eugene Ford, Jr. (born May 11, 1970) is an American politician and was the last chairman of the now-defunct Democratic Leadership Council (DLC). He was a Democratic Party member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee's 9th congressional district, centered in Memphis, from 1997 to 2007. Ford did not seek re-election to his House seat in 2006 when he unsuccessfully sought the Senate seat vacated by retiring Bill Frist.
Ford is the son of former Congressman Harold Ford, Sr. and Dorothy Bowles Ford. He has three brothers — Jake, Isaac, and Andrew — and one sister, Ava. His family has long been prominent in Memphis' African American community; their influence dates back to the late 19th century, when E.H. Crump, a prominent white Democrat, dominated city and state politics and befriended Harold Ford Sr.'s grandfather, N.J. Ford.
Ford was baptised at his church, Mt. Moriah-East Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He attended Double Tree Elementary School, a public Montessori school in the Westwood neighborhood of South Memphis, and he graduated from the private St. Albans School for Boys, a prestigious university-preparatory school in Washington, D.C.. He received a B.A. in American history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. After graduation, he was a staff aide to the Senate Budget Committee, and in 1993 became special assistant at the United States Department of Commerce.
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Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 – December 26, 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States (1945–1953). As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States (1945), he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his unprecedented fourth term.
During World War I, Truman served in combat in France as an artillery officer in his National Guard unit. After the war, he joined the Democratic Party political machine of Tom Pendergast in Kansas City, Missouri. He was elected a county official and in 1934 United States senator. After he had gained national prominence as head of the wartime Truman Committee, Truman replaced vice president Henry A. Wallace as Roosevelt's running mate in 1944.
Truman faced many challenges in domestic affairs. The disorderly postwar reconversion of the economy of the United States was marked by severe shortages, numerous strikes, and the passage of the Taft–Hartley Act over his veto. He confounded all predictions to win election in 1948, helped by his famous Whistle Stop Tour of rural America. After his election, he passed only one of the proposals in his liberal Fair Deal program. He used executive orders to end racial discrimination in the armed forces and created loyalty checks that dismissed thousands of communist supporters from office.
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Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st President of the United States (1929–1933). Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business under the rubric "economic modernization". In the presidential election of 1928, Hoover easily won the Republican nomination, despite having no previous elected-office experience. Hoover is the most recent cabinet secretary to be elected President of the United States, as well as one of only two Presidents (along with William Howard Taft) to have been elected without previous electoral experience or high military rank. America was prosperous and optimistic at the time, leading to a landslide victory for Hoover over Democrat Al Smith.
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Herman Cain
Herman Cain (born December 13, 1945) is an American author, business executive, radio host, syndicated columnist, and Tea Party activist from Georgia. He was a candidate for the 2012 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination.
Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics. Cain pursued graduate studies at Purdue University, and graduated with a Master of Science in computer science in 1971, while also working full-time for the U.S. Department of the Navy. In 1977, he joined Pillsbury Company where he later became vice president. During the 1980s, his success as a business executive at Burger King prompted Pillsbury Company to appoint him as chairman and CEO of Godfather's Pizza, in which capacity he served from 1986 to 1996.
Cain was chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Omaha Branch from 1989 to 1991. He was deputy chairman, from 1992 to 1994, and chairman, from 1995 to 1996, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. In 1995, Cain was appointed by Newt Gingrich to the Kemp Commission, and was a senior economic advisor to the Bob Dole presidential campaign. Cain became the CEO of the National Restaurant Association, in which he served as president and CEO from 1996 to 1999. During the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Cain publicly opposed the Clinton health care plan of 1993, about which he questioned the president at a town hall meeting. Cain has served as a member of the board of directors of several companies, including Aquila, Inc., Nabisco, Whirlpool, Reader's Digest, and AGCO.
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James A. Garfield
James Abram Garfield (November 19, 1831 – September 19, 1881) served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive appointments; energizing U.S. naval power; and purging corruption in the Post Office Department. Garfield made notable diplomatic and judiciary appointments, including a U.S. Supreme Court justice. Garfield appointed several African-Americans to prominent federal positions.
Garfield was a self-made man who came from a modest background, having been raised in obscurity on an Ohio farm by his widowed mother and endearing brother Thomas, who was nine years his senior. Next door were his uncle Amos and aunt Alpha Boynton. The families were very close as Amos was James' father's half brother, and Alpha was his mother's sister. James and his Boynton cousins cherished their memories of childhood together. Upon entering higher education James worked as a school janitor, bellringer, carpenter, teacher, and preacher to help finance his education. He completed his studies and graduated from Williams College, Massachusetts in 1856. A year later, Garfield entered politics as a Republican, after campaigning for the party's antislavery platform in Ohio. He married Lucretia Rudolph in 1858, and in 1860 was admitted to practice law while serving as an Ohio State Senator (1859–1861). Garfield opposed Confederate secession, served as a Major General in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and fought in the battles of Middle Creek, Shiloh and Chickamauga. He was first elected to Congress in 1862 as Representative of the 19th District of Ohio.
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James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. (April 23, 1791 – June 1, 1868, English pronunciation: /bjuːˈkænən/) was the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861). He is the only president from Pennsylvania and the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor. His niece Harriet Lane played the role as lady of the house.
Buchanan (often called Buck-anan by his contemporaries) was a popular and experienced state politician and a successful attorney before his presidency. He represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the Senate, and served as Minister to Russia under President Andrew Jackson. He was also Secretary of State under President James K. Polk. After he turned down an offer for an appointment to the Supreme Court, President Franklin Pierce appointed him Minister to the United Kingdom, in which capacity he helped draft the controversial Ostend Manifesto.
Buchanan was nominated in the 1856 election. Throughout most of Franklin Pierce's term he was stationed in London as a Minister to the Court of St. James's and therefore was not caught up in the crossfire of sectional politics that dominated the country. Buchanan was viewed by many as a compromise between the two sides of the slavery question. His subsequent election victory took place in a three-man race with John C. Frémont and Millard Fillmore. As President, he was often called a "doughface", a Northerner with Southern sympathies, who battled with Stephen A. Douglas for the control of the Democratic Party. Buchanan's efforts to maintain peace between the North and the South alienated both sides, and the Southern states declared their secession in the prologue to the American Civil War. Buchanan's view of record was that secession was illegal, but that going to war to stop it was also illegal. Buchanan, first and foremost an attorney, was noted for his mantra, "I acknowledge no master but the law."
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James Hedges
James (Jim) Hedges (born 1939) is a Prohibition activist and the former Tax Assessor for Thompson Township, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He holds the distinction as the only individual to be elected to public office from the Prohibition Party in the 21st century, and the first since 1959. He vied for the Prohibition Party's 2012 presidential nomination, but lost to Jack Fellure.
Hedges earned a Bachelor of Arts in Musical Performance from the University of Iowa and holds a Master's degree in Geography from the University of Maryland. He served in the United States Marine Band as a tuba performer and worked as editor of The National Speleological Society Bulletin.
In high school, Hedges became interested in the Prohibition Party after reading an article in a newspaper. By the 1980s, he became active in the party, and rose to the position of Executive Secretary in 2003. In 2005, he was selected as the Secretary of the Partisan Prohibition Historical Society.
Prior to the 2004 presidential election, Hedges was involved in a schism within the party stemming from alleged misuse of funds and mismanagement by Earl Dodge, the party's long-time face. Notably, Hedges and others claimed that Dodge sold the party's headquarters for $119,500 in 1999 with intent to build on his own property, but that he instead kept the money for himself and moved the headquarters to a tool shed. Dodge countered that Hedges and others were simply disgruntled with their position in the party, and that he placed the funds in a separate party account. Nevertheless, Hedges and his faction formed the Concerns of the People (Prohibition) Party to counter Dodge, and nominated Washington anti-Alcohol activist and preacher Gene Amondson for President. Both Dodge and Hedges claimed their parties were the authentic Prohibition Party. The split abruptly came to an end in 2007 after Dodge's death, and the reunified party again nominated Amondson for president for the 2008 election.
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James K. Polk
James Knox Polk ( /ˈpoʊk/ "poke"; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th President of the United States (1845–1849). Polk was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. He later lived in and represented Tennessee. A Democrat, Polk served as the 17th Speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and Governor of Tennessee (1839–1841). Polk was the surprise (dark horse) candidate for president in 1844, defeating Henry Clay of the rival Whig Party by promising to annex Texas. Polk was a leader of Jacksonian Democracy during the Second Party System.
Polk was the last strong pre–Civil War president, and he is the earliest of whom there are surviving photographs taken during a term in office. He is noted for his foreign policy successes. He threatened war with Britain over the issue of which nation owned the Oregon Country, then backed away and split the ownership of the region with Britain. When Mexico rejected American annexation of Texas, Polk led the nation to a sweeping victory in the Mexican-American War, which gave the United States most of its present Southwest. He secured passage of the Walker tariff of 1846, which had low rates that pleased his native South, and he established a treasury system that lasted until 1913.
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James Madison
James Madison, Jr. (March 16, 1751 (O.S. March 5) – June 28, 1836) was an American statesman and political theorist, the fourth President of the United States (1809–1817). He is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being instrumental in the drafting of the United States Constitution and as the key champion and author of the United States Bill of Rights. He served as a politician much of his adult life. Like other Virginia statesmen in the slave society, he was a slaveholder and part of the élite; he inherited his plantation known as Montpelier, and owned hundreds of slaves during his lifetime to cultivate tobacco and other crops.
After the constitution had been drafted, Madison became one of the leaders in the movement to ratify it. His collaboration with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay produced the Federalist Papers (1788). Circulated only in New York at the time, they would later be considered among the most important polemics in support of the Constitution. He was also a delegate to the Virginia constitutional ratifying convention, and was instrumental to the successful ratification effort in Virginia. Like most of his contemporaries, Madison changed his political views during his life. During the drafting and ratification of the constitution, he favored a strong national government, though later he grew to favor stronger state governments, before settling between the two extremes late in his life.
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James Monroe
James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825). Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation. His presidency was marked both by an "Era of Good Feelings" – a period of relatively little partisan strife – and later by the Panic of 1819 and a fierce national debate over the admission of the Missouri Territory. Monroe is most noted for his proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, which stated that the United States would not tolerate further European intervention in the Americas.
Born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, Monroe fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was injured in the Battle of Trenton with a musket ball to his shoulder. After studying law under Thomas Jefferson from 1780 to 1783, he served as a delegate in the Continental Congress. As an anti-federalist delegate to the Virginia convention that considered ratification of the United States Constitution, Monroe opposed ratification, claiming it gave too much power to the central government. Nonetheless, Monroe took an active part in the new government and in 1790 he was elected to the Senate of the first United States Congress, where he joined the Jeffersonians. He gained experience as an executive as the Governor of Virginia and rose to national prominence when as a diplomat in France he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Monroe was of French and Scottish descent.
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James P. Gray
James "Jim" P. Gray (born February 14, 1945) is an American jurist and the 2012 Libertarian Party vice presidential nominee. He was the presiding judge of the Superior Court of Orange County, California. Gray was the 2004 Libertarian Party candidate for the United States Senate in California. He is the author of multiple books and a play, and is critical of American drug laws of the early 21st century.
Gray has been a member of the California Judicial Council, as well as the California Judicial Council's Advisory Committee on Juvenile Law, the Alcohol Advisory Board to the Orange County Board of Supervisors, the Advisory Board of the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, and the Orange County Law Library. He has also been a member of the Board of Councilors of the USC Law School. Gray also introduced Orange County to the Peer Court System, where juvenile defendants travel to a school outside their district to have their actual cases tried by other teenagers. In 2012, Gray was nominated by Libertarian Party convention delegates as the running mate of former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson.
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Jeanne Shaheen
Jeanne Shaheen (born Cynthia Jeanne Bowers; January 28, 1947) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and the senior United States Senator from New Hampshire. The first woman in U.S. history to be elected as both a Governor and U.S. Senator, she was the first woman to be elected Governor of New Hampshire, serving from 1997 to 2003. Shaheen ran for the United States Senate in 2002, but was narrowly defeated by Republican challenger John E. Sununu. She then served as Director of the Harvard Institute of Politics, before resigning to run again for the U.S. Senate in the 2008 election, defeating Sununu in a rematch. Shaheen is the first Democratic senator from New Hampshire since John A. Durkin, who was defeated in 1980, and is currently the most junior senior Senator.
Shaheen was born Cynthia Jeanne Bowers in Saint Charles, Missouri, the daughter of Belle E. and Ivan E. Bowers. She is the wife of Lebanese-American attorney and political operative Bill Shaheen. They have three children. She graduated from high school in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, and earned a bachelor's degree in English from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania and a master's degree from the University of Mississippi. She taught high school in Mississippi and moved to New Hampshire in 1973, where she taught school and owned a small business.
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Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis (June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889) was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history. Davis was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane (Cook) Davis. After attending Transylvania University, Davis graduated from West Point and fought in the Mexican–American War as a colonel of a volunteer regiment. He served as the United States Secretary of War under Democratic President Franklin Pierce. Both before and after his time in the Pierce administration, he served as a Democratic U.S. Senator representing the State of Mississippi. As a senator, he argued against secession, but did agree that each state was sovereign and had an unquestionable right to secede from the Union.
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Jeremiah Wright
Jeremiah Alvesta Wright, Jr., (born September 22, 1941) is Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Church of Christ (TUCC), in Chicago with a congregation exceeding 6,000. In early 2008, Wright retired after 36 years as the Senior Pastor and no longer has daily responsibilities at the church.
Following retirement, Wright's beliefs and preaching were scrutinized when segments of his sermons were publicized in connection with the presidential campaign of Barack Obama, including his contention that the [[attacks of September 11, 2001, were proof that "America's chickens are coming home to roost" and such statements as "...not God Bless America. God damn America." Obama responded to the Wright controversy in a speech entitled "A More Perfect Union."
On April 27, 2008, Wright defended his record in a speech before the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), saying he was not "divisive" but "descriptive" and that the black church experience, like black culture, was "different" but not "deficient".
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Jim Clymer
James N. Clymer (born May 4, 1948) is the 2012 Vice presidential nominee of the United States Constitution Party and former party chairman.
He grew up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania and earned a law degree. He was admitted into the Bar in Pennsylvania in May 1978. In 1986 he was appointed Chairman of the Bob Smith for Senate Committee. In 1992 he would join the Libertarian Party and run as their candidate for Pennsylvania Auditor General. He also ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor in 1994 and 1998, attaining 13% and 10.5% respectively. He ran for a United States Senate seat in 2004, which gathered nearly 4% of the vote against Arlen Specter and Joe Hoeffel. He received 214,837 votes, which may have at the time been the second highest number of votes any Constitution Party member has received, after the 460,269 votes for Peg Luksik's 1994 gubernatorial bid received. He somewhat was able to gain support from conservative, pro-life Republicans who had voted for Pat Toomey in the close Senate Primary against Arlen Specter, who is more liberal, especially on social issues. He also gained the endorsement of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Clymer unlike many minor party candidates was invited to participate in the televised U.S. Senate Debate.
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Jim Gilmore
James Stuart "Jim" Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Virginia, former 68th Governor of Virginia, and a member of the Republican Party. A native Virginian, Gilmore studied at the University of Virginia, and then served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent. He later was elected to public office as a county prosecutor, as the Attorney General of Virginia from 1994 to 1998, and as the 68th Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002.
Gilmore campaigned for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination until July 2007, when he became the first major Republican candidate to leave the race. Gilmore was nominated as the Republican candidate for Virginia's United States Senate seat being vacated by John Warner. In the November 2008 election, Gilmore lost to his Democratic opponent Mark Warner.
Gilmore was born in Richmond, Virginia to Margaret Evelyn (née Kandle), a church secretary, and James Stuart Gilmore, Jr., a grocery store butcher. He graduated from John Randolph Tucker High School and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in 1971. Gilmore associated himself with the University's College Republicans chapter, and the Jefferson Literary & Debating Society.
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Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States (1977–1981) and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office. Before he became President, Carter served as a U.S. Naval officer, was a peanut farmer, served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and one as Governor of Georgia (1971–1975).
During Carter's term as President, two new cabinet-level departments were created: the Department of Energy and the Department of Education. He established a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. In foreign affairs, Carter pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT II), and returned the Panama Canal Zone to Panama. Throughout his career, Carter strongly emphasized human rights. He took office during a period of international stagflation, which persisted throughout his term. The end of his presidential tenure was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (at the end of 1979), 1980 Summer Olympics boycott by the United States of the Moscow Olympics and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.
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Jimmy McMillan
James "Jimmy" McMillan III (born December 1, 1946) is an American political activist, perennial candidate, and Vietnam War veteran, as well as a former postal worker and private investigator from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known as the founder of the Rent Is Too Damn High Party, a New York-based political party. McMillan has run for office at least six times since 1993, including in the 2010 New York gubernatorial election on the "Rent Is 2 Damn High" line. He declared on December 23, 2010, that he would run in the 2012 U.S. presidential election as a Republican.
McMillan's first run for political office came in 1993, when he ran for Mayor of New York on the Rent Is Too Damn High ticket. In the course of that campaign, McMillan was at one point tied to a tree and doused with gasoline; he would later climb the Brooklyn Bridge and refuse to come down from it unless television stations broadcast his message. He was ultimately disqualified from the ballot for coming 300 petition signatures short of the 7,500 needed to qualify for the general election ballot.
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Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. (pronunciation: /ˈdʒoʊsɨf rɒbɨˈnɛt ˈbaɪdən/; born November 20, 1942) is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama. A Democrat, he was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973 until his resignation on January 15, 2009, following his election to the Vice Presidency.
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and lived there for ten years before moving to Delaware. He became an attorney in 1969, and was elected to a county council in 1970. Biden was first elected to the Senate in 1972 and became the sixth-youngest senator in U.S. history. He was re-elected to the Senate six times, was the fourth most senior senator at the time of his resignation, and is the 15th-longest serving Senator in history. Biden was a long-time member and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. His strong advocacy helped bring about U.S. military assistance and intervention during the Bosnian War. He opposed the Gulf War in 1991. He voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002, but later proposed resolutions to alter U.S. strategy there. He has also served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, dealing with issues related to drug policy, crime prevention, and civil liberties, and led creation of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act and Violence Against Women Act. He chaired the Judiciary Committee during the contentious U.S. Supreme Court nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
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Joe Schriner
Joe Schriner (born March 3, 1955) is an American politician and journalist. He has run as an independent candidate for President of the United States in four consecutive election cycles. He ran in 2000,2004,2008, and is running in 2012.
Schriner and his family have traveled some 82,000 campaign miles. Since 1991, he has done extensive cross-country research for an expansive set of position papers. Schriner has been featured in some 2,000 newspapers, 175 regional network TV news shows, and hundreds of radio shows. He has written three books: Back Road to the White House, America's Best Town and America's Best Town 2. Schriner bills himself as an "average Joe concerned parent from the Midwest."
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John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy
pronunciation (help·info) (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
After military service as commander of the Motor Torpedo Boats PT-109 and PT-59 during World War II in the South Pacific, Kennedy represented Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat. Thereafter, he served in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated then Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election. He was the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43, the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), and the first person born in the 20th century to serve as president. Kennedy is the only Catholic president, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. Events during his presidency included the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement, and early stages of the Vietnam War.
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John H. Cox
John Herman Cox (born July 15, 1955) is an American lawyer, accountant, businessman, broadcaster, and aspiring politician. He was the first Republican to seek formally the party's 2008 nomination for president, but effectively withdrew from the race in late 2007 and suspended his campaign shortly after.
Born on the near south side of Chicago, Illinois, Cox is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he majored in accounting and political science, and of Illinois Institute of Technology – Chicago-Kent College of Law. He is married to Sarah, has four daughters, and is Roman Catholic. He credits his wife as inspiring him to run for president.
In 1981, he founded a law firm specializing in corporate law and tax planning, John H. Cox and Associates Ltd. In 1985, he founded Cox Financial Group Ltd., which specializes in investment counseling, income tax planning, retirement planning, and asset protection. In 1995 he founded Equity Property Management, a real estate management firm specializing in apartment rental property.
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John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior United States Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to then President George W. Bush.
The son of an Army Air Corps serviceman, Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and went on to graduate from Yale University class of 1966, where he majored in political science. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 and, during 1968-1969, served a four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service he was awarded several combat medals that include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. After returning to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesperson and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam war. During that period, he appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of "war crimes".
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John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (born August 29, 1936) is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2008 United States election.
McCain followed his father and grandfather, both four-star admirals, into the United States Navy, graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1958. He became a naval aviator, flying ground-attack aircraft from aircraft carriers. During the Vietnam War, he was almost killed in the 1967 USS Forrestal fire. In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot down, seriously injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. He was a prisoner of war until 1973. McCain experienced episodes of torture, and refused an out-of-sequence early repatriation offer. His war wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.
He retired from the Navy as a captain in 1981 and moved to Arizona, where he entered politics. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, he served two terms, and was then elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, winning re-election easily four times, most recently in 2010. While generally adhering to conservative principles, McCain at times has had a media reputation as a "maverick" for his willingness to disagree with his party on certain issues. After being investigated and largely exonerated in a political influence scandal of the 1980s as a member of the Keating Five, he made campaign finance reform one of his signature concerns, which eventually led to the passage of the McCain-Feingold Act in 2002. He is also known for his work towards restoring diplomatic relations with Vietnam in the 1990s, and for his belief that the war in Iraq should be fought to a successful conclusion. McCain has chaired the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed spending that he considered to be pork barrel, and played a key role in alleviating a crisis over judicial nominations.
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John Paul Stevens
John Paul Stevens (born April 20, 1920) served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from December 19, 1975 until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest serving justice in the Court's history. He was nominated by President Gerald Ford to replace the Court's longest-serving justice, William O. Douglas. Stevens is widely considered to have been on the liberal side of the Court. Stevens served with three Chief Justices (Warren E. Burger, William Rehnquist, and John G. Roberts).
Stevens was born on April 20, 1920, in Hyde Park,Chicago, Illinois, to a wealthy family. His paternal grandfather had formed an insurance company and held real estate in Chicago, while his great-uncle owned the Chas A. Stevens department store. His father, Ernest James Stevens, was a lawyer who later became a hotelier, owning two hotels, the La Salle and the Stevens Hotel. He lost ownership of the hotels during the Great Depression and was convicted of embezzlement (the conviction was later overturned). (The Stevens Hotel was subsequently bought by Hilton Hotels and is today the Chicago Hilton and Towers.) His mother, Elizabeth Maude (Street) Stevens, was a high school English teacher. Two of his three older brothers also became lawyers.
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John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adamsi/ˈkwɪnzi/ (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth President of the United States (1825–1829). He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former President John Adams and Abigail Adams. As a diplomat, Adams played an important role in negotiating many international treaties, most notably the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. As Secretary of State, he negotiated with the United Kingdom over America's northern border with Canada, negotiated with Spain the annexation of Florida, and authored the Monroe Doctrine. Historians agree he was one of the greatest diplomats and secretaries of state in American history.
As president, he sought to modernize the American economy and promoted education. Adams enacted a part of his agenda and paid off much of the national debt. He was stymied by a Congress controlled by his enemies, and his lack of patronage networks helped politicians eager to undercut him. He lost his 1828 bid for re-election to Andrew Jackson. In doing so, he became the first President since his father to serve a single term.
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John Tyler
John Tyler (29 March 1790 – 18 January 1862) was the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845), after being the tenth Vice President of the United States (1841). A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President in 1840. He was the first to succeed to the office of President on the death of the incumbent. Tyler's opposition to nationalism and emphatic support of states' rights endeared him to his fellow Virginians but alienated him from most of the political allies that brought him to power in Washington. His presidency was crippled by opposition from both parties. Near the end of his life, he supported the secession movement in the southern states, and was elected to the Congress of the Confederate States of America.
Tyler was born to an aristocratic Virginia family of English descent and he came to national prominence at a time of political upheaval. In the 1820s, the nation's only political party, the Democratic-Republicans, split into factions, most of which did not share Tyler's strict constructionist ideals. Though initially a Democrat, his opposition to Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren led him to alliance with the Whig Party; he was elected Vice President In 1840 on the Whig ticket. Upon the death of President William Henry Harrison on 4 April 1841, only a month after his inauguration, a short Constitutional crisis arose over the succession process. Tyler immediately moved into the White House, took the oath of office, and assumed full presidential powers, a precedent that would govern future successions and eventually be codified in the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
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Jon Huntsman, Jr.
Jon Meade Huntsman, Jr. (born March 26, 1960) is an American politician, businessman and diplomat who served as the 16th Governor of Utah from 2005 to 2009 and as United States Ambassador to China from 2009 to 2011. He has served in the administrations of four U.S. presidents and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.
Huntsman began his career as a White House staff assistant for Ronald Reagan, and he was appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and United States Ambassador to Singapore by George H.W. Bush. Later as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Huntsman launched global trade negotiations in Doha in 2001 and guided the accession of China into the World Trade Organization. He has also served as CEO of his family's Huntsman Corporation and chairman of the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
While governor, Huntsman was named chairman of the Western Governors Association and joined the Executive Committee of the National Governors Association. Under his leadership, Utah was named the best managed state in America by the Pew Center on the States. He won re-election in 2008 with nearly 78% of the vote and left office with approval ratings over 80%.
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Jonathon Sharkey
Jonathon (originally John) Albert "The Impaler" Sharkey (born April 2, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and perennial candidate. He resides in Florida and initially attempted to run for President as a Republican in 2012. On August 24, 2011, he formally ended his presidential campaign, but states that he has "all intentions of running in 2020."
He formerly lived in Minnesota but moved to Florida in 2010. Sharkey has three living children, and a fourth child who is now deceased. He also has a grandson. Sharkey says that he has never dated anyone over 19 years old since 2006. Sharkey drinks his girlfriends' blood and one of his former girlfriends, Audrianna Foster, has claimed to be a vampire herself.
Sharkey began wrestling in 1988. He began his career with Larry Sharpe's WWA promotion, facing "Diamond Jim" Brady in a boxer vs. wrestler match. Following this, he worked with a number of other wrestling promoters including Rocky Johnson, father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He cites his greatest wrestling influences as Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat.
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Kat Swift
Kat Swift (born June 6, 1973) is a United States political activist, former co-chair of the Green Party of Texas, and spokesperson for the Green Party's National Women’s Caucus. Swift announced her intention to seek the 2008 Presidential nomination of the US Green Party at the 2004 Green Party National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was one of the youngest candidates to seek the office in 2008, meeting the age requirement of 35-years-old only months before Election Day in 2008. In 2007, she ran for City Council, District 1 in San Antonio, Texas finishing second of three candidates with 1,630 votes for 29.48% of the total vote. On July 12, 2008 she finished third on the single ballot for the party's presidential nomination with 38 out of 532 delegate votes cast. She later endorsed the winner of the presidential nomination Cynthia McKinney. Swift was later a 2010 candidate for Bexar County Commissioner in Precinct 2.
Swift is a critic of electronic voting machines, and during a 2008 interview said: "The people must have precedence over corporations and political machines! Think about who is counting [votes] and paying for the candidates to run for office. Are they people who are acting out of duty for an egalitarian society, justice, and liberty...or are they in it for other reasons?”
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Keith Russell Judd
Keith Russell Judd (born May 23, 1958) is an American inmate at Beaumont Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas and a perennial candidate for political office. Judd claims to have run for President of the United States in every election since 1996. He also claims to have run for mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Governor of New Mexico.
In 1999 Judd was convicted of two counts of "mailing a threatening communication with intent to extort money or something of value" and sentenced to 210 months (17½ years) in federal prison. The convictions stemmed from an incident in which he made threats at the University of New Mexico. He has appealed his conviction no less than 36 times, but each appeal has been dismissed for various reasons.
In 2008 he filed to run as a Democrat for President of the United States in 14 states but only appeared on the ballot in Idaho. Judd finished third in the May 27, 2008, non-binding Idaho Democratic presidential preference primary with 1.7 percent of the vote, behind Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. No delegates to the Democratic National Convention were at stake in the primary as Idaho's delegation was determined at the February 5 Democratic caucus, which Judd unsuccessfully contested.
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Ken Salazar
Kenneth Lee "Ken" Salazar (pronounced /ˈsæləzɑr/; born March 2, 1955) is the current United States Secretary of the Interior, in the administration of President Barack Obama. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States Senator from Colorado from 2005 to 2009. He and Mel Martinez (R-Florida) were the first Hispanic U.S. Senators since 1977; they were joined by Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) in January 2006. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, he served as Attorney General of Colorado from 1999 to 2005.
On December 17, 2008, President-elect Obama announced he would nominate Salazar as U.S. Secretary of the Interior. The environmentalist movement's reaction to this nomination was mixed. Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General. On January 20, 2009, Salazar was confirmed by unanimous consent in the Senate.
Ken Salazar was born in Alamosa, Colorado, the son of Emma M. and Henry (Enrique) S. Salazar. He grew up near Manassa, in the community of Los Rincones in the San Luis Valley area of south-central Colorado. Salazar attended St. Francis Seminary and Centauri High School in La Jara, graduating in 1973. He later attended Colorado College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1977, and received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from the University of Michigan Law School in 1981. Later Salazar was awarded honorary degrees (Doctor of Laws) from Colorado College (1993) and the University of Denver (1999). After graduating, Salazar started private law practice.
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Kent Mesplay
Kent Mesplay (born July 19, 1962) is the California delegate to the Green National Committee and unsuccessfully sought the 2004 Green Party Presidential nomination which he lost again in 2008.
Mesplay was born and raised in Papua New Guinea to Lutheran Missionary parents. He graduated Valedictorian from Mira Mesa High School in 1980. In college, he studied Western and non-Western medicine, earning a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University and he obtained an undergrad degree in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California. After graduate school, Mesplay suffered through a long period of unemployment as he worked to develop a funded position for himself at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, in Long Beach, California, before moving to La Mesa and teaching mathematics in the Grossmont Union High School District. He currently works as an Air Quality Inspector at the Air Pollution Control District, in San Diego.
Mesplay became a Green Party of California delegate to the Green National Committee in 2004 [1]. Previously, he was elected Treasurer of the Green Party County Council, San Diego, which he served as from 1996-1997. During the same period, he was the co-chair of the Communications Committee, Green Party County Council, San Diego.
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Kwame Raoul
Kwame Raoul (born September 30, 1964) is an American politician and a Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 13th district since his appointment to fill the seat vacated by Barack Obama in 2004. He is the chair of the Illinois Senate's Redistricting Committee and the Senate's Pension & Investments Committee.
Raoul was born in Chicago to Haitian immigrant parents, Dr. Janin and Marie Raoul, whose parents' roots are from present-day Ghana. Raoul earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from DePaul University and went on to receive his law degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Raoul was appointed on November 6, 2004 to fill the state Senate vacancy caused by the resignation of his predecessor, Barack Obama, who had just been elected to the United States Senate.
Since his arrival in Springfield, Raoul has successfully advanced legislation promoting civil justice, early childhood education, domestic violence prevention and political reform. In his first year in the General Assembly, Raoul established a progressive agenda. His work led to the passage of laws expanding access to early voting in Illinois, and the state’s Low Income Energy Assistance Program and a crack down on the Pay Day loan industry.
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Lame duck (politics)
A lame duck is an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already been elected.
The status can be due to
Lame duck officials tend to have less political power, as other elected officials are less inclined to cooperate with them. However, lame ducks are also in the peculiar position of not facing the consequences of their actions in a subsequent election, giving them greater freedom to issue unpopular decisions or appointments. Examples include last-minute midnight regulations issued by executive agencies of outgoing U.S. presidential administrations and executive orders issued by outgoing presidents. Such actions date back to the Judiciary Act of 1801 ("Midnight Judges Act"), in which Federalist President John Adams and the outgoing 6th Congress amended the Judiciary Act to create more federal judge seats for Adams to appoint and the Senate to confirm before the Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated and the Democratic-Republican majority 7th Congress convened. In more recent history, U.S. President Bill Clinton was widely criticized for issuing 140 pardons and other acts of executive clemency on his last day in office, including two former close colleagues, donors, fellow Democratic members and his own half-brother.
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Laurence Kotlikoff
Laurence Jacob Kotlikoff (born January 30, 1951) is a William Warren FairField Professor at Boston University, a Professor of Economics at Boston University, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a Fellow of the Econometric Society, a former Senior Economist, President’s Council of Economic Advisers, and President of Economic Security Planning, Inc., a company that markets ESPlanner - an economics-based personal financial planning software program, a simplified version of which is available on-line for free use by the public.
Kotlikoff is running for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He is seeking the nominations of the advocacy group Americans Elect and the Reform Party of the United States.
Kotlikoff has written that the economic future is bleak for the United States without tax reform, health care reform, and Social Security reform in his book The Coming Generational Storm and other publications.
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Leon Panetta
Leon Edward Panetta (born June 28, 1938) is the 23rd and current United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama since 2011. Prior to taking office, he served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. An Italian-American Democratic politician, lawyer, and professor, Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997, Director of the Office of Management and Budget from 1993–1994, and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993. He is the founder of the Panetta Institute for Public Policy, served as Distinguished Scholar to Chancellor Charles B. Reed of the California State University System and professor of public policy at Santa Clara University.
In January 2009, President Obama nominated Panetta for the post of CIA Director. Panetta was confirmed by the full Senate in February 2009. As director of the CIA, Panetta oversaw the U.S. military operation that led to Osama bin Laden's death.
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Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo (born 28 December 1955) is a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist who called for political reforms and the end of communist single-party rule in China. He is currently incarcerated as a political prisoner in China.
Liu has served from 2003 to 2007 as President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center, an organization funded by the National Endowment for Democracy, which in turn is almost entirely funded by the US Congress. He was also the President of NED-funded MinZhuZhongGuo (Democratic China) magazine since the mid-1990s. On 8 December 2008, Liu was detained because of his participation with the Charter 08 manifesto. He was formally arrested on 23 June 2009 on suspicion of "inciting subversion of state power." He was tried on the same charges on 23 December 2009, and sentenced to eleven years' imprisonment and two years' deprivation of political rights on 25 December 2009.
During his fourth prison term, he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China." He is the first Chinese citizen to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China. Liu is the third person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize while in prison or detention, after Germany's Carl von Ossietzky (1935) and Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi (1991). Liu is also the second person (the first being Ossietzky) to be denied the right to have a representative collect the Nobel prize for him.
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Lolo Soetoro
Lolo Soetoro, also known as Lolo Soetoro Mangunharjo or Mangundikardjo, (EYD: Lolo Sutoro) (pronounced [ˈlɒlɒ suːˈtɒrɒː]; January 2, 1935− March 2, 1987) was the Indonesian stepfather of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America.
Born in Bandung, West Java, Soetoro was the ninth of ten children of Martodihardjo, who was from Yogyakarta. Soetoro's father and eldest brother were killed during the Indonesian National Revolution, when Indonesia won independence from the Dutch, and the Dutch army burned the family's home. Soetoro fled with his mother to the countryside.
Soetoro earned his bachelor's degree in geography from Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta. In 1962, Soetoro, then a civilian employee of the Indonesian Army Topographic Service, obtained an East-West Center grant for graduate study in geography at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He arrived in Honolulu in September 1962 and graduated from the university with a M.A. in geography in June 1964.
After living in Seattle, Washington, with her infant son Barack from September 1961 to June 1962 while taking classes at the University of Washington, Ann Dunham returned to Honolulu and resumed her undergraduate education at the University of Hawaii in January 1963. In January 1964 she filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Barack Obama Sr., who had left Hawaii in June 1962 to pursue graduate study at Harvard University.
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Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States (1963–1969), a position he assumed after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States (1961–1963). He is one of only four people who served in all four elected federal offices of the United States: Representative, Senator, Vice President, and President. Johnson, a Texas Democrat, served as a United States Representative from 1937–1949 and as a Senator from 1949–1961, including six years as United States Senate Majority Leader, two as Senate Minority Leader and two as Senate Majority Whip. After campaigning unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1960, Johnson was asked by John F. Kennedy to be his running mate for the 1960 presidential election.
Johnson succeeded to the presidency following the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, completed the rest of Kennedy's term and was elected President in his own right, winning by a large margin in the 1964 election. Johnson was greatly supported by the Democratic Party and as President, he was responsible for designing the "Great Society" legislation that included laws that upheld civil rights, public broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education, and his "War on Poverty." He was renowned for his domineering personality and the "Johnson treatment," his coercion of powerful politicians in order to advance legislation.
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Lynn Sweet
Lynn Sweet is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times and a columnist for The Hill, a weekly newspaper that covers the U.S. Congress, and for The Huffington Post.
Sweet is a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation and is a member of the Gridiron Club.
Sweet, a Chicago native, holds a master's from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley after attending the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
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Madelyn Dunham
Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham ( /ˈdʌnəm/ DUN-əm; October 26, 1922 – November 2, 2008) was the American maternal grandmother of Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States of America. She and her husband Stanley Armour Dunham raised Obama from age ten in their Honolulu, Hawaii apartment, where on November 2, 2008, she died two days before her grandson was elected President.
Madelyn Lee Payne was born in Peru, Kansas, the eldest of four children of Rolla Charles "R.C." Payne (August 23, 1892 – October 15, 1968) and Leona Belle (McCurry) Payne (May 7, 1897 – March 22, 1968). In Barack Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father, he describes them as "stern Methodist parents who did not believe in drinking, playing cards or dancing." She moved with her parents to Augusta, Kansas at the age of three. Madelyn was an honor roll student and one of the best students at Augusta High School, where she graduated in 1940. Despite her strict upbringing, she liked to go to Wichita, Kansas to see big band concerts. While in Wichita, she met Stanley Dunham from El Dorado, Kansas, and the two married on May 5, 1940, the night of Madelyn's senior prom.
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Mahmoud Abbas
Mahmoud Abbas (Arabic: مَحْمُود عَبَّاس, Maḥmūd ʿAbbās; born 26 March 1935), also known by the kunya Abu Mazen (Arabic: أَبُو مَازِن, Åbú Mázɩn), has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah (فتح Fataḥ) ticket.
Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally extended his term for another year and continues in office even after that second deadline expired. As a result of this, Fatah's main rival, the political party Hamas announced that it would not recognise the extension or view Abbas as rightful president. Abbas was chosen as the President of the State of Palestine by the Palestine Liberation Organization's Central Council on 23 November 2008, a job he had held unofficially since 8 May 2005. Abbas served as the first Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority from March to October 2003 when he resigned citing lack of support from Israel and the United States as well as "internal incitement" against his government. Before being named prime minister, Abbas led the PLO's Negotiations Affairs Department.
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Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS, née Roberts (born 13 October 1925) is a British politician and the longest-serving (1979–1990) British prime minister of the 20th century, and the only woman ever to have held the post. A Soviet journalist nicknamed her the "Iron Lady", which later became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style. As prime minister, she implemented conservative policies that have come to be known as Thatcherism.
Originally a research chemist before becoming a barrister, Thatcher was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Finchley in 1959. Edward Heath appointed her Secretary of State for Education and Science in his 1970 government. In 1975 Thatcher defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election and became Leader of the Opposition, as well as the first woman to lead a major political party in the United Kingdom. She became prime minister after winning the 1979 general election.
After entering 10 Downing Street, Thatcher introduced a series of political and economic initiatives to reverse what she perceived as Britain's precipitous national decline. Her political philosophy and economic policies emphasised deregulation (particularly of the financial sector), flexible labour markets, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Thatcher's popularity during her first years in office waned amid recession and high unemployment, until economic recovery and the 1982 Falklands War brought a resurgence of support, resulting in her re-election in 1983. Thatcher was re-elected for a third term in 1987, but her Community Charge (popularly referred to as "poll tax") was widely unpopular and her views on the European Community were not shared by others in her Cabinet. She resigned as Prime Minister and party leader in November 1990, after Michael Heseltine launched a challenge to her leadership.
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Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American politician and businessman, currently serving as the junior United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of the Forward Together PAC. Warner delivered the keynote address before the nation at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Mark Warner's experience as a congressional staffer and Democratic Party fundraiser in the 1980s prompted his involvement in telecommunications venture capital; he founded the firm Columbia Capital.
In 2006 he was widely expected to pursue the Democratic nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential elections; however, he announced in October 2006 that he would not run, citing a desire not to disrupt his family life. Warner was considered to be a potential vice presidential candidate, but upon receiving the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, he announced that he "will not accept any other opportunity." He is expected to become the state's senior senator when Jim Webb retires from the Senate in January 2013.
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Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren (Dutch: Maarten van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was the eighth President of the United States (1837–1841). Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President (1833–1837) and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson (1829–1831).
Van Buren was a key organizer of the Democratic Party, a dominant figure in the Second Party System, and the first president not of British or Irish descent—his family was Dutch. He was the first president to be born an American citizen, his predecessors having been born British subjects before the American Revolution. He is also the only president not to have spoken English as his first language, having grown up speaking Dutch, and the first president from New York.
As Andrew Jackson's Secretary of State and then Vice President, Van Buren was a key figure in building the organizational structure for Jacksonian democracy, particularly in New York State. As president, he did not want the United States to annex Texas, an act which John Tyler would achieve eight years after Van Buren's initial rejection. Between the bloodless Aroostook War and the Caroline Affair, relations with Britain and its colonies in Canada also proved to be strained.
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Mary Ruwart
Mary J. Ruwart, Ph. D. (born October 16, 1949) is a research scientist and libertarian speaker, writer, and activist. She was a leading candidate for the 2008 Libertarian Party presidential nomination and is the author of the award-winning international bestseller "Healing Our World."
Born in Detroit, Ruwart holds an undergraduate degree in biochemistry (B.S., 1970), and a graduate degree in biophysics (Ph.D., 1974) from Michigan State University. After a brief term as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at St. Louis University Medical School, Ruwart spent 19 years as a pharmaceutical research scientist for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, and has written extensively on the subjects of government regulation of the drug industry and on libertarian communication.
In 1992, Ruwart published her best-selling book Healing Our World: The Other Piece of the Puzzle (ISBN 0-9632336-2-9); in 2003, the third edition was published, retitled Healing Our World in an Age of Aggression (ISBN 0-9632336-6-1). In the afterword of the third edition of Healing Our World, Ruwart describes the experience of her sister's death, an assisted suicide facilitated by Jack Kevorkian.
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Matt Gonzalez
Matthew Edward Gonzalez (born June 4, 1965) is an American politician, lawyer, and activist prominent in San Francisco politics. He currently serves as chief attorney in the San Francisco Public Defender's office.
Gonzalez was a member and president of San Francisco County's Board of Supervisors. He was also one of the first Green Party candidates elected to public office in the San Francisco Bay area. In 2003, Gonzalez ran for mayor of San Francisco but lost in a close race to Democrat Gavin Newsom. In the 2008 presidential election, Gonzalez ran for vice president as the running mate of candidate Ralph Nader.
Matthew Edward Gonzalez was born in McAllen, Texas, to a Mexican mother, Oralia, and Mexican-American father, Mateo. Gonzalez spent his first four years in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Gonzalez family moved to New Orleans, Louisiana; Baltimore, Maryland; and Louisville, Kentucky, before the family returned to McAllen when Gonzalez was 11 years old.
In an interview with the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle, Gonzalez described his father as a salesman who initially started out selling "cigarettes from the back of his car in south Texas" in the late 1950s or early 1960s, and later started an import/export business selling medical and dental supplies. A profile in the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Gonzalez's father was a division chief for the international tobacco company Brown & Williamson.
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Maya Soetoro-Ng
Maya Kassandra Soetoro-Ng ( /ˈmaɪ.ə suːˈtɔəroʊ ˈɪŋ/; born August 15, 1970 in Jakarta, Indonesia) is the maternal half-sister of Barack Obama, who is the 44th and current President of the United States. She was previously a high school history teacher and university instructor in Hawaii.
Soetoro-Ng was born Maya Soetoro in Saint Carolus Hospital, a Catholic hospital, to Indonesian businessman Lolo Soetoro and American cultural anthropologist Ann Dunham. Her elder half-brother is the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama. She has said she was named after American poet Maya Angelou.
Soetoro-Ng and Obama spent several years together in Indonesia and in Hawaii before her mother decided to return to Indonesia with her.
After her parents divorced in 1980, her father remarried. From this marriage, Soetoro-Ng has another half-brother, Yusuf Aji Soetoro (b. 1981), and a half-sister, Rahayu Nurmaida Soetoro (b. 1984).
While living in Indonesia, she was home schooled by her mother and then attended Jakarta International School from 1981 to 1984. Like her older half-brother, Soetoro-Ng returned to Hawaii and attended the private Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, graduating in 1988.
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Merlin Miller
Merlin L. Miller is an American independent film director, writer, and producer. His works include the 1998 television film A Place to Grow, starring Gary Morris, and the 2000 film Jericho, starring Mark Valley. During the 2000s, he adopted an increasingly white nationalist political philosophy and founded a Tennessee-based all-white production company, Americana Pictures. He has also written articles for the Barnes Review and the Occidental Observer.
Miller is the 2012 presidential nominee of the American Third Position Party.
Miller (born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa), claims to be a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and to have commanded two United States Army units. Following this, he says, he worked as an Industrial engineering manager for Michelin Tire Company. In 1985, he graduated from the University of Southern California with an MFA degree in Cinema/Television.
Miller says that, in his childhood, he admired Walt Disney and Davy Crockett.
In 1989, Miller produced and edited Devil Rider, a horror movie starring Tag Groat as the title character. In 1991, Miller produced David Heavener's crime film Prime Target, starring Heavener as policeman John Bloodstone and Isaac Hayes as Captain Tompkins.
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Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician who is currently Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $22 billion in 2012, he is also the 11th-richest person in the United States. He is the founder and 88% owner of Bloomberg L.P., a financial data-services firm.
A Democrat before seeking elective office, Bloomberg switched his registration in 2001 and ran for mayor as a Republican, winning the election that year and a second term in 2005. Bloomberg left the Republican Party over policy and philosophical disagreements with national party leadership in 2007 and ran for his third term in 2009 as an independent candidate on the Republican ballot line. He was frequently mentioned as a possible independent candidate for the 2008 presidential election, which fueled further speculation when he left the Republican Party. There was also speculation that he would run as a vice-presidential candidate. Bloomberg did not, however, seek the presidency nor was he selected as a running mate by any of the presidential candidates.
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Michael Jingozian
Michael Paul Jingozian (born April 30, 1961) is an American entrepreneur and political activist who served as vice chairman of the Libertarian Party from 2008 to 2010. He was a candidate for the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party. Jingozian currently serves on the board of directors of the Free and Equal Elections Foundation, a non-partisan, nonprofit public policy advocacy group committed to election reform and protecting ballot-access laws in the U.S. He is also the founder and CEO of AngelVision Technologies, a marketing and sales promotion company, headquartered in Portland, Oregon. In 2011, the American Marketing Association of Oregon honored Jingozian as Marketer of the Year and presented him with the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jingozian declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination in October 2006. Although he had never held public office, Jingozian sought to leverage his skills as a successful marketing-communications entrepreneur to deliver his campaign messages. An article in CNN Money magazine cited his effectiveness at getting through to the masses. Jingozian’s campaign proposals included reorganizing the U.S. military, reforming election laws and drug laws, eliminating the Department of Homeland Security, abolishing the Patriot Act, and establishing greater transparency and accountability in government. One of his recurring campaign themes was that practical and viable measures existed to solve America’s problems, but such solutions were blocked at every turn by professional politicians and bureaucrats.
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Michelle Obama
Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.
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Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( /ɡrəˈvɛl/; born May 13, 1930) is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election.
Born and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts to French-Canadian immigrant parents, Gravel served in the United States Army in West Germany and graduated from Columbia University. He moved to Alaska in the late 1950s, becoming a real estate developer and entering politics. He served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1963 to 1966 and became its Speaker of the House. Gravel was elected to the United States Senate in 1968.
As Senator, Gravel became nationally known for his forceful but unsuccessful attempts to end the draft during the Vietnam War and for putting the Pentagon Papers into the public record in 1971 at risk to himself. He conducted an unusual campaign for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in 1972, and then played a crucial role in getting Congressional approval for the Trans-Alaska pipeline in 1973. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1974, but gradually alienated most of his Alaskan constituencies and his bid for a third term was defeated in a primary election in 1980.
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Mike Huckabee
Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee (born August 24, 1955) is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won (behind both John McCain and Mitt Romney). He won the Iowa Republican caucuses. Huckabee exited the race as McCain became the presumptive Republican nominee after winning the delegate-rich winner-take-all states of Florida, California, and New York.
Huckabee is the author of several best selling books, an ordained Southern Baptistminister, musician and a public speaker. He is also an ABC Radio political commentator. He and his wife, Janet, have been married for over 37 years and have three grown children: John Mark, David, and Sarah. Janet Huckabee was an unsuccessful candidate for Arkansas Secretary of State in 2002.
Huckabee currently hosts the Fox News Channel talk show Huckabee. Starting April 2, 2012 he will host The Mike Huckabee Show from noon until 3 pm weekdays for Cumulus Media Networks.
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Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th President of the United States (1850–1853) and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president. As Zachary Taylor's Vice President, he assumed the presidency after Taylor's death.
Fillmore opposed the proposal to keep slavery out of the territories annexed during the Mexican–American War in order to appease the South and so supported the Compromise of 1850, which he signed, including the Fugitive Slave Act ("Bloodhound Law") which was part of the compromise. On the foreign policy front, he furthered the rising trade with Japan and clashed with the French over Napoleon III's attempt to annex Hawaii and with the French and the British over the attempt of Narciso López to invade Cuba. After his presidency, he joined the Know-Nothing movement; throughout the Civil War, he opposed President Abraham Lincoln and during Reconstruction supported President Andrew Johnson. He is consistently included in the bottom 10 of historical rankings of Presidents of the United States.
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Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–07).
The son of Lenore and George W. Romney (Governor of Michigan, 1963–69), he was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1966, after one year at Stanford University, he left the United States to spend thirty months in France as a Mormon missionary. In 1969, he married Ann Davies, and the couple had five children together. In 1971, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University and, in 1975, a joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar. He entered the management consulting industry, which in 1977, led to a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as Chief Executive Officer, he helped bring the company out of financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded the spin-off Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the nation. His net worth is estimated at $190–250 million, wealth that has helped fund his political campaigns. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as Ward Bishop and later Stake President in his area near Boston. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to long-time incumbent Ted Kennedy. In 1999, he was hired as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics; and he helped turn the fiscally troubled games into a success.
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Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (Arabic: معمر محمد أبو منيار القذافي) (June 1942 – 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi /ˈmoʊ.əmɑr ɡəˈdɑːfi/ (Arabic: مُعَمَّر القَذَّافِي Muʿammar al-Qaḏḏāfī audio (help·info)) or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. Gaddafi seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1969 and served as the country's head of state until 1977, when he stepped down from his official executive role as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council of Libya, and claimed subsequently to be merely a symbolic figurehead. He styled himself as "Leader of the Revolution"; in 2008 a meeting of traditional African rulers bestowed on him the title "King of Kings". A leading advocate for a United States of Africa, he served as Chairperson of the African Union (AU) from 2 February 2009 to 31 January 2010.
Gaddafi replaced the Libyan Constitution of 1951 with laws based on the political ideology he had formulated, which he called the Third International Theory and published in The Green Book. After establishing the Jamahiriya (جماهيرية, "state of the masses") system in 1977, he officially stepped down from power and after that time held a largely symbolic role within the country's official governance structure. Rising oil prices and extraction in Libya led to increasing revenues. By exporting as much oil per capita as Saudi Arabia and through various welfare programs, Libya achieved the highest living standards in Africa; Libya remained debt-free.
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Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi ( /pəˈloʊsi/; born March 26, 1940) is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. She was the first woman to hold the office and to date, has been the highest-ranking female politician in American history.
A member of the Democratic Party, Pelosi has represented California's 8th congressional district, which consists of four-fifths of the city and county of San Francisco, since 1987. The district was numbered as the 5th during Pelosi's first three terms in the House. She served as the House Minority Whip from 2002 to 2003, and was House Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007, holding the post during the 108th and 109th Congresses. Pelosi is the first woman, the first Californian and first Italian-American to lead a major party in Congress. After the Democrats took control of the House in 2007 and increased their majority in 2009, Pelosi was elected Speaker of the House for the 110th and 111th Congresses.
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Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden ( /oʊˈsɑːmə bɪn moʊˈhɑːmɨd bɪn əˈwɑːd bɪn ˈlɑːdən/; Arabic: أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن, ʾUsāmah bin Muḥammad bin ʿAwaḍ bin Lādin; March 10, 1957 – May 2, 2011), was the founder of Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. He was a member of the wealthy Saudi bin Laden family, and an ethnic Yemeni Kindite.
Bin Laden was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings. From 2001 to 2011, bin Laden was a major target of the War on Terror, with a US$25 million bounty by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On May 2, 2011, bin Laden was shot and killed inside a private residential compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs and CIA operatives in a covert operation ordered by United States President Barack Obama.
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R. Lee Wrights
Roger Lee Wrights (born June 8, 1958) is an American political consultant and Libertarian activist. He is the founder, editor, and publisher of the online libertarian newsletter Liberty For All. He is the National Vice Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. Wrights was an unsuccessful contender for the 2012 presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party, and he finished as first runner-up to Gary Johnson.
Wrights was born on June 8, 1958. He graduated from West Forsyth High School in Clemmons, North Carolina in 1976. Afterwards he enlisted in the United States Air Force, and served as a medical services technician at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was honorably discharged in 1981 with the rank of sergeant.
Wrights earned a degree from Willmar College in Willmar, Minnesota where he majored in history and journalism. After college, he was a contributing editor for the Eagle News, a monthly political news and commentary newspaper in Forsyth County.
He has worked as a carpenter and a bartender.
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Ralph Nader
Ralph Nader ( /ˈneɪdər/; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government.
Nader came to prominence in 1965 with the publication of his book Unsafe at Any Speed, a critique of the safety record of American automobile manufacturers in general, and most famously the Chevrolet Corvair. In 1999, an NYU panel of journalists ranked Unsafe at Any Speed 38th among the top 100 pieces of journalism of the 20th century.
Nader is a six-time candidate for President of the United States, having run as a write-in candidate in the 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary, as the Green Party nominee in 1996 and 2000, and as an independent candidate in 2004 and 2008. Some people claim that Nader acted as a spoiler in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, while others, including Nader, dispute this claim.
Nader was born in Winsted, Connecticut. His parents, Nathra and Rose (née Bouziane) Nader, were immigrants from Lebanon and members of the Maronite Church. His family's native language is Arabic, and he has spoken it along with English since childhood. His sister, Laura Nader, is an anthropologist. His father worked in a textile mill and later owned a bakery and restaurant where he talked politics with his customers.
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Ray McKinney
Raymond Louis "Ray" McKinney (born June 20, 1962) is a mechanical services manager from Savannah, Georgia, and was the Republican nominee for U.S. Congress from Georgia's 12th District in 2010. He was a candidate for U.S. President in the 2008 Republican primary, but withdrew on November 14, 2007.
McKinney was born June 20, 1962 in Brackenridge, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Effingham County Public High School, where he was voted "most likely to become a nuclear scientist", McKinney had two years of Gulfstream Aerospace machinist training, two years Tool and Die, CFS machinist training, and (through 1990) two years at Savannah for Electro-Mechanical Engineering. He has been in the industry for the last 23 years. McKinney is currently a nuclear services manager for Continental Field Systems in Savannah. He and his wife Lisa live in Lyons on the McKinney family farm.
When asked about his educational and work experience, McKinney had this to say about his choice of career:
I think I prefer the term "machinist" above all but my wife thinks I put myself down by saying that. It is the proudest part of my skill set though. Her point is that people respect higher education and by telling people that I am a machinist that they have a lower opinion of who I am. Actually, I am quite proud of it.
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Richard Lugar
Richard Green "Dick" Lugar (born April 4, 1932) is the senior United States Senator from Indiana and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1976, he is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and was its chairman from 1985 to 1987 and 2003 to 2007. Much of Lugar's work in the Senate is toward the dismantling of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons around the world. Before his election to the United States Senate, Lugar served as mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana.
Lugar is currently the third most senior senator, behind only Daniel Inouye and Patrick Leahy. He is also the longest-serving Senator in Indiana's history, and is the most senior Republican member of the Senate. In 2012, however, he lost the Republican primary for a seventh term and his service in the Senate will end in January 2013.
Lugar was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of Bertha (née Green) and Marvin Lugar. He attended the public schools of Indianapolis. During this time he attained the Boy Scouts' highest rank: Eagle Scout. Later, he became a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated first in his class at Shortridge High School in 1950 and from Denison University in 1954 where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi. He went on to attend Pembroke College, Oxford, England, as a Rhodes Scholar, and received a second Bachelors and an MA degree in 1956. He served in the United States Navy from 1956 to 1960; one of his assignments was as an intelligence briefer for Admiral Arleigh Burke. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade.
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Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961.
Nixon was born in Yorba Linda, California. After completing his undergraduate work at Whittier College, he graduated from Duke University School of Law in 1937, and returned to California to practice law. He and his wife, Pat Nixon, moved to Washington to work for the federal government in 1942. He subsequently served in the United States Navy during World War II. Nixon was elected to the House of Representatives in 1946 and to the Senate in 1950. His pursuit of the Hiss Case established his reputation as a leading anti-communist, and elevated him to national prominence. He was the running mate of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican Party presidential nominee in the 1952 election. Nixon served for eight years as vice president. He waged an unsuccessful presidential campaign in 1960, narrowly losing to John F. Kennedy, and lost a race for Governor of California in 1962. In 1968, he ran again for the presidency and was elected.
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Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry (born March 4, 1950) is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. Perry, a Republican, 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 &1000000000000001100000011 years, &10000000000000188000000188 days, 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).
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Rick Santorum
Richard John "Rick" Santorum (born May 10, 1958) is an American author, attorney, and Republican Party politician. He served as a United States Senator representing Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007, and was a candidate for the 2012 Republican Party presidential nomination.
Born in Virginia, Santorum was raised primarily in Butler, Pennsylvania. He obtained an undergraduate degree from Pennsylvania State University, an M.B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh, and a J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law. Santorum worked as an attorney at K&L Gates where he met Karen Garver. They married in 1990, and have seven children; an eighth child died shortly after birth. Santorum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on behalf of Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district in 1990, becoming a member of a group dubbed the "Gang of Seven".
Santorum was elected as a United States Senator for Pennsylvania in 1994. He served two terms until losing his re-election bid in 2006. Santorum holds socially conservative positions, and is particularly known for his opposition to same-sex marriage and birth control. While serving as a senator, Santorum was the author of the National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005 and the Santorum Amendment. In 2005, Santorum introduced the Workplace Religious Freedom Act along with Senator John Kerry.
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Robert Burck
Robert John Burck (born December 23, 1970), better known as the Naked Cowboy, is an American street performer whose pitch is on New York City's Times Square. He wears only cowboy boots, a hat, and briefs, with a guitar strategically placed to give the illusion of nudity.
On October 6, 2010, Burck formally announced that he is running for President of the United States in the 2012 U.S. election as a candidate representing the U.S. Tea Party movement.
Burck was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Our Lady of the Rosary elementary school in Greenhills, Ohio, and later earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Cincinnati. He began busking in December 1997 and first appeared on Venice Beach, Los Angeles. The public immediately gave him much more money after a friend suggested to him that he dress only in his underwear in order to generate higher earnings.
He is currently most famous as a fixture of New York City's Times Square where tour guides on passing buses point him out. Burck is also a regular in the streets of the French Quarter during the New Orleans Mardi Gras season. "I had a little old lady in New Orleans Mardi Gras grab my balls and said, 'Just want to see what you got there, Buster!' Only lady that's ever done it. She was about 105. Awesome." He also makes appearances in his hometown of Cincinnati, at the Memorial Day weekend Taste of Cincinnati festival and the Riverfest Labor Day Festival. He has also made an appearance in Austin, Texas, during the South by Southwest Music Conference, He has also made an appearance in Nashville, Tennessee in June, 2008 on Broadway for the CMA Music Festival and he also made an appearance on January 25, 2009 he performed at a Leinster Rugby game in Donnybrook, Dublin, Ireland, singing his theme song "I'm the Naked Cowboy" before 18,000 spectators.[citation needed]
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Robert David Steele
Robert David Steele Vivas (born 16 July 1952) is an American activist and a former Central Intelligence Agency clandestine services case officer known for his promotion of open source intelligence (OSINT). He is the founder and CEO of OSS.Net as well as the Golden Candle Society. He was a Marine Corps infantry and intelligence officer for twenty years and was the second-ranking civilian (GS-14) in Marine Corps Intelligence Activity from 1988–92, and was also an adjunct instructor at Marine Corps University in the mid-1990s.
Steele was a candidate for the Reform Party's nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election until 23 February 2012.
Robert David Steele was born in New York City on 16 July 1952. His father was a petroleum industry executive. He spent his first twenty years in Latin America and Asia. He holds a B.A. in political science, an M.A. in international relations; and an M.P.A. in public administration.
Steele is commonly associated[citation needed] with the open source intelligence movement and coined the terms "virtual intelligence" and "information peacekeeping". He argues that U.S. intelligence reform is needed, and that the private sector can perform a high percentage of U.S. open source intelligence needs and reduce cost to the U.S. government. He advocates "collective intelligence" or "the wisdom of the crowd" (what Howard Rheingold calls "smart mobs") and for hackers as a national resource.
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Rocky Anderson
Ross Carl "Rocky" Anderson (born September 9, 1951) served two terms as the 33rd mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, between 2000 and 2008. He is the Executive Director of High Road for Human Rights. Prior to serving as Mayor, he practiced law for 21 years in Salt Lake City, during which time he was listed in Best Lawyers in America, was rated A-V (highest rating) by Martindale-Hubbell, served as Chair of the Utah State Bar Litigation Section and was Editor-in-Chief of, and a contributor to, Voir Dire legal journal.
As mayor, Anderson rose to nationwide prominence as a champion of several national and international causes, including climate protection, immigration reform, restorative criminal justice, LGBT rights, and an end to the "war on drugs". Before and after the invasion by the U.S. of Iraq in 2003, Anderson was a leading opponent of the invasion and occupation of Iraq and related human rights abuses. Anderson was the only mayor of a major U.S. city who advocated for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, which he did in many venues throughout the United States.
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Roland Burris
Roland Wallace Burris (born August 3, 1937) is a former United States Senator from the state of Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.
In 1978, Burris was the first African-American elected to statewide office in Illinois, when he was elected Illinois Comptroller. He served in that office until his election as Illinois Attorney General in 1990. Since then, he has unsuccessfully run for office four more times.
Burris was appointed by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to replace President-Elect Barack Obama as the junior senator from Illinois. The appointment was controversial, as the governor was already under investigation and there were rumors of his being paid for the appointment. Prior to Burris's appointment, Obama was the U.S. Senate's only African American; he resigned his Senate seat after being elected President of the United States. Burris was the subject of an ethics probe.
Burris was born and raised in the small community of Centralia in southern Illinois. The Burris family can trace their roots to American slaves in the American South, mainly in the states of Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. He was a 1955 graduate of Centralia High School. He attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1959. He was an exchange student on scholarship to study International Law at the University of Hamburg in Germany. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the Howard University School of Law in 1963.
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Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( /ˈrɒnəld ˈwɪlsən ˈreɪɡən/; February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States, serving from 1981 to 1989. Prior to that, he was the 33rd Governor of California from 1967 to 1975 and a radio, film and television actor.
Born in Tampico, Illinois and raised in Dixon, Reagan was educated at Eureka College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and sociology. After his graduation, Reagan moved first to Iowa to work as a radio broadcaster and then in to Los Angeles in 1937 where he began a career as an actor, first in films and later television. Some of his most notable films include Knute Rockne, All American, Kings Row, and Bedtime for Bonzo. Reagan served as president of the Screen Actors Guild, and later as a spokesman for General Electric (GE); his start in politics occurred during his work for GE. Originally a member of the Democratic Party, his positions began shifting rightward in the late 1950s, and he switched to the Republican Party in 1962. After delivering a rousing speech in support of Barry Goldwater's presidential candidacy in 1964, he was persuaded to seek the California governorship, winning two years later and again in 1970. He was defeated in his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1968 as well as 1976, but won both the nomination and general election in 1980, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
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Rosa Clemente
Rosa Alicia Clemente (born April 18, 1972) is a United States community organizer, independent journalist and hip-hop activist. She was the vice presidential running mate of 2008 Green Party Presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney in the 2008 U.S. Presidential election.
Clemente was born and raised in South Bronx, New York. She is a graduate of the University of Albany and Cornell University. Clemente has been delivering workshops, presentations and commentary for over ten years.
Clemente's academic work has focused on research of national liberation struggles within the United States, with a specific focus on the Young Lords Party and the Black Liberation Army. While a student at SUNY Albany, she was President of the Albany State University Black Alliance (ASUBA) and Director of Multicultural Affairs for the Student Association. At Cornell she was a founding member of La Voz Boriken, a social/political organization dedicated to supporting Puerto Rican political prisoners and the independence of Puerto Rico.
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Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, television producer, director and candidate for President of the United States with the Green Party of the United States. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy at clubs before gaining fame for her role in the sitcom Roseanne. The show was a hit and lasted nine seasons, from 1988 to 1997. She won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her work on the show. Barr had crafted a "fierce working-class domestic goddess" persona in the eight years preceding her sitcom and wanted to do a realistic show about a strong mother who was not a victim of patriarchal consumerism.
The granddaughter of immigrants from Europe and Russia, Barr was the oldest of four children in a working-class Jewish Salt Lake City family; she was also active in the LDS Church. In 1974 she married Bill Pentland, with whom she had three children, before divorcing in 1990 and marrying comedian Tom Arnold for four years. Controversy arose when she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" off-key at a 1990 nationally aired baseball game, followed by spitting and grabbing her crotch.
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Roy Moore
Roy Stewart Moore (born February 11, 1947) is an American jurist and Republican politician noted for his refusal, as the elected Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, to remove a monument of the Ten Commandments from the Alabama Judicial Building despite orders to do so from a federal judge. On November 13, 2003, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary unanimously removed Moore from his post as Chief Justice. In the years preceding his election to the state Supreme Court, Moore had successfully resisted previous attempts to have a display of the Ten Commandments removed from the courtroom. The controversy around Moore generated national attention.
Moore's supporters regard his stand as a defense of "judicial rights" and the Constitution of Alabama. Moore contends that federal judges who ruled against his actions consider "obedience of a court order superior to all other concerns, even the suppression of belief in the sovereignty of God."
Moore sought the Republican nomination for the governorship of Alabama in 2006, but lost to incumbent Bob Riley in the June primary by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. On June 1, 2009 he announced his campaign for the 2010 election for governor. Moore placed fourth in the race held on June 1, 2010, having received only 19 percent of the vote.
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Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani ( /ˈruːdi ˌdʒuːliˈɑːni/; born May 28, 1944) is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001.
A Democrat and Independent in the 1970s, and a Republican since the 1980s, Giuliani served in the United States Attorney's Office, for the Southern District of New York, eventually becoming U.S. Attorney. He prosecuted a number of high-profile cases, including ones against organized crime and Wall Street financiers.
Giuliani served two terms as Mayor of New York City, having run on the Republican and Liberal lines. He was credited with initiating improvements and with a reduction in crime pressing the city's quality of life initiatives. He ran for the United States Senate in 2000 but withdrew due to being diagnosed with prostate cancer and revelations about his personal life. Giuliani gained international attention for his leadership during and after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. For those actions, he received an honorary knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.
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Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th President of the United States (1877–1881). As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution. Hayes was a reformer who began the efforts that led to civil service reform and attempted, unsuccessfully, to reconcile the divisions that had led to the American Civil War fifteen years earlier.
Born in Delaware, Ohio, Hayes practiced law in Lower Sandusky (now Fremont) and was city solicitor of Cincinnati from 1858 to 1861. When the Civil War began, Hayes left a successful political career to join the Union Army. Wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain, he earned a reputation for bravery in combat and was promoted to the rank of major general. After the war, he served in the U.S. Congress from 1865 to 1867 as a Republican. Hayes left Congress to run for Governor of Ohio and was elected to two consecutive terms, serving from 1867 to 1871. After his second term had ended, he resumed the practice of law for a time, but returned to politics in 1875 to serve a third term as governor.
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Róger Calero
Róger Calero (born 1969 in Nicaragua) is a Nicaraguan American journalist and one of the leaders of the Socialist Workers Party. He was SWP candidate for President of the United States in 2004 and 2008, and for the United States Senate in New York in 2006.
Calero was born in Nicaragua in 1969. He and his family fled via Los Angeles, California in 1985. Calero has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States (holding a green card) since 1990. While in Los Angeles, Calero joined a socialist movement and helped mobilize support against Proposition 187 in the early 90s.
Calero, a former meat packer, has been associate editor of Perspectiva Mundial (official Spanish language newspaper of the SWP) and a staff writer for The Militant (official English language newspaper of the SWP).
He now lives in Newark, New Jersey.
Calero was convicted of felony sale of marijuana in 1988. In December 2002, immigration police arrested Calero upon his return to the United States at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport from reporting assignments at a conference held in Havana, Cuba, protesting the Free Trade Area of the Americas. He was threatened with deportation in 2002 as a result of his previous conviction in 1988.
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Sam Brownback
Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American politician who has been the 46th Governor of Kansas since January 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Representative for Kansas's 2nd congressional district from 1995 to 1996 and then as a U.S. Senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination in the 2008 presidential election, withdrawing before the primaries.
Sam Brownback was born in Garnett, Kansas, the son of Nancy and Glenn Robert Brownback. He was raised in a farming family in Parker, Kansas; his distant ancestors, of German descent, settled in Kansas after leaving Pennsylvania following the Civil War. Brownback was state president of the Kansas FFA Association, and was one of the national vice presidents of the National FFA Organization from 1976 to 1977. While at Kansas State University, he was elected student body president and was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho. He received his J.D. from the University of Kansas in 1982.
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Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palini/ˈpeɪlɨn/ (née Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice presidency. Her book Going Rogue has sold more than two million copies. Since January 2010, she has provided political commentary for Fox News, and hosted a television show, Sarah Palin's Alaska. Five million viewers tuned in for the first episode, a record for The Learning Channel.
She was elected to Wasilla City Council in 1992 and became mayor of Wasilla in 1996. In 2003, after an unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor, she was appointed Chairman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, responsible for overseeing the state's oil and gas fields for safety and efficiency. The youngest person and first woman to be elected Governor of Alaska, Palin held the office from December 2006 until her resignation in July 2009. She has since endorsed and campaigned for the Tea Party movement, as well as several candidates in the 2010 midterm elections. From the time of her Vice Presidential nomination in 2008, Palin was considered a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential election until she announced in October 2011 that she would not run.
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Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (help·info) GCMG (Hebrew: שמעון פרס, born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923) is the ninth and current President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years. Peres was elected to the Knesset in November 1959 and, except for a three-month-long hiatus in early 2006, served continuously until 2007, when he became President.
He held several diplomatic and military positions during and directly after Israel's War of Independence. His first high-level government position was as Deputy Director-General of Defense in 1952, and Director-General in 1953 through 1959. During his career, he has represented five political parties in the Knesset: Mapai, Rafi, the Alignment, Labor and Kadima, and has led Alignment and Labour. Peres won the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize together with Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat for the peace talks that he participated in as Israeli Foreign Minister, producing the Oslo Accords.
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Steve Kubby
Steven Wynn "Steve" Kubby (born December 28, 1946) is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who relies on medical cannabis. He has authored two books on drug policy reform: The Politics of Consciousness, and Why Marijuana Should Be Legal. He was the Libertarian Party of California candidate for Governor of California in 1998 receiving 0.9% of the vote. In 2008, he declared his candidacy for the Libertarian Party's 2008 presidential nomination and received significant support for the nomination, but was eliminated after the second ballot. Although various media reports have described him as a "felon" and "fugitive", Kubby's legal status was resolved on July 3, 2008, when California Superior Court Judge, David Nelson, dismissed all charges against Kubby, clearing his name and record of any criminal activity.
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Stewart Greenleaf
Stewart J. Greenleaf (born October 4, 1939) is a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 12th District since 1979. His district includes portions of Montgomery and Bucks Counties.
Greenleaf is a 1961 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and received his J.D. from the University of Toledo College of Law. He served as an assistant district attorney in Montgomery County from 1970 to 1977 and also an assistant public defender in Bucks County. Greenleaf continues to serve as a partner in his law firm, Elliott Greenleaf, whose attorneys include Montgomery County Commissioner Bruce Castor and former State Rep. Melissa Murphy Weber.
In 1971, Greenleaf was elected as a Commissioner for Upper Moreland Township, Pennsylvania. After one term, Greenleaf was elected to a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1976. He served a single term in the house before winning his bid for the State Senate in 1978. Greenleaf has been re-elected seven times, most recently over Democrat Jeff Albert in 2006.
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Suharto
Suharto (help·info) (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was the second President of Indonesia, having held the office for 31 years from 1967 following Sukarno's removal until his resignation in 1998.
Suharto was born in a small village, Kemusuk, in the Godean area near Yogyakarta, during the Dutch colonial era. He grew up in humble circumstances. His Javanese peasant parents divorced not long after his birth, and he was passed between foster parents for much of his childhood. During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia, Suharto served in Japanese-organised Indonesian security forces. Indonesia's independence struggle saw him joining the newly formed Indonesian army. Suharto rose to the rank of Major General following Indonesian independence. An attempted coup on 30 September 1965 was countered by Suharto-led troops and was blamed on the Indonesian Communist Party. The army subsequently led an anti-communist purge, and Suharto wrested power from Indonesia's founding president, Sukarno. He was appointed acting president in 1967 and President the following year. Support for Suharto's presidency was strong throughout the 1970s and 1980s but eroded following a severe financial crisis that led to widespread unrest and his resignation in May 1998. Suharto died in 2008.
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Ted Weill
Theodore "Ted" Weill (July 25, 1925 – November 20, 2009) was the nominee for President of the United States of the Reform Party of the United States of America in the 2008 election. He was nominated at the party's national convention on July 20, 2008 in Dallas, Texas. During a 2009 interview with Monmouth University's school newspaper, Weill expressed interest in running again in 2012, but he died at his home on November 20, 2009.
Weill, a graduate of Michigan State University, was also a decorated World War II veteran, who earned four Battle Stars and served aboard the USS Pennsylvania. He was also a Boy Scout instructor. He was invited to the White House Conference on Small Business three times; in 1980, 1985, and 1990.
In the 1990s, Weill founded the Independent Party of Mississippi. In 1997, the Independent Party of Mississippi became the official state affiliate of the national Reform Party and renamed itself the Mississippi Reform Party.
Weill was the chairman of the Mississippi Reform Party and a Reform Party National Committeeman.
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Thaddeus McCotter
Thaddeus George "Thad" McCotter (born August 22, 1965) is the U.S. Representative to Michigan's 11th congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes portions of Detroit's northwestern suburbs, such as Livonia, Westland and Novi.
He is running for reelection. From July 2 to September 21, 2011, he was an official candidate for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 election.
McCotter was born in Detroit, Michigan and graduated from Detroit Catholic Central High School, Redford in 1983. His mother, Georgia Joan McCotter, was the City Clerk of Livonia. He received a B.A. from the University of Detroit in 1987 and a J.D. from the same school in 1990.
McCotter had a private law practice before being elected to the Wayne County Commission in 1992. While on the Commission, he helped change the county charter to require that new taxes win the approval of two-thirds of the Commission and 60% of voters in order to be passed.
McCotter was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1998. As a State Senator, he helped apportion the U.S. Congressional district from which he was elected in 2002.
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Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt ( /ˈroʊzəvɛlt/ ROH-zə-velt; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th President of the United States of America (1901–1909). He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity. He was a leader of the Republican Party and founder of the short-lived Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party of 1912. Before becoming President, he held offices at the city, state, and federal levels. Roosevelt's achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier are as much a part of his fame as any office he held as a politician. Roosevelt was 42 years old when sworn in as President of the United States in 1901, making him the youngest president ever; he beat out the youngest elected president, John F. Kennedy, by only one year. Roosevelt was also one of only three sitting presidents to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the other two being Woodrow Wilson and Barack Obama.
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 (April 2, 1743 O.S.) – July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) and the third President of the United States (1801–1809). At the beginning of the American Revolution, Jefferson served in the Continental Congress, representing Virginia. He then served as a wartime Governor of Virginia (1779–1781). Just after the war ended, from mid-1784 Jefferson served as a diplomat, stationed in Paris, initially as a commissioner to help negotiate commercial treaties. In May 1785, he became the United States Minister to France. He was the first United States Secretary of State (1790–1793) during the administration of President George Washington. Upon resigning his office, with his close friend James Madison he organized the Democratic-Republican Party. Elected Vice-President in 1796, under his opponent John Adams, Jefferson with Madison secretly wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which attempted to nullify the Alien and Sedition Acts.
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Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael "Tim" Kaine (born February 26, 1958) is a Virginia politician. Kaine served as the 70th Governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010, and was the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2009 to 2011. He was elected governor in 2005, after serving as the 38th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia and Mayor of Richmond, Virginia.
Kaine was considered as a possible running mate for Barack Obama in 2008, but was not chosen.
On April 5, 2011, after weeks of speculation, Kaine announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat in Virginia that would be opened up by the announced retirement of Jim Webb at the end of his term.
Kaine was born at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Mary Kathleen (née Burns) and Albert A. Kaine, a welder and the owner of a small iron-working shop. Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area and graduated from Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Missouri.
Kaine graduated from the University of Missouri with a B.A. in economics in 1979. Kaine was a Coro Foundation fellow in Kansas City in 1978. He attended Harvard Law School, taking a year-long break during law school to work with the Jesuit order as a Catholic missionary in Honduras. Kaine is fluent in Spanish as a result of his year in Honduras. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1983 with a Juris Doctor, and was admitted to the Virginia Bar. In 1984, Kaine married former Richmond Juvenile Court Judge Anne Holton. Holton is the daughter of former Virginia governor A. Linwood Holton, Jr. Kaine and Holton have three children, Nat, Woody, and Annella.
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Tim Pawlenty
Timothy James "Tim" Pawlenty ( /pəˈlɛnti/; born November 27, 1960) is an American politician who served as the 39th Governor of Minnesota (2003–2011). He was a Republican candidate for President of the United States in the 2012 election from May to August 2011. He previously served in the Minnesota House of Representatives (1993–2003) where he served two terms as majority leader.
Pawlenty was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota and raised in nearby South St. Paul. He graduated from University of Minnesota with a B.A. in political science and earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School. His early career included working as a labor law attorney and the vice president of a software company. After settling in the city of Eagan with his wife, Pawlenty was appointed to the city's Planning Commission and was elected to the Eagan City Council at the age of 28. He won a seat as a state representative in 1992, representing District 38B in suburban Dakota County. He was re-elected four times, and voted majority leader by House Republicans in 1998.
wn.com/Tim_Pawlenty -
Tom Carper
Thomas Richard "Tom" Carper (born January 23, 1947) is the senior United States Senator from Delaware and a member of the Democratic Party. He was previously the 71st Governor of Delaware and a member of the House of Representatives from Delaware.
A native of Danville, Virginia, Carper graduated from the Ohio State University. Serving as a Naval Flight Officer in the U.S. Navy from 1968 until 1973, he saw active duty in the Vietnam War. He remained in the U.S. Naval Reserve for another 18 years and retired with the rank of Captain. Upon receiving his MBA from the University of Delaware in 1975, Carper went to work for the State of Delaware in its economic development office. He was elected State Treasurer, serving from 1977 to 1983 and leading the development of Delaware's first cash management system.
Encouraged by local politicians, Carper successfully ran for Delaware's only seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982. He served five terms in the House, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization. In 1992 he arranged a "swap" with term-limited Governor Michael Castle, and the two were easily elected to each other's seats. Carper governed for two terms as a moderate, business-oriented "New Democrat", following the lead of the two previous Republican governors. He successfully prevented the closing of a General Motors automobile plant and won a bid for the headquarters of pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. He led a tax-reduction campaign and helped improve the state's credit rating from among the worst in the nation to an excellent "AAA". He pushed for standards-based education, among other reforms.
wn.com/Tom_Carper -
Tom Coburn
Thomas Allen "Tom" Coburn, M.D. (born March 14, 1948), is a United States Senator, medical doctor, and Southern Baptist deacon. A member of the Republican Party, he is the junior senator from Oklahoma.
Coburn was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution. He upheld his campaign pledge to serve no more than three consecutive terms and did not run for re-election in 2000. In 2004, he returned to political office with a successful run for the U.S. Senate.
Coburn is a fiscal and social conservative, known for his opposition to deficit spending and pork barrel projects, and for his leadership in the pro-life movement. He supports term limits, gun rights, and the death penalty and opposes gay marriage. In the Senate, he is known as "Dr. No" for his tendency to place holds on and vote against bills he views as unconstitutional.
Coburn announced on February 12, 2010 that he was running for a second term in the Senate, but would not run for re-election to a third term in the Senate in 2016.
wn.com/Tom_Coburn -
Tom Tancredo
Thomas Gerard "Tom" Tancredo (pronounced /tæŋˈkreɪdoʊ/; born December 20, 1945) is an American politician from Colorado, who represented the state's sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2009, as a Republican. He ran for President of the United States during the 2008 election, and was the Constitution Party's unsuccessful nominee for Governor of Colorado in 2010.
Tancredo was initially elected to the Colorado House of Representatives in 1976 and served two terms. After working in the United States Department of Education during the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush Administrations, he was elected to the United States Congress, and served five terms. He decided to not seek re-election in 2008. Tancredo ran for the Republican Party nomination for President in 2007, centering his campaign on the issues of illegal immigration and terrorism. He dropped out of the race in December 2007 to assist former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in his campaign for the nomination.
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Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack (/ˈvɪlsæk/; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002. On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic Party's nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election, but ended his bid on February 23, 2007.
Barack Obama announced Vilsack's selection to be the United States Secretary of Agriculture under his administration on December 17, 2008. Vilsack's nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate by unanimous consent on January 20, 2009.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tom Vilsack was abandoned at birth and placed in a Roman Catholic orphanage. He was adopted in 1951 by Bud and Dolly Vilsack, who raised him in the Roman Catholic faith. His adoptive father was a real-estate agent and insurance salesman, and his adoptive mother was a homemaker.
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Tommy Thompson
Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941), a United States Republican politician, was the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin, after which he served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Thompson was a candidate for the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election, but dropped out early after a poor performance in polls. He is currently running for the United States Senate election in 2012.
Thompson was born in Elroy, Wisconsin, where his father, Allan, owned and ran a gas station and country grocery store, and his mother, Julia, was a teacher. He is a former captain in the United States Army and United States Army Reserve, and holds a law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Thompson was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1966; he became the Assembly's assistant minority leader in 1973 and minority leader in 1981. He was famous for aggressively utilizing parliamentary procedure to give his minority party some limited say in the legislative process. Since this use of procedure was invariably one of delay and obstruction, he soon received the nickname "Dr. No" by the frustrated majority.[neutrality is disputed]
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Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He resigned from all of these positions in June 2007.
Blair was elected Leader of the Labour Party in the leadership election of July 1994, following the sudden death of his predecessor, John Smith. Under his leadership, the party used the phrases "New Labour" and "New Socialism" to define its policy, and moved away from its support of state socialism since the 1960s and created a new version of the ethical socialism that was last pursued by Clement Attlee. Critics of Blair claim that "New Labour" did not adhere to socialism as claimed, and that it effectively advocated capitalism. Blair subsequently led Labour to a landslide victory in the 1997 general election. At 43 years old, he became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812. In the first years of the New Labour government, Blair's government implemented a number of 1997 manifesto pledges, introducing the minimum wage, Human Rights Act and Freedom of Information Act, and carrying out devolution, establishing the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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Tony Rezko
Antoin "Tony" Rezko (born 1955) is a American businessman. He lived in Chicago, and was convicted on several counts of fraud and bribery in 2008. He was a fundraiser for Illinois Democratic and Republican politicians since the 1980s. After becoming a major contributor to Rod Blagojevich's successful gubernatorial election, Rezko assisted Blagojevich in setting up the state's first Democratic administration in twenty years. Rezko was able to have business associates appointed onto several state boards. Rezko and several others were indicted on federal charges in October 2006, for using their connections to the state boards to demand kickbacks from businesses that wanted to do business with the state. While the others pleaded guilty to the charges, Rezko pleaded not guilty and was found guilty of 16 of the 24 charges filed against him. On November 23, 2011, Rezko was sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison.
Rezko was born in 1955 in Aleppo, Syria, to a prominent Syriac Catholic family. After graduating from college there, Rezko moved to Chicago and earned an undergraduate and a master's degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the late 1970s. He joined an engineering company, designing nuclear power plants, then left to design roads for the state Transportation Department, making $21,590 in his first year there.
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Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877) following his dominant role in the second half of the Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and effectively ended the war with the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox. As president he led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate all vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery; he effectively destroyed the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. His reputation was marred by his repeated defense of corrupt appointees, and by the deep economic depression (called the "Panic of 1873") that dominated his second term. Although his Republican Party split in 1872 with reformers denouncing him, Grant was easily reelected. By 1874 the opposition was gaining strength and as he left the White House in March 1877, conservative white Southerners, as federal troops were withdrawn, regained control of every state in the South and Reconstruction ended on a note of failure as the civil rights of blacks were not secure.
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Vermin Supreme
Vermin Love Supreme (born June 1961) is an American performance artist, anarchist and activist who is known for running as an alternative candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States. Supreme is known for wearing a boot shaped hat and carrying a large toothbrush. He claims that if elected President of the United States, he will pass a law requiring people to brush their teeth. He also campaigned in 2012 on a platform of zombie apocalypse awareness and time travel research, and he promises a free pony for every American. Supreme claims to mock the political system. In 2011, he participated in the ongoing Occupy Boston protests.
Supreme grew up near Boston, Massachusetts and is said to be the oldest of three children. He graduated from Gloucester High School in the 1980s, then moved to Baltimore to attend art school, but dropped out and began booking bands for underground clubs.[citation needed]
In 1986, he joined The Great Peace March for Global Nuclear Disarmament in protest of nuclear weapons. From 1987 onward, he began running for public office. He legally changed his name to Vermin Supreme in the 1990s.
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Virgil Goode
Virgil Hamlin Goode, Jr. (/gud/, born October 17, 1946) is an American politician, last serving as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented the 5th congressional district of Virginia (map) from 1997 to 2009. He lost his seat in the 2008 election to Democrat Tom Perriello. Goode subsequently joined the Constitution Party. He is that party's 2012 presidential nominee.
Goode was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Alice Clara (née Besecker) and Virgil Hamlin Goode. He has spent most of his life in Rocky Mount. Goode graduated with a B.A. from the University of Richmond (Phi Beta Kappa) and with a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law. He also is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, and served in the Army National Guard from 1969 to 1975.
Goode grew up as a Democrat. He entered politics soon after graduating from law school. At the age of 27 he won a special election to the state Senate from a Southside district as an independent after the death of the Democratic incumbent. One of his major campaign focuses at the time was advocacy for the Equal Rights Amendment. Soon after being elected, he joined the Democrats.
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Virginia Abernethy
Virginia Deane Abernethy (born in Cuba in 1934) is an American professor (emerita) of psychiatry and anthropology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She received a B.A. from Wellesley College, an M.B.A. from Vanderbilt University, and Ph.D. from Harvard University. She is an anthropology fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Abernethy describes herself as an "ethnic separatist". An outspoken opponent of immigration, Abernethy has called for a complete moratorium on immigration into the United States. She claims that immigrants devalue the work force, deplete scarce resources, adversely impact carrying capacity, and that Third World immigration has led to a rise in dangerous diseases within the United States.
Abernethy is a close friend of minister Jesse Lee Peterson.
Abernethy's research has focused on the issues of population and culture. Her most famous work discounts the demographic transition theory, which holds that fertility drops as women become more educated and contraceptives become more available. In its place she has developed a fertility-opportunity hypothesis which states that fertility follows perceived economic opportunity. A corollary to this hypothesis is that food aid to developing nations will only exacerbate overpopulation. She has advocated in favor of microloans to women in the place of international aid, because she believes microloans allow improvement in the lives of families without leading to higher fertility.
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Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni, Knight Grand Cross, (born 3 July 1955) is an Italian writer, journalist and politician, who served as the first leader of the Democratic Party within the centre-left opposition, until his resignation on 17 February 2009. He served as Mayor of Rome from 2001 to 2008.
Walter Veltroni was born in Rome. His father, Vittorio Veltroni, an eminent RAI manager in the 1950s, died only one year later. His mother, Ivanka Kotnik, was the daughter of Ciril Kotnik, a Yugoslav diplomat at the Holy See who helped numerous Jews and antifascists to escape Nazi persecution after 1943.
Veltroni joined the Federazione Giovanile Comunista Italiana (Italian Youth Communist Federation) at the age of 15, and was elected Rome city councilor in 1976 as member of the Italian Communist Party, serving until 1981. He was then elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1987. As a member of the Italian Communist Party's national secretariat in 1988, he played a leading role in the transformation into a social democratic party.
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Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th President of the United States (1921–1923). A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate (1899–1903), as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio (1904–1906) and as a U.S. Senator (1915–1921). He was also the first incumbent United States Senator and the first newspaper publisher to be elected President.
His conservativism, affable manner, and "make no enemies" campaign strategy made Harding the compromise choice at the 1920 Republican National Convention. During his presidential campaign, in the aftermath of World War I, he promised a return of the nation to "normalcy". This "America first" campaign encouraged industrialization and a strong economy independent of foreign influence. Harding departed from the progressive movement that had dominated Congress since President Theodore Roosevelt. In the 1920 election, he and his running mate, Calvin Coolidge, defeated Democrat and fellow Ohioan James M. Cox in the largest presidential popular vote landslide in American history (60.36% to 34.19%) since popular vote totals were first recorded in 1824.
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Wayne Allyn Root
Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American politician, entrepreneur, television and radio personality, author and political commentator. He was the 2008 Libertarian Party vice-presidential nominee. Root began his career as a professional sports handicapper, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
His political talk radio show,W.A.R: The Wayne Allyn Root Showis broadcast in New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Root is a frequent guest on several nationally syndicated radio shows such as Savage Nation, The Jerry Doyle Show, and Mancow's Morning Madhouse. He has also made numerous appearances on various programs on the Fox News Channel. He is a frequent speaker at Tea Party events across the United States.
Root's political columns appear in the Las Vegas Review Journal and at Newsmax.com.
At the 2008 Libertarian National Convention, Root was eliminated on the fifth ballot in a bid for the presidential nomination, and subsequently became the vice presidential candidate alongside Libertarian nominee Bob Barr. Root lost a bid to become National Chair of the Libertarian Party at the party's 2010 Convention.
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William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States (1909–1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921–1930). He is the only person to have served in both of these two offices.
Before becoming President, Taft was selected to serve on the Ohio Superior Court in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States and in 1891 a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Taft Governor-General of the Philippines. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft Secretary of War in an effort to groom Taft, then his close political ally, into his handpicked presidential successor. Taft assumed a prominent role in problem solving, assuming on some occasions the role of acting Secretary of State, while declining repeated offers from Roosevelt to serve on the Supreme Court.
Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.
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William McKinley
William McKinley Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his death. McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish–American War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals. McKinley's administration ended with his assassination in September 1901, but his presidency began a period of over a third of a century dominated by the Republican Party.
McKinley served in the Civil War and rose from private to brevet major. After the war, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, he was elected to Congress, where he became the Republican Party's expert on the protective tariff, which he promised would bring prosperity. His 1890 McKinley Tariff was highly controversial; controversy over it, together with a Democratic redistricting aimed at gerrymanderinging him out of office, led to his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890. He was elected Ohio's governor in 1891 and 1893, steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests. With the aid of his close adviser Mark Hanna, he secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896, amid a deep economic depression. He defeated his Democratic rival, William Jennings Bryan, after a front-porch campaign in which he advocated "sound money" (the gold standard unless altered by international agreement) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity.
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Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856 – February 3, 1924) was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913. Running against Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt and Republican candidate William Howard Taft, Wilson was elected President as a Democrat in 1912.
In his first term as President, Wilson persuaded a Democratic Congress to pass major progressive reforms. Historian John M. Cooper argues that, in his first term, Wilson successfully pushed a legislative agenda that few presidents have equaled, and remained unmatched up until the New Deal. This agenda included the Federal Reserve Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Farm Loan Act and an income tax. Child labor was curtailed by the Keating–Owen Act of 1916, but the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1918. He also had Congress pass the Adamson Act, which imposed an 8-hour workday for railroads. Wilson, after first sidestepping the issue, became a major advocate for the women's suffrage.
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Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was the 12th President of the United States (1849–1850) and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass. He was a planter and slaveholder based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Known as "Old Rough and Ready," Taylor had a 40-year military career in the United States Army, serving in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War, and the Second Seminole War. He achieved fame leading American troops to victory in the Battle of Palo Alto and the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican–American War.
As president, Taylor angered many Southerners by taking a moderate stance on the issue of slavery. He urged settlers in New Mexico and California to bypass the territorial stage and draft constitutions for statehood, setting the stage for the Compromise of 1850.
Taylor died July 9, 1850, 16 months after his inauguration; the third-shortest tenure of any President. He is thought to have died of gastroenteritis. President Taylor was succeeded by his Vice President, Millard Fillmore.
wn.com/Zachary_Taylor
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President Obama Statement on School Shooting in Connecticut
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:03
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
President Obama delivers a statement from the White House on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT.
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Statement_on_School_Shooting_in_Connecticut
President Obama delivers a statement from the White House on the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT.
President Obama Reacts to Connecticut Shooting
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:57
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
In a news conference at the White House, an emotional President Barack Obama reacts to a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that has left at least 25 people dead
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Reacts_to_Connecticut_Shooting
In a news conference at the White House, an emotional President Barack Obama reacts to a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that has left at least 25 people dead
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 71275
- author: WSJDigitalNetwork
West Wing Week: 12/07/12 or "I Have To Pinch Myself"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:12
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President visited a toy factory, hosted Kennedy Center Honorees, held the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference, welcomed the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, answered questions live on twitter, spoke on National Security achievements, visited a family who had written the White House, and lit the National Christmas Tree. That's November 30th to December 6th or "I Have to Pinch Myself."
http://wn.com/West_Wing_Week_12_07_12_or_I_Have_To_Pinch_Myself
Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President visited a toy factory, hosted Kennedy Center Honorees, held the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference, welcomed the Prime Minister of Bulgaria, answered questions live on twitter, spoke on National Security achievements, visited a family who had written the White House, and lit the National Christmas Tree. That's November 30th to December 6th or "I Have to Pinch Myself."
- published: 07 Dec 2012
- views: 23485
- author: whitehouse
Behind the Scenes: President Obama's Twitter Q&A; on #My2k
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:19
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Go behind the scenes as President Obama answers your questions on twitter in a live chat from the Roosevelt room of the White House. What does $2000 mean to you? Tell us using #My2k on twitter or visiting www.whitehouse.gov
http://wn.com/Behind_the_Scenes_President_Obama's_Twitter_Q&A;_on_My2k
Go behind the scenes as President Obama answers your questions on twitter in a live chat from the Roosevelt room of the White House. What does $2000 mean to you? Tell us using #My2k on twitter or visiting www.whitehouse.gov
- published: 05 Dec 2012
- views: 104471
- author: whitehouse
President Barack Obama Victory Speech 2012: Election Remarks From Chicago Illinois
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 21:02
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Obama wins 2012 election, thanks supporters and speaks of moving the country forward.
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President Obama wins 2012 election, thanks supporters and speaks of moving the country forward.
- published: 07 Nov 2012
- views: 1152070
- author: ABCNews
President Obama Speaks on the Economy and Middle-Class Tax Cuts
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 24:11
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Obama delivers remarks at the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant. December 10, 2012.
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Speaks_on_the_Economy_and_Middle-Class_Tax_Cuts
President Obama delivers remarks at the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant. December 10, 2012.
- published: 11 Dec 2012
- views: 12802
- author: whitehouse
President Barack Obama DNC Speech Complete: Romney in 'Cold War Mind-Warp' - DNC 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 40:34
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
Current US president assails Mitt Romney's record and proposed agenda in front of DNC delegates. For more on this story, click here: abcnews.go.com
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_DNC_Speech_Complete_Romney_in_'Cold_War_Mind-Warp'_DNC_2012
Current US president assails Mitt Romney's record and proposed agenda in front of DNC delegates. For more on this story, click here: abcnews.go.com
- published: 07 Sep 2012
- views: 545362
- author: ABCNews
President Obama Speaks at the 2012 Tribal Nations Conference Closing Session
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:50
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Obama speaks to leaders of American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the opening session of the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, DC. December 5, 2012.
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Speaks_at_the_2012_Tribal_Nations_Conference_Closing_Session
President Obama speaks to leaders of American Indian and Alaska Native communities in the opening session of the 2012 White House Tribal Nations Conference in Washington, DC. December 5, 2012.
- published: 05 Dec 2012
- views: 15434
- author: whitehouse
President Obama Speaks at Christmas in Washington
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:20
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Obama thanks performers at a Christmas event supporting the Children's National Medical Center. December 9, 2012.
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President Obama thanks performers at a Christmas event supporting the Children's National Medical Center. December 9, 2012.
- published: 10 Dec 2012
- views: 18819
- author: whitehouse
President Barack Obama Full DNC Acceptance Speech 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 39:53
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_Full_DNC_Acceptance_Speech_2012
President Obama Talks #My2k with The Santana Family
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:02
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
President Obama visited one of the 114 million American families who would see their taxes go up next year if Congress fails to extend the middle-class tax cuts. Tiffany, a high school teacher who lives in Northern Virginia, is also one of the thousands of people who wrote in to the White House to share what it would mean to her family if their income taxes went up next year. Share your story at www.whitehouse.gov
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Talks_My2k_with_The_Santana_Family
President Obama visited one of the 114 million American families who would see their taxes go up next year if Congress fails to extend the middle-class tax cuts. Tiffany, a high school teacher who lives in Northern Virginia, is also one of the thousands of people who wrote in to the White House to share what it would mean to her family if their income taxes went up next year. Share your story at www.whitehouse.gov
- published: 10 Dec 2012
- views: 8430
- author: whitehouse
Barack Obama Re-Elected President
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:23
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Presidential Election 2012 Results: President Obama is projected to win Ohio and have four more years in office.
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Presidential Election 2012 Results: President Obama is projected to win Ohio and have four more years in office.
- published: 07 Nov 2012
- views: 322725
- author: ABCNews
President Obama Speaks to the Business Roundtable
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 17:26
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Obama explains that our nation's businesses need the certainty that middle class families won't see their taxes go up at the end of the year, and asks business leaders for their help in supporting an approach to resolving the debt limit crisis without drama or delay. December 5, 2012.
http://wn.com/President_Obama_Speaks_to_the_Business_Roundtable
President Obama explains that our nation's businesses need the certainty that middle class families won't see their taxes go up at the end of the year, and asks business leaders for their help in supporting an approach to resolving the debt limit crisis without drama or delay. December 5, 2012.
- published: 05 Dec 2012
- views: 13017
- author: whitehouse
President Barack Obama's Remarks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention - Full Speech
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 40:13
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Help build this campaign: OFA.BO President Barack Obama's Remarks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention - Full Speech
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama's_Remarks_at_the_2012_Democratic_National_Convention_Full_Speech
Help build this campaign: OFA.BO President Barack Obama's Remarks at the 2012 Democratic National Convention - Full Speech
- published: 07 Sep 2012
- views: 874916
- author: BarackObamadotcom
Talking about #My2k with the President and Vice President
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:05
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
Unless Congress acts, middle-class taxes are going up on January 1. That's why President Obama is asking people to speak out, and it's why so many folks from across the country are taking him up on that request. Now we're doing everything we can to make sure those voices become part of the debate here in Washington. We're putting these stories on the front page of the White House website. We're sharing them on Facebook and Twitter. The President and Vice President are talking about them in their speeches and taking time to sit down with folks who have written in.
http://wn.com/Talking_about_My2k_with_the_President_and_Vice_President
Unless Congress acts, middle-class taxes are going up on January 1. That's why President Obama is asking people to speak out, and it's why so many folks from across the country are taking him up on that request. Now we're doing everything we can to make sure those voices become part of the debate here in Washington. We're putting these stories on the front page of the White House website. We're sharing them on Facebook and Twitter. The President and Vice President are talking about them in their speeches and taking time to sit down with folks who have written in.
- published: 10 Dec 2012
- views: 19700
- author: whitehouse
Barack Obama Singing Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:47
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
This is crazy. Watch it maybe? SWAG SHIRT | Only 200 available! bit.ly MORE SHIRTS: baracksdubs.spreadshirt.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com MTVACT/MTVPowerof12! (twitter.com | twitter.com Credits: Original Video: www.youtube.com Video content from whitehouse.gov public domain. Audio content is an instrumental beat made by Steve Shane (@steveshane) and Matty Trump (@mattytrump). -- Barack Obama (US President) barack obama Call Me Maybe dub parody singing autotune Carly Rae Jepsen carly rae jepsen baracksdubs
http://wn.com/Barack_Obama_Singing_Call_Me_Maybe_by_Carly_Rae_Jepsen
This is crazy. Watch it maybe? SWAG SHIRT | Only 200 available! bit.ly MORE SHIRTS: baracksdubs.spreadshirt.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com MTVACT/MTVPowerof12! (twitter.com | twitter.com Credits: Original Video: www.youtube.com Video content from whitehouse.gov public domain. Audio content is an instrumental beat made by Steve Shane (@steveshane) and Matty Trump (@mattytrump). -- Barack Obama (US President) barack obama Call Me Maybe dub parody singing autotune Carly Rae Jepsen carly rae jepsen baracksdubs
- published: 04 Jun 2012
- views: 33721385
- author: baracksdubs
US election: President Barack Obama's victory speech in full
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 23:28
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
Barack Obama addresses crowds in Chicago as he is re-elected US President. Report by Sam Datta-Paulin. Coming soon: Truthloader, the new home of citizen journalism on YouTube. Subscribe now at www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com Subscribe to ITN News! www.youtube.com More from the last day of the Barack Obama's successful re-election: Mitt Romney's concession speech: youtu.be Strange voting locations: youtu.be Mitt Romney says he has written only one speech: youtu.be Young girl explains her support for Obama: youtu.be Earlier coverage of the campaign: Highlights from the third presidential debate: youtu.be Highlights from the second presidential debate: youtu.be
http://wn.com/US_election_President_Barack_Obama's_victory_speech_in_full
Barack Obama addresses crowds in Chicago as he is re-elected US President. Report by Sam Datta-Paulin. Coming soon: Truthloader, the new home of citizen journalism on YouTube. Subscribe now at www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com Subscribe to ITN News! www.youtube.com More from the last day of the Barack Obama's successful re-election: Mitt Romney's concession speech: youtu.be Strange voting locations: youtu.be Mitt Romney says he has written only one speech: youtu.be Young girl explains her support for Obama: youtu.be Earlier coverage of the campaign: Highlights from the third presidential debate: youtu.be Highlights from the second presidential debate: youtu.be
- published: 07 Nov 2012
- views: 68523
- author: itnnews
Complete Third Presidential Debate on Foreign Policy 2012: Barack Obama vs. Mitt Romney Oct 22, 2012
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 96:17
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
The third presidential debate on foreign policy between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama in the run up to the general election in November. Watch full coverage at nytimes.com: nyti.ms Get complete up to the minute coverage: nyti.ms
http://wn.com/Complete_Third_Presidential_Debate_on_Foreign_Policy_2012_Barack_Obama_vs_Mitt_Romney_Oct_22,_2012
The third presidential debate on foreign policy between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama in the run up to the general election in November. Watch full coverage at nytimes.com: nyti.ms Get complete up to the minute coverage: nyti.ms
- published: 23 Oct 2012
- views: 2977433
- author: TheNewYorkTimes
Election Results 2012: President Barack Obama's Family Calls White House Home for Four More Years
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:45
- Updated: 18 Dec 2012
What's next for the president beginning second term in the White House?
http://wn.com/Election_Results_2012_President_Barack_Obama's_Family_Calls_White_House_Home_for_Four_More_Years
What's next for the president beginning second term in the White House?
- published: 07 Nov 2012
- views: 43127
- author: ABCNews
President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:51
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries)
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_Speech_On_Connecticut_School_Shooting_Cries
President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries) President Barack Obama Speech On Connecticut School Shooting (Cries)
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 111754
- author: BlakeElijah
President Barack Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 17:36
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
President Barack Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner Jimmy Kimmel Live's YouTube channel features clips and recaps of every episode from the late night TV show on ABC. Subscribe for clips from the monologue, the interviews, and musical performances every day of the week. Watch your favorites parts again, or catch-up on any episodes you may have missed Channel: www.youtube.com Subscribe: www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_at_the_2012_White_House_Correspondents'_Dinner
President Barack Obama at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner Jimmy Kimmel Live's YouTube channel features clips and recaps of every episode from the late night TV show on ABC. Subscribe for clips from the monologue, the interviews, and musical performances every day of the week. Watch your favorites parts again, or catch-up on any episodes you may have missed Channel: www.youtube.com Subscribe: www.youtube.com
- published: 29 Apr 2012
- views: 1081817
- author: JimmyKimmelLive
President Barack Obama Speech - Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting - Newtown, Ct.
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:12
- Updated: 19 Dec 2012
US President Barack Obama said on Friday he grieved about the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school as a father first, declaring "our hearts are broken today. He promised action to prevent such tragedies again but did not say what that would be. Here is the full transcript of the US president's speech: This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller. I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families. We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would -- as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do. The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have ...
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_Speech_Sandy_Hook_Elementary_School_Shooting_Newtown,_Ct
US President Barack Obama said on Friday he grieved about the massacre at a Connecticut elementary school as a father first, declaring "our hearts are broken today. He promised action to prevent such tragedies again but did not say what that would be. Here is the full transcript of the US president's speech: This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller. I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single resource that he needs to investigate this heinous crime, care for the victims, counsel their families. We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news I react not as a President, but as anybody else would -- as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do. The majority of those who died today were children -- beautiful little kids between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have ...
- published: 14 Dec 2012
- views: 11962
- author: ModestoNews
President Barack Obama is Leading With Faith Values
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:20
- Updated: 13 Dec 2012
Click here to find out how you can get involved: OFA.BO Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Professor Stephen Schneck, Pastor JR Kerr and Rabbi Samuel Gordon share how President Obama is leading with faith values.
http://wn.com/President_Barack_Obama_is_Leading_With_Faith_Values
Click here to find out how you can get involved: OFA.BO Bishop Vashti McKenzie, Professor Stephen Schneck, Pastor JR Kerr and Rabbi Samuel Gordon share how President Obama is leading with faith values.
- published: 03 Nov 2012
- views: 122153
- author: BarackObamadotcom
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
16 Dec 2012
NEWTOWN, Conn ... As President Barack Obama prepared a visit and churches opened their doors to comfort a grieving town Sunday, federal agents fanned out to dozens of gun stores and shooting ranges across Connecticut, chasing leads they hoped would cast light on Lanza’s life. Among the questions ... H. Wayne Carver said ... Obama planned to attend an interfaith vigil — the fourth time he will have traveled to a city after a mass shooting ... The Rev ... ....(size: 8.8Kb)
photo: AP / Charles Krupa
18 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. "Most people reason dramatically, not quantitatively." -Oliver Wendell Holmes ... Four students with a handgun were arrested. They too were planning to carry out a shooting rampage with the possibility of setting-off bombs ... Before a U.S ... The result ... "Our hearts are broken," said President Barack Obama in response to the Connecticut Massacre, but so too are our minds and our societal norms ... 12 ... 12....(size: 14.0Kb)
photo: AP / Khalil Hamra
16 Dec 2012
But in light of recent unrests and demonstrations, due to a controversial referendum regarding a new constitution, the Islamist Muslim Brother and their newly elected leader, President Mohamed Mursi, will have to continually remind themselves that they are no longer a "state within a state." ... Now, as popularly elected leaders, President Morsi and the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood face another crisis....(size: 6.9Kb)
photo: AP / Jason DeCrow
18 Dec 2012
White House officials have said that President Barack Obama would make preventing gun-related violence a priority in his second term in office and stricter laws would be part of the effort. . Obama met Joe Biden, the US vice-president, and a handful of cabinet members on Monday to begin discussions on ways the country should respond to the shootings in Newton, Connecticut ... Obama says US failing to keep children safe....(size: 19.2Kb)
photo: AP / David Goldman
17 Dec 2012
Speaking Sunday night at a vigil in Newtown, Conn., the site of Friday's massacre, President Barack Obama did not specifically address gun control ... New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Obama could use executive powers to enforce existing gun laws, as well as throw his weight behind legislation like Feinstein's. "It's time for the president, I think, ......(size: 5.3Kb)
Huffington Post
19 Dec 2012
President Barack Obama arrives at the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec ... President Barack Obama greets Gov ... President Barack Obama pauses during a speech at an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Sunday, Dec ... President Barack Obama is schedule to speak during the vigil....(size: 21.3Kb)
Detroit Free Press
19 Dec 2012
Detroit Free Press
19 Dec 2012
The Inquisitr
19 Dec 2012
The daughter of slain Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochstrung has tweeted a photo of her baby daughter being held by President Barack Obama ... “My Mom would be SO proud to see President Obama holding her granddaughter ... Barack Obama, dawn hochsprung, newtown shooting, President Barack Obama, sandy hook principal, sandy hook principal dawn hochsprung, sandy hook principal obama, sandy hook shooting....(size: 6.0Kb)
Jakarta Post
19 Dec 2012
Xinhua
19 Dec 2012
18 (Xinhua) -- President Barack Obama " strongly" supports the renewal of the assault weapons ban and would back new gun legislation, the White House said Tuesday....(size: 1.5Kb)
Deutsche Welle
19 Dec 2012
A spokesman for President Barack Obama has hinted the White House might be open to some forms of gun controls in the wake of a school shooting in Connecticut ... White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that President Barack Obama was "actively supportive" of some proposals to adjust the country's gun ownership laws ... Carney singled such opinions out as something that had "heartened" President Obama....(size: 2.6Kb)
The Hindu
19 Dec 2012
US President Barack Obama held a video conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron during which the two leaders discussed a series of issues including Syria, the situation in West Asia and Afghanistan, the White House has said ... US President, Barack Obama, British Prime ......(size: 1.5Kb)
Xinhua
19 Dec 2012
Boehner said on Tuesday that he will move to a backup option for the fiscal woes due in January while remained hopeful a broader deal can be reached with the President Barack Obama ... House Speaker John Boehner said on Tuesday that he will move to a backup option for the fiscal woes due in January while remained hopeful a broader deal can be reached with the President Barack Obama....(size: 2.6Kb)
The Examiner
19 Dec 2012
17, White House Dossier reports, "The battle over the fiscal cliff appears to have already delayed the start of President Obama’s annual Hawaii vacation, which was set to begin on Dec ... 30, 2012 the White House announced President ... Kailua, Hawaii welcomes Barack Obama, 5th year vacation....(size: 1.6Kb)
Reuters
19 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Frustrated by their inability to wring more "fiscal cliff" concessions out of President Barack Obama, Republicans in the U.S ... President Barack Obama's latest position puts the threshold for income tax hikes at $400,000 ... After important concessions in recent days from both Obama and Boehner, Republicans expressed frustration that the president had not moved further....(size: 6.7Kb)
Business Day
19 Dec 2012
WASHINGTON — Frustrated by their inability to wring more concessions out of President Barack Obama in negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff, Republicans in the US House of Representatives announced on Tuesday night that they expected to pass their own tax bill as a backup plan to avoid the tax hikes and automatic budget cuts set to occur in January....(size: 6.7Kb)
Khaleej Times
19 Dec 2012
Frustrated by their inability to wring more ‘fiscal cliff’ concessions out of President Barack Obama, Republicans in the US House of Representatives announced Tuesday night that they expect to pass their own tax bill as a backup plan to avert the tax hikes and automatic budget cuts set to occur in January ... President Barack Obama’s latest position puts the threshold for income tax hikes at $400,000....(size: 6.8Kb)
"Barack" and "Obama" redirect here. For other uses, see Barak (disambiguation) and Obama (disambiguation). For President Obama's father, the Kenyan economist, see Barack Obama, Sr.
| Barack Obama | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 44th President of the United States | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | George W. Bush |
| United States Senator from Illinois |
|
| In office January 3, 2005 – November 16, 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Peter Fitzgerald |
| Succeeded by | Roland Burris |
| Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th District |
|
| In office January 8, 1997 – November 4, 2004 |
|
| Preceded by | Alice Palmer |
| Succeeded by | Kwame Raoul |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barack Hussein Obama II (1961-08-04) August 4, 1961 (age 50)[1] Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.[2] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Robinson (1992–present) |
| Children | Malia (born 1998) Sasha (born 2001) |
| Residence | White House (Official) Chicago, Illinois (Private) |
| Alma mater | Occidental College Columbia University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
| Profession | Community organizer Lawyer Constitutional law professor Author |
| Religion | Christianity[3] |
| Awards | Nobel Peace Prize |
| Signature |  |
| Website | barackobama.com |
 |
This article is part of a series on Barack Obama |
|---|---|
Barack Hussein Obama II (i/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. In January 2005, Obama was sworn in as a U.S. Senator in the state of Illinois. He would hold this office until November 2008, when 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. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In April 2011, he announced that he would be running for re-election in 2012.
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 May 2012, he became the first sitting U.S. president to openly support legalizing same-sex marriage. In foreign policy, he ended the war in Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered U.S. involvement in the 2011 Libya military intervention, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden.
Contents |
Early life and career[link]
Main article: Early life and career of Barack Obama
Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital (now Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children) in Honolulu, Hawaii,[2][4][5] and is the first President to have been born in Hawaii.[6] His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, and was of mostly English ancestry,[7] along with Scottish, Irish, German, and Swiss.[8][9][10][11][12] 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.[13][14] The couple married on February 2, 1961,[15] separated when Obama Sr. went to Harvard University on scholarship, and divorced in 1964.[13] Obama Sr. remarried and returned to Kenya, visiting Barack in Hawaii only once, in 1971. He died in an automobile accident in 1982.[16]
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.[4][17] From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School.[18]
File:Ann Dunham with father and children.jpg
Barack Obama with his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother Ann Dunham and grandfather Stanley Dunham, in Hawaii
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.[19] 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.[15][20]
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."[14] He described his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage.[21] 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."[22] 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."[23] At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama described his high-school drug use as a great moral failure.[24]
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 to divest from South Africa in response to its policy of apartheid.[25] 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.[25] Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations[26] and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation,[27] then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.[28][29]
Chicago community organizer and Harvard Law School[link]
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.[29][30] He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens.[31] Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute.[32] 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.[33] He returned to Kenya in August 2006 for a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.[34]
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,[35] and president of the journal in his second year.[31][36] 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.[37] After graduating with a J.D. magna cum laude[38] from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago.[35] Obama's election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review gained national media attention[31][36] and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations,[39] which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as Dreams from My Father.[39]
University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney[link]
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.[39][40] 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.[41]
From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration campaign 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, leading Crain's Chicago Business to name Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be.[42] 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. His law license became inactive in 2002.[43]
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.[29] He served on the board of directors of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge from 1995 to 2002, as founding president and chairman of the board of directors from 1995 to 1999.[29]
Legislative career: 1997–2008[link]
State Senator: 1997–2004[link]
Main article: Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
Obama was elected to the Illinois Senate in 1996, succeeding State Senator Alice Palmer as Senator from Illinois's 13th District, which at that time spanned Chicago South Side neighborhoods from Hyde Park – Kenwood south to South Shore and west to Chicago Lawn.[44] Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation that reformed ethics and health care laws.[45] He sponsored a law that increased tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare.[46] 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.[47]
Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the general election, and was reelected again in 2002.[48] 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.[49]
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.[50] 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.[46][51] 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.[52] Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.[53]
U.S. Senate campaign[link]
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. Obama formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.[54]
Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq.[55] On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War,[56] Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally,[57] and spoke out against the war.[58] He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war.[59]
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.[60] 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.[61] In July 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention,[62] seen by 9.1 million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Democratic Party.[63]
Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004.[64] Six weeks later, Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan.[65] In the November 2004 general election, Obama won with 70 percent of the vote.[66]
U.S. Senator: 2005–2008[link]
Main article: United States Senate career of Barack Obama
Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2005,[67] becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus.[68] 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.[69]
Legislation[link]
Obama cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act.[70] He introduced two initiatives that bore his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons;[71] and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending.[72] 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.[73]
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.[74] 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.[75]
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.[77] 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.[78] Obama also introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections,[79] and the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007,[80] neither of which was signed into law.
Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act to add safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges.[81] This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008.[82] 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.[83] 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.[84]
Committees[link]
Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works, and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006.[85] 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.[86] He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs.[87] 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 in which he condemned corruption within the Kenyan government.[88]
Presidential campaigns[link]
2008 presidential campaign[link]
Main articles: United States presidential election, 2008, Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008, and Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2008
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.[89][90] 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.[89][91] Obama emphasized issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care,[92] in a campaign that projected themes of "hope" and "change".[93]
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.[94] On June 7, 2008, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama.[95]
On August 23, Obama announced his selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.[96] Biden was selected from a field speculated to include former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.[97] 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.[98] 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.[99][100]
During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations.[101] 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.[102]
McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate and the two engaged in three presidential debates in September and October 2008.[103] On November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain.[104] Obama won 52.9 percent of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7 percent.[105] He became the first African American to be elected president.[106] Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.[107]
2012 presidential campaign[link]
Main articles: United States presidential election, 2012 and Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012
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.[108][109][110] As the incumbent president he ran almost unopposed in the Democratic Party presidential primaries,[111] and on April 3, 2012, Obama had secured the 2778 convention delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination.[112]
Presidency[link]
Main article: Presidency of Barack Obama
See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet and List of presidential trips made by Barack Obama
First days[link]
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.[113] He ordered the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp,[114] but Congress prevented the closure by refusing to appropriate the required funds.[115][116][117] Obama reduced the secrecy given to presidential records,[118] and changed procedures to promote disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.[119] He also reversed George W. Bush's ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions.[120]
Domestic policy[link]
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.[121] Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million uninsured children.[122] In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy which had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research.[123]
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,[124] becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice.[125] 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.[126]
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.[127][128]
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.[129][130]
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.[131][132]
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 development of the Ares I rocket, Ares V rocket and Constellation program, in favor of funding Earth science projects, a new rocket type, and research and development for an eventual manned mission to Mars, and ongoing missions to the International Space Station.[133]
On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, fulfilling a key promise made in the 2008 presidential campaign[134][135] to end the Don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993 that had prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces.[136]
President Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address focused on themes of education and innovation, stressing the importance of innovation economics to make the United States more competitive globally. He spoke of a five-year freeze in domestic spending, eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and reversing tax cuts for wealthy Americans, banning congressional earmarks, and reducing healthcare costs. He promised that the United States would have one million electric vehicles on the road by 2015 and would be 80% reliant on "clean" electricity.[137][138]
As a candidate for the Illinois state senate Obama had said in 1996 that he favored legalizing same-sex marriage;[139] but by the time of his run for the U.S. senate in 2004, he said that while he supported civil unions and domestic partnerships for same-sex partners, for strategic reasons he opposed same-sex marriages.[140] On May 9, 2012, shortly after the official launch of his campaign for re-election as president, Obama said his views had evolved, and he publicly affirmed his personal support for the legalization of same-sex marriage, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to do so.[141][142]
Economic policy[link]
Main article: Economic policy of Barack Obama
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.[143] The act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals,[144] which is being distributed over the course of several years.
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.[145] Obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry[146] 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[147] 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.[148] In June 2009, dissatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus, Obama called on his cabinet to accelerate the investment.[149] He signed into law the Car Allowance Rebate System, known colloquially as "Cash for Clunkers", that temporarily boosted the economy.[150][151][152]
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.[153] 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.[154][155] 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.[156] The most recent increase in the U.S. debt ceiling to $16.4 trillion was signed into law on January 26, 2012.[157] 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.[158] By passing the legislation, Congress was able to prevent an unprecedented U.S. government default on its obligations.[159]
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.[162] 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.[163] 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.[164] Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year.[164] 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."[165] Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2010.[166]
The Congressional Budget Office and a broad range of economists credit Obama's stimulus plan for economic growth.[167][168] The CBO released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1–2.1 million,[168][169][170][171] while conceding that "It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package."[167] 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.[172]
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.[173] 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.[174]
Health care reform[link]
Main article: Health care reform in the United States
Obama called for Congress to pass legislation reforming health care in the United States, a key campaign promise and a top legislative goal.[175] 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.[176][177]
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.[175] 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.[178] In March 2009, Obama lifted a ban on stem cell research.[179]
File:PPACA Premium Chart.jpg
Maximum Out-of-Pocket Premium as Percentage of Family Income and federal poverty level, under Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, starting in 2014. (Source: CRS)
On November 7, 2009, a health care bill featuring the public option was passed in the House.[180][181] On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its own bill—without a public option—on a party-line vote of 60–39.[182] 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.[183] Obama signed the bill into law on March 23, 2010.[184]
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,[185] 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,[186][187] 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.[186][188]
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;[189] 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.[190] In March, 2010, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the net effect of both laws will be a reduction in the federal deficit by $143 billion over the first decade.[191]
In March 2012, the Supreme Court heard arguments by a coalition of 26 states maintaining that it is unconstitutional to force individuals to buy health insurance.[192]
Gulf of Mexico oil spill[link]
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.[193] 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.[194]
Foreign policy[link]
Main articles: Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration and Barack Obama 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.[195] Obama attempted to reach out to Arab leaders by granting his first interview to an Arab cable TV network, Al Arabiya.[196]
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.[197] This attempt at outreach was rebuffed by the Iranian leadership.[198] In April, Obama gave a speech in Ankara, Turkey, which was well received by many Arab governments.[199] 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.[200]
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."[201] 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."[202]
On September 24, 2009, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.[203]
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.[204][205] 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.[206] The New START treaty was signed by Obama and Medvedev in April 2010, and was ratified by the U.S. Senate in December 2010.[207]
On December 6, 2011, he instructed agencies to consider LGBT rights when issuing financial aid to foreign countries.[208]
Iraq War[link]
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."[209] 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.[210][211] On August 31, 2010, Obama announced that the United States combat mission in Iraq was over.[212] On October 21, 2011 President Obama announced that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq in time to be, "home for the holidays".[213]
War in Afghanistan[link]
Main article: War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Early in his presidency, Obama moved to bolster U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan.[214] 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".[215] 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.[216] On December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan.[217] He also proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date.[218][219] McChrystal was replaced by David Petraeus in June 2010, after McChrystal's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article.[220]
Israel[link]
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, the re-establishment of the U.S.-Israeli Joint Political Military Group and the Defense Policy Advisory Group, and an increase in visits among high-level military officials of both countries, including Ehud Barak and Admiral Mike Mullen.[221]
In 2011, the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements, with the United States being the only nation to do so.[222] Obama supports the two-state solution to the Arab–Israeli conflict based on the 1967 borders with land swaps.[223]
War in Libya[link]
Main article: 2011 military intervention in Libya
In March 2011, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi advanced on rebels across Libya, calls for a no-fly zone came from around the world, including Europe, the Arab League, and a resolution[224] passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate.[225] 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[226]—announced an immediate cessation of military activities,[227] 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,[228] including the use of Tomahawk missiles, B-2 Spirits, and fighter jets.[229][230][231] 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.[232] Some Representatives[233] questioned whether Obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath.[234][235]
Osama bin Laden[link]
Main article: Death of Osama bin Laden
See also: The Situation Room (photograph)
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.[236] CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to President Obama in March 2011.[236] 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.[236] 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.[237][238] Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing,[239] and buried at sea several hours later.[240] 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.[237][241] Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush,[242] and from many countries around the world.[243]
2010 midterm election[link]
Obama called the November 2, 2010 election, where the Democratic Party lost 63 seats in, and control of, the House of Representatives,[244] "humbling" and a "shellacking".[245] He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.[246]
Cultural and political image[link]
Main article: Public image of Barack Obama
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.[248] Obama is also not a descendant of American slaves.[249] 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".[250] 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."[251]
Obama is frequently referred to as an exceptional orator.[252] During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama has delivered a series of weekly Internet video addresses.[253]
According to the Gallup Organization, Obama began his presidency with a 68 percent approval rating[254] before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41 percent in August 2010,[255] a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office.[256] 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.[257][258][259] Polls show strong support for Obama in other countries,[260] and before being elected President he has met with prominent foreign figures including then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair,[261] Italy's Democratic Party leader and then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni,[262] and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.[263]
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.[264] 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.[265][266]
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.[267] 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[268] and received a Daytime Emmy Award.[269] 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".[270]
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".[271] Obama accepted this award in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2009, with "deep gratitude and great humility."[272] The award drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures.[273][274] 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[link]
Main article: Family of Barack Obama
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."[275] 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.[276] Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham,[277] until her death on November 2, 2008,[278] 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.[279] 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.[280]
Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years.[281] Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian at the conversational level, having learned the language during his four childhood years in Jakarta.[282] He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.[283]
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.[284] In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the all star game while wearing a White Sox jacket.[285] He is also primarily a Chicago Bears fan in the NFL, but in his childhood and adolescence 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.[286] In 2011, Obama invited the 1985 Bears to the White House; in 1986, the team did not attend due to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.[287]
In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin.[288] 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.[289] They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992.[290] The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998,[291] followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on June 10, 2001.[292] 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.[293] The Obamas have a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.[294]
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.[295] 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.[296]
In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.[297] 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.[298][299] 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.[300][301]
As per the latest financial disclosure, Obama may be worth as much as $10 million.[302]
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.[303][304]
Religious views[link]
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".[305]
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."[306]
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."[307][308]
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.[309] Obama resigned from Trinity during the Presidential campaign after controversial statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright became public.[310] 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.[311]
Notes[link]
- ^ "President Barack Obama". Washington, D.C.: The White House. 2008. http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president-obama. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ a b "Certificate of Live Birth: Barack Hussein Obama II, August 4, 1961, 7:24 pm, Honolulu". Department of Health, State of Hawaii. The White House. April 27, 2011. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/rss_viewer/birth-certificate-long-form.pdf. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ^ "American President: Barack Obama". Charlottesville, VA: Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. 2009. http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/obama. Retrieved January 23, 2009. "Religion: Christian"
- "The Truth about Barack's Faith". Obama for America. http://www.fightthesmears.com/file_download/2/baracksfaith.pdf. Retrieved April 8, 2011.
- Miller, Lisa (July 18, 2008). "Finding his faith". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/id/145971. Retrieved February 4, 2010. "He is now a Christian, having been baptized in the early 1990s at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago."
- Barakat, Matthew (November 17, 2008). "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized; D.C. churches have started extending invitations to Obama and his family". Associated Press. MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27775757. Retrieved January 20, 2009. "The United Church of Christ, the denomination from which Obama resigned when he left Wright's church, issued a written invitation to join a UCC denomination in Washington and resume his connections to the church." .
- "Barack Obama, long time UCC member, inaugurated forty-fourth U.S. President". News. United Church of Christ. January 20, 2009. http://www.ucc.org/news/obama-inauguration.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009. "Barack Obama, who spent more than 20 years as a UCC member, is the forty-fourth President of the United States."
- Sullivan, Amy (June 29, 2009). "The Obama's find a church home—away from home". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1907610,00.html. Retrieved February 5, 2010. "instead of joining a congregation in Washington, D.C., he will follow in George W. Bush's footsteps and make his primary place of worship Evergreen Chapel, the nondenominational church at Camp David." .
- Kornblut, Anne E. (February 4, 2010). "Obama's spirituality is largely private, but it's influential, advisers say". The Washington Post: p. A6. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/03/AR2010020303619.html. Retrieved February 5, 2010. "Obama prays privately ... And when he takes his family to Camp David on the weekends, a Navy chaplain ministers to them, with the daughters attending a form of Sunday school there."
- ^ a b Maraniss, David (August 24, 2008). "Though Obama had to leave to find himself, it is Hawaii that made his rise possible". The Washington Post: p. A22. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/23/AR2008082301620.html. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
- ^ Nakaso, Dan (December 22, 2008). "Twin sisters, Obama on parallel paths for years". The Honolulu Advertiser: p. B1. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2008/Dec/22/ln/hawaii812220320.html. Retrieved January 22, 2011.
- ^ Rudin, Ken (December 23, 2009). "Today's Junkie segment On TOTN: a political review Of 2009". Talk of the Nation (Political Junkie blog). NPR. http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/12/todays_junkie_segment_on_totn_5.html. Retrieved April 18, 2010. "We began with the historic inauguration on January 20—yes, the first president ever born in Hawaii"
- ^ for Stanley Ann's first name, see Obama (1995, 2004), p. 19.
- ^ Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Nicholas Watt (May 20, 2011). "Obama looks forward to rediscovering his Irish roots on European tour". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/20/obama-irish-roots-european-tour. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Mason, Jeff (May 23, 2011). "Obama visits family roots in Ireland". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/23/us-obama-ireland-idUSTRE74M09F20110523. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ "Obama urged to create own tartan". BBC News. January 20, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7838208.stm. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ "Researchers: Obama has German roots". USA Today. June 4, 2009. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-06-04-obama-roots_N.htm. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ "Honorary citizenship papers sent to Obama". Swissinfo.ch. July 14, 2010. http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Honorary_citizenship_papers_sent_to_Obama.html?cid=17963746. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ a b Jones, Tim (March 27, 2007). "Barack Obama: Mother not just a girl from Kansas; Stanley Ann Dunham shaped a future senator". Chicago Tribune: p. 1 (Tempo). Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-0703270151mar27-archive,0,5853572,full.story. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ a b Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 9–10.
- ^ a b Ripley, Amanda (April 9, 2008). "The story of Barack Obama's mother". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1729524,00.html. Retrieved April 9, 2007.
- ^ Ochieng, Philip (November 1, 2004). "From home squared to the US Senate: how Barack Obama was lost and found". The EastAfrican. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070927223905/http://www.nationmedia.com/EastAfrican/01112004/Features/PA2-11.html. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- Merida, Kevin (December 14, 2007). "The ghost of a father". The Washington Post: p. A12. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/13/ST2007121301893.html. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Karana, Kinanti Pinta (December 9, 2009). "Statue of a young Obama to watch over Indonesian capital". Jakarta Globe. http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/statue-of-us-president-barack-obama-to-be-unveiled-in-jakarta-park/346178. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 44–45.
- ^ Pickler, Nedra (January 24, 2007). "Obama debunks claim about Islamic school". The Washington Post. Associated Press. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/24/AR2007012400371_pf.html. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- "Statue of boy Obama erected in Jakarta". Xinhua News Agency. December 10, 2009. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/10/content_12624443.htm. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- ^ Serafin, Peter (March 21, 2004). "Punahou grad stirs up Illinois politics". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2004/03/21/news/story4.html. Retrieved March 20, 2008.
- Scott, Janny (March 14, 2008). "A free-spirited wanderer who set Obama's path". The New York Times: p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14obama.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved November 18, 2011.
- Obama (1995, 2004), Chapters 3 and 4.
- ^ Suryakusuma, Julia (November 29, 2006). "Obama for President... of Indonesia". The Jakarta Post. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2006/11/29/obama-president-indonesia.html. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ Serrano, Richard A. (March 11, 2007). "Obama's peers didn't see his angst". Los Angeles Times: p. A20. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obamahawaii11-2007mar11,0,199085,full.story. Retrieved March 13, 2007.
- Obama (1995, 2004), Chapters 4 and 5.
- ^ Reyes, B.J. (February 8, 2007). "Punahou left lasting impression on Obama". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/02/08/news/story02.html. Retrieved February 10, 2007. "As a teenager, Obama went to parties and sometimes sought out gatherings on military bases or at the University of Hawaii that were mostly attended by blacks."
- ^ Elliott, Philip (November 21, 2007). "Obama gets blunt with N.H. students". The Boston Globe. Associated Press: p. 8A. http://articles.boston.com/2007-11-21/news/29233371_1_barack-obama-education-plan-campaign-trail. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 93–94.
- for analysis of the political impact of the quote and Obama's more recent admission that he smoked marijuana as a teenager ("When I was a kid, I inhaled"), see:
- Seelye, Katharine Q. (October 24, 2006). "Obama offers more variations from the norm". The New York Times: p. A21. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E2DB173FF937A15753C1A9609C8B63. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- Romano, Lois (January 3, 2007). "Effect of Obama's candor remains to be seen". The Washington Post: p. A1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/02/AR2007010201359.html. Retrieved January 14, 2007.
- ^ Hornick, Ed (August 17, 2008). "Obama, McCain talk issues at pastor's forum". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/08/16/warren.forum/. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- ^ a b Gordon, Larry (January 29, 2007). "Occidental recalls 'Barry' Obama". Los Angeles Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/29/local/me-oxy29. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Possley, Maurice (March 30, 2007). "Activism blossomed in college". Chicago Tribune: p. 20. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703291042mar30-archive,0,1533921.story. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Kovaleski, Serge F. (February 9, 2008). "Old friends say drugs played bit part in Obama's young life". The New York Times: p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Rohter, Larry (April 10, 2008). "Obama says real-life experience trumps rivals' foreign policy credits". The New York Times: p. A18. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/us/politics/10obama.html. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Goldman, Adam; Tanner, Robert (May 15, 2008). "Old friends recall Obama's years in LA, NYC". USA Today. Associated Press. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-05-15-3144401415_x.htm. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Helman, Scott (August 25, 2008). "Small college awakened future senator to service". The Boston Globe: p. 1A. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/2008/08/25/small_college_awakened_future_senator_to_service/?page=full. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Jackson, Brooks (June 5, 2009). "More 'birther' nonsense: Obama's 1981 Pakistan trip". FactCheck.org. http://www.factcheck.org/2009/06/more-birther-nonsense-obamas-1981-pakistan-trip. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- Remnick, David (2010). The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 98–112. ISBN 978-1-4000-4360-6.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 92–112.
- Mendell (2007), pp. 55–62.
- ^ Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83". Columbia College Today. ISSN 0572-7820. http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jan05/cover.php. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
- ^ Obama, Barack (1998). "Curriculum vitae". The University of Chicago Law School. Archived from the original on May 9, 2001. http://web.archive.org/web/20010509024017/http://www.law.uchicago.edu/faculty/obama/cv.html. Retrieved October 1, 2006.
- Issenberg, Sasha (August 6, 2008). "Obama shows hints of his year in global finance; Tied markets to social aid". The Boston Globe: p. 1A. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/06/obama_shows_hints_of_his_year_in_global_finance/?page=1. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
- ^ Scott, Janny (July 30, 2007). "Obama's account of New York often differs from what others say". The New York Times: p. B1. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 133–140.
- Mendell (2007), pp. 62–63.
- ^ a b c d Chassie, Karen, ed. (2007). Who's Who in America, 2008. New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who. p. 3468. ISBN 978-0-8379-7011-0.
- ^ Lizza, Ryan (March 19, 2007). "The agitator: Barack Obama's unlikely political education". The New Republic 236 (12): 22–26, 28–29. ISSN 0028-6583. http://www.tnr.com/article/the-agitator-barack-obamas-unlikely-political-education. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- Secter, Bob; McCormick, John (March 30, 2007). "Portrait of a pragmatist". Chicago Tribune: p. 1. Archived from the original on December 14, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20091214172131/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703300121mar30-archive,0,2491692,full.story. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 140–295.
- Mendell (2007), pp. 63–83.
- ^ a b c Matchan, Linda (February 15, 1990). "A Law Review breakthrough". The Boston Globe: p. 29. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/articles/1990/02/15/a_law_review_breakthrough. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
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- ^ Obama, Barack (August–September 1988). "Why organize? Problems and promise in the inner city". Illinois Issues 14 (8–9): 40–42. ISSN 0738-9663. reprinted in:
Knoepfle, Peg, ed. (1990). After Alinsky: community organizing in Illinois. Springfield, IL: Sangamon State University. pp. 35–40. ISBN 0-9620873-3-5. "He has also been a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working throughout the Midwest." - ^ Obama (1995, 2004), pp. 299–437.
- ^ Gnecchi, Nico (February 27, 2006). "Obama receives hero's welcome at his family's ancestral village in Kenya". Voice of America. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080321161040/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-08/2006-08-27-voa17.cfm. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Levenson, Michael; Saltzman, Jonathan (January 28, 2007). "At Harvard Law, a unifying voice". The Boston Globe: p. 1A. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/?page=full. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Kantor, Jodi (January 28, 2007). "In law school, Obama found political voice". The New York Times: p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/28/us/politics/28obama.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Mundy, Liza (August 12, 2007). "A series of fortunate events". The Washington Post: p. W10. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/08/AR2007080802038_pf.html. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Mendell (2007), pp. 80–92.
- ^ a b Butterfield, Fox (February 6, 1990). "First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review". The New York Times: p. A20. http://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/06/us/first-black-elected-to-head-harvard-s-law-review.html. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Ybarra, Michael J (February 7, 1990). "Activist in Chicago now heads Harvard Law Review". Chicago Tribune: p. 3. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1990-02-07/news/9001110408_1_ann-dunham-chicago-housing-authority-barack-obama. Retrieved October 29, 2011.
- Drummond, Tammerlin (March 12, 1990). "Barack Obama's law; Harvard Law Review's first black president plans a life of public service" (paid archive). Los Angeles Times: p. E1. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/60017156.html?dids=60017156:60017156&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Evans, Gaynelle (March 15, 1990). "Opening another door: The saga of Harvard's Barack H. Obama". Black Issues in Higher Education 7 (1): 5. ISSN 0742-0277. http://diverseeducation.com/article/11791/. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- Pugh, Allison J. (April 18, 1990). "Law Review's first black president aims to help poor". The Miami Herald. Associated Press: p. C01. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_multi=MH%7C&p_product=MH&p_theme=realcities2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_site=miami&s_trackval=MH&s_search_type=keyword&s_dispstring=Law%20Review%27s%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor%20AND%20date%28all%29&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=%28Law%20Review%27s%20first%20black%20president%20aims%20to%20help%20poor%29&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- ^ Aguilar, Louis (July 11, 1990). "Survey: Law firms slow to add minority partners". Chicago Tribune: p. 1 (Business). http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/28774085.html?dids=28774085:28774085&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- ^ Adams, Richard (May 9, 2007). "Barack Obama". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/may/09/barackobama.uselections20081. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
- ^ a b c Scott, Janny (May 18, 2008). "The story of Obama, written by Obama". The New York Times: p. A1. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/us/politics/18memoirs.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Obama (1995, 2004), pp. xiii–xvii.
- ^ Merriner, James L. (June 2008). "The friends of O". Chicago 57 (6): 74–79, 97–99. ISSN 0362-4595. http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/Obamas-Chicago-Posse/The-Friends-of-O/index.php?cp=2&si=1. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Zengerle, Jason (July 30, 2008). "Con law; What the University of Chicago right thinks of Obama". The New Republic 239 (1): 7–8. ISSN 0028-6583. http://www.tnr.com/article/con-law?id=86dd0277-c6ee-4e3c-83e9-0bb468c5c40d&p=1. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
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- Gray, Steven (September 10, 2008). "Taking professor Obama's class". Time. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1835238-2,00.html. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Starr, Alexandra (September 21, 2008). "Case study". The New York Times Magazine: p. 76. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/magazine/21obama-t.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- Hundley, Tom (March 22, 2009). "Ivory tower of power". Chicago Tribune Magazine: p. 6. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-mxa0322magazineobamapg6mar22,0,4802888,full.story. Retrieved January 30, 2010.
- ^ "Statement regarding Barack Obama". University of Chicago Law School. March 27, 2008. http://www.law.uchicago.edu/media/index.html. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
- Miller, Joe (March 28, 2008). "Was Barack Obama really a constitutional law professor?". FactCheck.org. http://factcheck.org/2008/03/obama-a-constitutional-law-professor/. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
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- ^ White, Jesse, ed. (2000). Illinois Blue Book, 2000, Millennium ed.. Springfield, IL: Illinois Secretary of State. p. 83. OCLC 43923973. Archived from the original on April 16, 2004. http://web.archive.org/web/20040416120057/www.sos.state.il.us/bb/sec4_71_132.pdf. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
- Jarrett, Vernon (August 11, 1992). "'Project Vote' brings power to the people" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times: p. 23. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Vernon%20Jarrett)%20AND%20date(8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=8/11/1992%20to%208/11/1992)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Vernon%20Jarrett)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
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- Anderson, Veronica (September 27 – October 3 1993). "40 under Forty: Barack Obama, Director, Illinois Project Vote". Crain's Chicago Business 16 (39): 43. ISSN 0149-6956.
- ^ Robinson, Mike (February 20, 2007). "Obama got start in civil rights practice". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/02/20/obama_got_start_in_civil_rights_practice. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Pallasch, Abdon M. (December 17, 2007). "As lawyer, Obama was strong, silent type; He was 'smart, innovative, relentless,' and he mostly let other lawyers do the talking" (paid archive). Chicago Sun-Times: p. 4. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Pallasch)_AND_date(12/17/2007_to_12/17/2007)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=December_17,_2007_to_12/17/2007)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Pallasch)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Morain, Dan (April 6, 2008). "Obama's law days effective but brief". Los Angeles Times: p. A14. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/06/nation/na-obamalegal6. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- "People" (paid archive). Chicago Tribune: p. 9 (Business). June 27, 1993. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/24302659.html?dids=24302659:24302659&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- "Business appointments" (paid archive). Chicago-Sun-Times: p. 40. July 5, 1993. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_dispstring=(Business%20appointments)%20AND%20date(7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=7/5/1993%20to%207/5/1993)&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=(Business%20appointments)&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Ripley, Amanda (November 3, 2004). "Obama's ascent". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,750742,00.html. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- "About us". Miner, Barnhill & Galland – Chicago, Illinois. 2008. http://www.lawmbg.com/index.cfm/PageID/2711. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- Reardon, Patrick T. (June 25, 2008). "Obama's Chicago". Chicago Tribune: p. 1 (Tempo). http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-obama-chicago-htmlstory,0,506256.htmlstory. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
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See also:Goldfarb, Zachary A (March 24, 2007). "Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032400305.html. Retrieved April 28, 2008. - ^ Zeleny, Jeff (April 17, 2008). "Book Sales Lifted Obamas' Income in 2007 to a Total of $4.2 Million". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/17/us/politics/17obama.html. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
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- ^ Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in:Obama, Barack (October 16, 2006). "My Spiritual Journey". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546579,00.html. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
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- ^ Christianity Today: "Q&A: Barack Obama" Interview by Sarah Pulliam and Ted Olsen, January 23, 2008
- ^ Obama 'Christian By Choice': President Responds To Questioner by Charles Babington and Darlene Superville, Associated Press, September 28, 2010
- ^ Video – President Obama: "I am a Christian By Choice" by ABC News, September 29, 2010.
- ^ Kantor, Jodi (April 30, 2007). "Barack Obama's search for faith". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/world/americas/30iht-30obama.5501905.html. Retrieved April 30, 2007.
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- ^ Sullivan, Amy (June 29, 2009.) "The Obamas Find a Church Home—Away from Home". Time. Retrieved December 14, 2009.
References[link]
- Mendell, David (2007). Obama: From Promise to Power. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-085820-6.
- Obama, Barack (1995, 2004). Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 1-4000-8277-3.
- Obama, Barack (2006). The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. New York: Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 0-307-23769-9.
Further reading[link]
- Graff, Garrett. "The Legend of Barack Obama", Washingtonian, November 1, 2006. Retrieved 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 October 27, 2010.
- MacFarquhar, Larissa. "The Conciliator: Where is Barack Obama Coming From?", New Yorker, May 7, 2007. Retrieved 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 January 14, 2008.
External links[link]
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- Official
- President Barack Obama White House official website
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- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
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- Barack Obama at the Open Directory Project
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Obama, Barack |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American politician, 44th President of the United States |
| Date of birth | August 4, 1961 |
| Place of birth | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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| Barack Obama | |
|---|---|
|
|
| 44th President of the United States | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2009 |
|
| Vice President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | George W. Bush |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Barack Hussein Obama II[1] (1961-08-04) August 4, 1961 (age 50) Honolulu, Hawaii, United States[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Michelle Robinson (m. 1992) |
| Children | Malia (b.1998) Sasha (b.2001) |
| Residence | The White House |
| Alma mater | Occidental College Columbia University (B.A.) Harvard Law School (J.D.) |
| Profession | Community organizer Attorney Author Constitutional law professor United States Senator President of the United States |
| Religion | Christian,[2] former member of United Church of Christ[3][4] |
| Signature | |
| Website | WhiteHouse.gov |
|
This article is part of a series on Barack Obama |
|---|---|
The Presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20, 2009, when he became the 44th President of the United States. Obama was a United States Senator from Illinois at the time of his victory over Arizona Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the United States, as well as the first born in Hawaii.
His policy decisions have addressed a global financial crisis and have included changes in tax policies, legislation to reform the United States health care industry, foreign policy initiatives and the phasing out of detention of prisoners at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. He attended the G-20 London summit and later visited U.S. troops in Iraq. On the tour of various European countries following the G-20 summit, he announced in Prague that he intended to negotiate substantial reduction in the world's nuclear arsenals, en route to their eventual extinction. In October 2009, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
Contents
|
Transition period[link]
Main article: Presidential transition of Barack Obama
The presidential transition period began following Obama's election to the presidency on November 4, 2008. The Obama-Biden Transition Project was co-chaired by John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett, and Pete Rouse. During the transition period, Obama announced his nominations for his Cabinet and administration. Shortly after the election on November 4, Obama chose Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois as White House Chief of Staff.[5]
Cabinet nominations included former Democratic primary opponents Hillary Rodham Clinton for Secretary of State and Bill Richardson for Secretary of Commerce (although the latter withdrew on January 4, 2009). Obama appointed Eric Holder as his Attorney General, the first African-American appointed to that position. He also nominated Timothy F. Geithner to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.[6] On December 1, Obama announced that he had asked Robert Gates to remain as Secretary of Defense, making Gates the first Defense head to carry over from a president of a different party.[7] He nominated former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice to the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, which he restored to a Cabinet-level position.[8]
During his transition, he maintained a website Change.gov, on which he wrote blogs to readers and uploaded video addresses by many of the members of his new cabinet.[9] He announced strict rules for federal lobbyists, restricting them from financially contributing to his administration and forcing them to stop lobbying while working for him.[10] The website also allowed individuals to share stories and visions with each other and the transition team in what was called the Citizen's Briefing Book, which was given to Obama shortly after his inauguration.[11] Most of the information from Change.gov was transferred to the official White House website whitehouse.gov just after Obama's inauguration.[12]
Inauguration[link]
Main article: Inauguration of Barack Obama
Barack Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. He officially assumed the presidency at 12:00 noon, EST,[13] and completed the oath of office at 12:05 PM, EST. He delivered his inaugural address immediately following his oath. After his speech, he went to the President's Room in the House Wing of the Capitol and signed three documents: a commemorative proclamation, a list of Cabinet appointments, and a list of sub-Cabinet appointments, before attending a luncheon with congressional and administration leaders and invited guests.[14] To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of former President Abraham Lincoln, the same Bible that was used for Lincoln's inauguration was used in Obama's inauguration.[15]
In administering the oath, Chief Justice John G. Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully" and erroneously replaced the phrase "President of the United States" with "President to the United States" before restating the phrase correctly; since Obama initially repeated the incorrect form, some scholars argued the President should take the oath again.[16] On January 21, Roberts readministered the oath to Obama in a private ceremony in the White House Map Room, making him the seventh U.S. president to retake the oath; White House Counsel Greg Craig said Obama took the oath from Roberts a second time out of an "abundance of caution".[17]
First 100 days[link]
Main article: First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency
Expectations[link]
Obama's 100th day in office was April 29, 2009. In his first post-election interview with 60 Minutes, Obama said that he has been studying Franklin Roosevelt's first 100 days,[18] while adding, "The first hundred days is going to be important, but it's probably going to be the first thousand days that makes the difference."[19]
Obama's first 100 days were highly anticipated ever since he became the presumptive nominee.[20] Several news outlets created web pages dedicated to covering the subject.[21] Commentators weighed in on challenges and priorities within domestic, foreign, economic, and environmental policy.[22][23][24][25] CNN lists a number of economic issues that "Obama and his team will have to tackle in their first 100 days", foremost among which is passing and implementing a recovery package to deal with the financial crisis.[24] Clive Stafford Smith, a British human rights lawyer, expressed hopes that the new president will close Guantanamo Bay detention camp in his first 100 days in office.[23] After aides of the president announced his intention to give a major foreign policy speech in the capital of an Islamic country, there were speculations in Jakarta that he might return to his former home city within the first 100 days.[26]
The New York Times devoted a five-part series, which was spread out over two weeks, to anticipatory analysis of Obama's first hundred days. Each day, the analysis of a political expert was followed by freely edited blog postings from readers. The writers compared Obama's prospects with the situations of Franklin D. Roosevelt (January 16, Jean Edward Smith),[27] John F. Kennedy (January 19, Richard Reeves),[28] Lyndon B. Johnson (January 23, Robert Dallek),[29] Ronald Reagan (January 27, Lou Cannon),[30] and Richard Nixon.
Legislation and executive orders[link]
Within minutes of taking the Oath of Office on January 20, Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, issued an order suspending last-minute federal regulations pushed through by outgoing President George W. Bush, planning to review everything still pending.[31] Due to the economic crisis, the President enacted a pay freeze for Senior White House Staff making more than $100,000 per year,[32] as well as announcing stricter guidelines regarding lobbyists in an effort to raise the ethical standards of the White House.[33] He asked for a waiver to his own new rules, however, for the appointments of William Lynn to the position of Deputy Defense Secretary, Jocelyn Frye to the position of director of policy and projects in the Office of the First Lady, and Cecilia Muñoz to the position of director of intergovernmental affairs in the executive office of the president, leading to some criticism of hypocrisy and violation of his pledge for governmental openness.[34][35]
In his first week in office, Obama signed Executive Order 13492 suspending all the ongoing proceedings of Guantanamo military commission and ordering the detention facility to be shut down within the year.[36][37][38] He also signed Executive Order 13491 - Ensuring Lawful Interrogations requiring the Army Field Manual to be used as a guide for terror interrogations, banning torture and other coercive techniques, such as waterboarding.[39] Obama also issued an executive order entitled "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel", setting stricter limitations on incoming executive branch employees and placing tighter restrictions on lobbying in the White House.[40] Obama signed two Presidential Memoranda concerning energy independence, ordering the Department of Transportation to establish higher fuel efficiency standards before 2011 models are released and allowing states to raise their emissions standards above the national standard.[41] He also ended the Mexico City Policy, which banned federal grants to international groups that provide abortion services or counseling.[42][43]
In his first week he also established a policy of producing a weekly Saturday morning video address available on whitehouse.gov and YouTube,[44][45][46] much like those released during his transition period.[47][48] The first address had been viewed by 600,000 YouTube viewers by the next afternoon.[49]
The first piece of legislation Obama signed was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 on January 29, which revised the statute of limitations for filing pay discrimination lawsuits. Lilly Ledbetter joined Obama and his wife, Michelle, as he signed the bill, fulfilling his campaign pledge to nullify Ledbetter v. Goodyear.[50] On February 3, he signed the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIP), expanding health care from 7 million children under the plan to 11 million.[51]
 President Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.
Obama addresses a joint session of Congress, with Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
|
 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was a focal point of Barack Obama's February 24, 2009 Address Before a Joint Session of Congress.
|
| Problems listening to these files? See media help. | |
After much debate, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was passed by both the House and Senate on February 13, 2009. Originally intended to be a bipartisan bill, the passage of the bill was largely along party lines. No Republicans voted for it in the House, and three moderate Republicans voted for it in the Senate (Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania).[52] The bill combined tax breaks with spending on infrastructure projects, extension of welfare benefits, and education.[53][54] The final cost of the bill was $787 billion, and almost $1.2 trillion with debt service included.[55] Obama signed the Act into law on February 17, 2009, in Denver, Colorado.[56]
On March 9, 2009, Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research,[57] and in doing so, called into question some of George W. Bush's signing statements. Obama stated that he too would employ signing statements if he deems upon review that a portion of a bill is unconstitutional,[58][59] and he has issued several signing statements.[60]
Early in his presidency, Obama signed a law raising the tobacco tax 62 cents on a pack of cigarettes.[61] The tax is to be "used to finance a major expansion of health insurance for children", and "help some [smokers] to quit and persuade young people not to start".[61]
In October 2011, Obama instituted the We Can't Wait program, which involved using executive orders, administrative rulemaking, and recess appointments to institute policies without the support of Congress.[62] The initiative was developed in response to Congress's unwillingness to pass economic legislation proposed by Obama, and conflicts in Congress during the 2011 debt ceiling crisis.[63]
Approval ratings and opinion[link]
2009[link]
After his transition period, Obama entered office with an approval rating of 82%.[64] At the end of his first week, 68% of respondents in a Gallup poll approved of how Obama was handling his job, the second highest approval rating for a President shortly after being elected since World War II.[65] Throughout early February polls showed scattered approval ratings: 62% (CBS News),[66] 64% (USA Today/Gallup), 66% (Gallup), and 76% in an outlier poll (CNN/Opinion Research).[67][68] Gallup reported the congressional address in late February boosted his approval from a term-low of 59% to 67%.[69]
Throughout autumn 2009, Rasmussen estimated Obama's approval as fluctuating between 45% and 52% and his disapproval between 48% and 54%;[70] as of November 11, Pew Research estimated Obama's approval between 51% and 55% and his disapproval between 33% and 37% since July.[71]
Handling of the economy[link]
Rasmussen reported in mid-February 2009, that 55% of voters gave Obama good or excellent marks on his handling of the economy.[72] In early March, a The Wall Street Journal survey of 49 economists gave Obama an average grade of 59 out of 100, with 42% of the respondents surveyed giving the administration's economic policies a grade below 60 percent. In comparison, only 30% of those same economists considered the response of governments around the world to the global recession to have been adequate.[73] In April, a Gallup poll showed trust in Obama's economic policy with 71% saying they had "a fair amount" or "a great deal" of confidence in Obama's handling of the economy, higher than for Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, or leaders of Congress.[74] Another Gallup poll in June showed 55% of Americans approved Obama's overall handling of the economy, but 48% and 51% disapproved of his handling of the federal budget deficit and controlling federal spending, respectively.[75] A CBS News poll taken August 27–31 showed 53% of those polled approved of his handling of the economy.[76] A Rasmussen poll taken on November 12 found 45% of Americans rating Obama's handling of the economy as poor and 39% rating him as doing a good or excellent job. They found 72% of Democrats rated his handling of the economy as good or excellent, while only 10% of Republicans and 27% of voters not affiliated with either party agreed.[77]
2010[link]
On March 25, 2010, following his signing of landmark health care reform legislation into law, Obama's polling was revealed by Bloomberg to be 50%, with higher marks for relations with other countries (58%) and his running of the war in Afghanistan (54%). "Obama's approval rating is roughly equal to what Bill Clinton had at this point in his presidency, according to data maintained by Gallup (and) higher than the 45 percent Ronald Reagan recorded in April 1982" and more favorable than Democrats or Republicans office in 2010. They found Obama's approval rating was at 85% among Democrats, compared with 46% among independents and 11% among Republicans.[78]
Fox News released the results of two polls on April 8–9, 2010. The first showed a drop in Obama's approval rating to 43%, with 48% disapproving. In that poll, Democrats approved of Obama's performance 80–12%, while independents disapproved 49–38%.[79] The other poll, which concentrated on the economy, showed disapproval of Obama's handling of the economy by a 53–42% margin, with 62% saying they were dissatisfied with the handling of the federal deficit.[80] According to a Gallup Poll released April 10, 2010, President Obama had a 45% approval rating, with 48% disapproving.[81] In a poll from Rasmussen Reports, released April 10, 2010, 47% approved of the President's performance, while 53% disapproved.[82][83]
2011[link]
Obama's approval rating jumped to a high following the death of Osama Bin Laden on May 2, 2011. A GfK poll conducted May 5, 2011 found his approval rating to be 60%. During the debt ceiling debate in August 2011, Obama's approval rating dropped to the low-40s.[84]
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This section requires expansion. |
Major legislation[link]
2009[link]
- January 29: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
- February 4: Children's Health Insurance Reauthorization Act
- February 11: DTV Delay Act
- February 17: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
- March 30: Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009
- April 21: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act
- May 20: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act
- May 20: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009
- May 22: Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009
- June 22: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
- August 6: Cash For Clunkers Extension Act
- October 22: Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act
- October 28: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act
- October 30: Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act
- November 6: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009
2010[link]
- January 27: Emergency Aid to American Survivors of Haiti Earthquake Act
- March 4: Travel Promotion Act
- March 18: Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE Act)
- March 23: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
- March 30: Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
- May 5: Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act of 2010
- May 17: Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act
- July 1: Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act
- July 21: Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
- July 22: Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010
- July 22: Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010
- August 10: SPEECH Act
- September 27: Small Business Jobs and Credit Act of 2010
- December 9: Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010
- December 13: Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010
- December 17: Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010
- December 22: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
2011[link]
- January 2: James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (H.R. 847)
- January 4: Food Safety and Modernization Act, Pub.L. 111-353, H.R. 2751
- August 2: Budget Control Act of 2011
- October 21: United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
- October 21: United States-Panama Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
- October 21: United States-South Korea Free Trade Agreement Implemention Act
Personnel[link]
Cabinet appointees[link]
Main articles: First 100 days of Barack Obama's presidency#Administration and Cabinet and Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet
 |
||
| The Obama Cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Office | Name | Term |
| President | Barack Obama | 2009–present |
| Vice President | Joe Biden | 2009–present |
| Secretary of State | Hillary Clinton | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Treasury | Timothy Geithner | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Defense | Robert Gates* | 2006–2011 |
| Leon Panetta | 2011–present | |
| Attorney General | Eric Holder | 2009–present |
| Secretary of the Interior | Ken Salazar | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Tom Vilsack | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Commerce | Gary Locke | 2009–2011 |
| John Bryson | 2011–present | |
| Secretary of Labor | Hilda Solis | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Health and Human Services |
Kathleen Sebelius | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Education | Arne Duncan | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Housing and Urban Development |
Shaun Donovan | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Transportation | Ray LaHood | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Energy | Steven Chu | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Eric Shinseki | 2009–present |
| Secretary of Homeland Security | Janet Napolitano | 2009–present |
| Chief of Staff | Rahm Emanuel | 2009–2010 |
| William Daley | 2011–2012 | |
| Jacob Lew | 2012–present | |
| Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency |
Lisa Jackson | 2009–present |
| Director of the Office of Management and Budget |
Peter Orszag | 2009–2010 |
| Jacob Lew | 2010–2012 | |
| Jeffrey Zients** | 2012–present | |
| Ambassador to the United Nations | Susan Rice | 2009–present |
| United States Trade Representative | Ron Kirk | 2009–present |
| *Retained from previous administration **Acting |
||
Twenty-two members of the Obama administration are either in the United States Cabinet (15) or are in positions considered to be Cabinet-level (7). The members of the Cabinet are the heads of the fifteen major departments (State, Defense, Justice, etc.), and the seven cabinet-level positions are the Vice President, White House Chief of Staff, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador to the United Nations, and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.[85][86] Since Robert Gates was a member of the previous administration, his letter of resignation (a formality at the end of a President's term) was simply not accepted, and he did not need confirmation.[87] On January 19, 2009, Senate Democratic leaders requested fifteen of the twenty positions to be ratified by unanimous consent,[88] and seven gained unanimous confirmation by voice vote the next day: Ken Salazar, Steven Chu, Arne Duncan, Peter Orszag, Eric Shinseki, Tom Vilsack, and Janet Napolitano.[87][89] On January 21, Obama presided over the swearing in of the seven unanimous nominees.[90] Later that day, the Senate confirmed Hillary Clinton by a 94–2 vote. On January 22, several more confirmations were approved unanimously: Susan E. Rice, Ray LaHood, Lisa P. Jackson, and Shaun Donovan.[91] On January 26, the Senate confirmed Geithner by a 60–34 margin.[92][93]
At the conclusion of Obama's first week as President, Hilda Solis, Tom Daschle, Ron Kirk, and Eric Holder had yet to be confirmed, and there had been no second appointment for Secretary of Commerce.[93] Holder was confirmed by a vote of 75–21 on February 2,[94] and on February 3, Obama announced Senator Judd Gregg as his second nomination for Secretary of Commerce.[95] Daschle withdrew later that day amid controversy over his failure to pay income taxes and potential conflicts of interest related to the speaking fees he accepted from health care interests.[96] Solis was later confirmed by a vote of 80-17 on February 24,[97] and Ron Kirk was confirmed on March 18 by a 92-5 vote in the Senate.[98]
Gregg, who was the leading Republican negotiator and author of the TARP program in the Senate, after publication that he had a multi-million dollar investment in the Bank of America, on February 12, withdrew his nomination as Secretary of Commerce, citing "irresolvable conflicts" with President Obama and his staff over how to conduct the 2010 census and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.[99][100] Former Washington governor Gary Locke was nominated on February 26[101] as Obama's third choice for Commerce Secretary and confirmed on March 24 by voice vote.[102]
On March 2, Obama introduced Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius as his second choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. He also introduced Nancy-Ann DeParle as head of the new White House Office of Health Reform, which he suggested would work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services.[103][104] At the end of March, Sebelius was the only remaining Cabinet member yet to be confirmed.[102]
Six high-ranking cabinet nominees in the Obama administration had their confirmations delayed or rejected among reports that they did not pay all of their taxes, including Tom Daschle, Obama's original nominee for Health and Human Services Secretary, and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.[105] Though Geithner was confirmed, and Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, thought Daschle would have been confirmed, Daschle withdrew his nomination on February 3.[96] Obama had nominated Nancy Killefer for the position of Chief Performance Officer, but Killefer also withdrew on February 3, citing unspecified problems with District of Columbia unemployment tax.[106] A senior administration official said that Killefer's tax issues dealt with household help.[106] Hilda Solis, Obama's nominee for Secretary of Labor, faced delayed confirmation hearings due to tax lien concerns pertaining to her husband's auto repair business,[107] but she was later confirmed on February 24.[97] While pundits puzzled over U.S. Trade Representative-designate Ron Kirk's failure to be confirmed by March 2009, it was reported on March 2 that Kirk owed over $10,000 in back taxes. Kirk agreed to pay them in exchange for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus's aid in speeding up the confirmation process;[108] he was later confirmed on March 18.[98] On March 31, Kathleen Sebelius, Obama's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary, revealed in a letter to the Senate Finance Committee that her Certified Public Accountant found errors in her tax returns for years 2005-2007. She, along with her husband, paid more than $7,000 in back taxes, along with $878 in interest.[109]
Notable non-Cabinet positions[link]
Appointees serve at the pleasure of the President and were nominated by Barack Obama except as noted.
- Chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
- Sheila Bair1 (2009–2011)
- Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan
- Richard Holbrooke (2009–2010)
- Marc Grossman (2011–present)
- Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
- Retired General James L. Jones (2009–2011)
- Thomas E. Donilon (2011–present)
- Special envoy to the Middle East
- George J. Mitchell (2009–2011)
- David Hale (2011–present)
- Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Robert Mueller2 (2009–present)
- Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
- Leon Panetta (2009–2011)
- Michael Morell (Acting-2011)
- David Petraeus (2011–present)
- Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers
- Christina Romer (2009–2010)
- Austan Goolsbee (2010–2011)
- Alan Krueger (2011–present)
- Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission
- Mary Schapiro (2009–present)
- Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and Director of National Economic Council
- Lawrence Summers (2009–2010)
- Gene Sperling (2011–present)
- Chairman of the Economic Recovery Advisory Board
- Paul Volcker (2009–2011)
- Replaced by Council on Jobs and Competitiveness in 2011
- Chairperson of the Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
- Jeffrey R. Immelt (2011–present)
1Appointed by George W. Bush in 2006 to a five-year term
2Appointed by George W. Bush in 2001 to a ten-year term
Judicial nominees[link]
Main articles: Barack Obama Supreme Court candidates and List of federal judges appointed by Barack Obama
United States Supreme Court[link]
Obama appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Further information: List of nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States
Other courts[link]
Outside of the Supreme Court, by October 2009, Obama had nominated fewer than two dozen judges to fill judicial vacancies, of which there were close to 100. This has prompted some Democrats to criticize the pace of Obama's judicial appointments as too slow.[110] In December 2009, Senator Patrick Leahy criticized Republicans for stalling those judicial nominations that had been made, noting that the Senate confirmed more district and circuit court nominees during the first year of the George W. Bush administration than it had approved by that point during the Barack Obama presidency.[111]
As of July 2010, Obama's nominees to the district and circuit courts had been confirmed at a rate of only 43.5 percent, compared to 87.2 percent during Bill Clinton's administration and 91.3 percent for George W. Bush. The Center for American Progress, which compiled the data, commented:
Judicial confirmations slowed to a trickle on the day President Barack Obama took office. Filibusters, anonymous holds, and other obstructionary tactics have become the rule. Uncontroversial nominees wait months for a floor vote, and even district court nominees—low-ranking judges whose confirmations have never been controversial in the past—are routinely filibustered into oblivion. Nominations grind to a halt in many cases even after the Senate Judiciary Committee has unanimously endorsed a nominee. [112]
Policies[link]
Economy[link]
Upon entering office, Obama planned to center his attention on handling the global financial crisis.[113] Even before his inauguration he lobbied Congress to pass an economic stimulus bill,[114] which became the top priority during his first month in office.[115] As President, Obama made a high profile trip to Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. to dialog with Congressional Republicans and advocate for the bill.[116] On February 17, 2009, Obama signed into law a $787 billion plan that included spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals.[117] The tax provisions of the law reduced taxes for 98 percent of taxpayers, bringing tax rates to their lowest levels in 60 years.[118]
As part of the 2010 budget proposal, the Obama administration has proposed additional measures to attempt to stabilize the economy, including a $2–3 trillion measure aimed at stabilizing the financial system and freeing up credit. The program includes up to $1 trillion to buy toxic bank assets, an additional $1 trillion to expand a federal consumer loan program, and the $350 billion left in the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The plan also includes $50 billion intended to slow the wave of mortgage foreclosures.[117] The 2011 budget includes a three-year freeze on discretionary spending, proposes several program cancellations, and raises taxes on high income earners to bring down deficits during the economic recovery.[119]
In a July 2009 interview with ABC News, Biden was asked about the sustained increase of the U.S. unemployment rate from May 2007 to October 2009[120] despite the administration's multi-year economic stimulus package passed five months earlier. He responded "The truth is, we and everyone else, misread the economy. The figures we worked off of in January were the consensus figures and most of the blue chip indexes out there ... the truth is, there was a misreading of just how bad an economy we inherited."[121][122] The White House indicates that 2 million jobs were created or saved due to the stimulus package in 2009[123] and self reporting by recipients of the grants, loans, and contracts portion of the package report that the package saved or created 608,317 jobs in the final three months of 2009.[124]
The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.1% and averaging 10.0% in the fourth quarter.[125] Following a decrease to 9.7% in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6% in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year.[125] Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8%, which was less than the average of 1.9% experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries.[126] GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a 1.6% pace, followed by a 5.0% increase in the fourth quarter.[127] Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7% in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year.[127] Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9% in 2010.[128]
During November–December 2010, Obama and a lame duck session of the 111th Congress focused on a dispute about the temporary Bush tax cuts, which were due to expire at the end of the year. Obama wanted to extend the tax cuts for taxpayers making less than $250,000 a year. Congressional Republicans agreed but also wanted to extend the tax cuts for those making over that amount, and refused to support any bill that did not do so.[129] All the Republicans in the Senate also joined in saying that, until the tax dispute was resolved, they would filibuster to prevent consideration of any other legislation, except for bills to fund the U.S. government.[130][131] On 7 December, Obama strongly defended a compromise agreement he had reached with the Republican congressional leadership that included a two-year extension of all the tax cuts, a 13-month extension of unemployment insurance, a one-year reduction in the FICA payroll tax, and other measures.[132] On December 10, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) led a filibuster against the compromise tax proposal, which lasted over eight hours.[133] Obama persuaded many wary Democrats to support the bill,[134] but not all; of the 148 votes against the bill in the House, 112 were cast by Democrats and only 36 by Republicans.[135] The $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, which The Washington Post called "the most significant tax bill in nearly a decade",[136] passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress and was signed into law by Obama on December 17, 2010.[134]
Ethics[link]
Lobbying reform[link]
Early in his presidential campaign, Obama stated that "they [lobbyists] won't find a job in my White House", but softened his stance later in the campaign.[137] On January 21, 2009, Obama issued an executive order for all future appointees to his administration, which stated, no appointee who was a registered lobbyist within the two years before his appointment could participate on matters in which he lobbied for a period of two years after the date of appointment.[40] Three formal waivers were initially issued in early 2009, out of 800 executive appointments:[138][139] to William J. Lynn III, a lobbyist for Raytheon, to hold the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense;[34] to Jocelyn Frye, former general counsel at the National Partnership for Women and Families, to serve as Director of Policy and Projects in the Office of the First Lady; and to Cecilia Muñoz, former senior vice president for the National Council of La Raza,[138] to serve as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Executive Office of the President.[139] As of March 21, 2009, at least thirty officials appointed by Obama had been lobbyists in the past five years.[137] Ten additional waivers were announced in September 2009.[140]
Not all recent former lobbyists require waivers; those without waivers write letters of recusal stating issues from which they must refrain because of their previous jobs.[138] USA Today reported that 21 members of the Obama administration have at some time been registered as federal lobbyists, although most have not within the previous two years.[141] Lobbyists in the administration include William Corr, an anti-tobacco lobbyist, as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services[142] and Tom Vilsack, who lobbied in 2007, for a national teachers union, as Secretary of Agriculture.[141] Also, the Secretary of Labor nominee, Hilda Solis, formerly served as a board member of American Rights at Work, which lobbied Congress on two bills Solis co-sponsored,[143] and Mark Patterson, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's chief of staff, is a former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.[141]
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have criticized the administration, claiming that Obama is retreating from his own ethics rules barring lobbyists from working on the issues about which they lobbied during the previous two years by issuing waivers. According to Melanie Sloan, the group's executive director, "It makes it appear that they are saying one thing and doing another."[141]
Transparency[link]
The Obama administration has said that all executive orders, non-emergency legislation, and proclamations will be posted to the official White House website, whitehouse.gov, allowing the public to review and comment for five days before the President signs the legislation.[144] The pledge was twice broken during Obama's first month in office when he signed SCHIP legislation and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act with less than the full five days of "sunlight before signing". The administration has said that they are still "working through implementation procedures and some initial issues with the congressional calendar".[145][146]
During his first week in office, Obama announced plans to post a video address each week on the site,[44] and on YouTube,[45] informing the public of government actions each week. During his speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Obama stated, "I will also go through the federal budget, line by line, eliminating programs that no longer work and making the ones we do need work better and cost less - because we cannot meet twenty-first century challenges with a twentieth century bureaucracy."[147]
On January 21, 2009, by executive order, Obama revoked Executive Order 13233, which had limited access to the records of former United States Presidents.[148] Obama issued instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to "adopt a presumption in favor" of Freedom of Information Act requests.[149] In April 2009, the United States Department of Justice released four legal memos from the Bush administration to comply voluntarily with a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.[150] The memos were written by John Yoo[151] and signed by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, then Principal Assistant Attorneys General to the Department of Justice, and addressed to John A. Rizzo, general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency.[152] The memos describe in detail controversial interrogation methods the CIA used on prisoners suspected of terrorism.[153][154] Obama became personally involved in the decision to release the memos, which was opposed by former CIA directors Michael Hayden, Porter Goss, George Tenet and John Deutch.[152] Former Vice President Dick Cheney criticized Obama for not releasing more memos; Cheney claimed that unreleased memos detail successes of CIA interrogations.[155]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires all recipients of the funds provided by the act to publish a plan for using the funds, along with purpose, cost, rationale, net job creation, and contact information about the plan to a website Recovery.gov so that the public can review and comment. Inspectors General from each department or executive agency will then review, as appropriate, any concerns raised by the public. Any findings of an Inspector General must be relayed immediately to the head of each department and published on Recovery.gov.[156]
On June 16, 2009, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration in order to get information about the visits of coal company executives. Anne Weismann, the chief counsel for CREW, stated "The Obama administration has now taken exactly the same position as the Bush administration... I don't see how you can keep people from knowing who visits the White House and adhere to a policy of openness and transparency." On June 16, MSNBC reported that its more comprehensive request for visitor logs since Obama's January 20 inauguration had been denied.[157] The administration announced that White House visitor logs will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis, with certain limitations, for visits occurring after September 15, 2009.[158] Beginning on January 29, 2010, the White House did begin to release the names of its visitor records.[159] Since that time, names of visitors (which includes not only tourists, but also names of union leaders, Wall Street executives, lobbyists, party chairs, philanthropists and celebrities), have been released. The names are released in huge batches up to 75,000 names at a time.[160] Names are released 90–120 days after having visited the White House. The complete list of names is available online by accessing the official White House website.[161]
Obama stated during the 2008 Presidential campaign that he would have negotiations for health care reform televised on C-SPAN, citing transparency as being the leverage needed to ensure that people stay involved in the process taking place in Washington. This did not fully happen and Politifact gives President Obama a "Promise Broken" rating on this issue.[162] After White House press secretary Robert Gibbs initially avoided addressing the issue,[163] President Obama himself acknowledged that he met with Democratic leaders behind closed doors to discuss how best to garner enough votes in order to merge the two (House and Senate) passed versions of the health care bill. Doing this violated the letter of the pledge, although Obama maintains that negotiations in several congressional committees were open, televised hearings. Obama also cited an independent ethics watchdog group describe his administration as the most transparent in recent history.[164]
The Obama administration has been characterized[165] as much more aggressive than the Bush and other previous administrations in their response to whistleblowing and leaks to the press. Three people have been prosecuted under the rarely used Espionage Act of 1917. They include Thomas Andrews Drake, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee who was critical of the NSA's Trailblazer Project,[166][167][168] Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, a State Department contractor who allegedly had a conversation about North Korea with James Rosen of Fox News,[169][170] and Jeffrey Sterling, who allegedly was a source for James Risen's book State of War. Risen has also been subpoenaed to reveal his sources, another rare action by the government.[171]
Foreign policy[link]
Main articles: Foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration and List of presidential trips made by Barack Obama
In his inaugural address, Obama suggested that he plans to begin the process of withdrawing from Iraq and continuing to focus on the war in Afghanistan. He also mentioned lessening the nuclear threat through "working tirelessly with old friends and former foes". He spoke about America's determination to combat terrorism, proclaiming America's spirit is "stronger and cannot be broken — you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." To the Muslim world, Obama extended an invite to "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect". He also said the USA would "extend a hand" to those "who cling to power through corruption and deceit" if they "are willing to unclench" their fists.[172] Shortly after his inauguration President Obama first called President Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Calls were also made to President Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Olmert of Israel and King Abdullah of Jordan.[173] Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named George Mitchell as Special Envoy for Middle East peace and Richard Holbrooke as special representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 23, 2009.[174] At the same time, Obama called on Israel to open the borders of Gaza, detailing early plans on his administration's peace plans for the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.[175]
On February 18, 2009, Obama announced that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would be bolstered by 17,000 new troops by summer.[176] The announcement followed the recommendation of several experts including Defense Secretary Robert Gates that additional troops be deployed to the war-torn nation.[177][178]
Obama declared his plan for ending the Iraq War on February 27, 2009, in a speech at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, before an audience of Marines stationed there. According to the president, combat troops will be withdrawn from Iraq by August 2010, leaving a contingent of up to 50,000 servicemen and servicewomen to continue training, advisory, and counterterrorism operations until as late as the end of 2011.[179][180]
Other characteristics of the Obama administration on foreign policy include a tough stance on tax havens,[181] continuing military operation in Pakistan,[182] and avowed focus on diplomacy to prevent nuclear proliferation in Iran[183] and North Korea.[184]
On April 1, 2009, Obama and China's President, Hu Jintao, announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue and agreed to work together to build a positive, cooperative, and comprehensive U.S.-China relationship for the 21st century.[185]
In that same month, Obama requested that Congress approve $83.4 billion of supplemental military funding, mostly for the war in Iraq and to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. The request also includes $2.2 billion to increase the size of the US military, $350 million to upgrade security along the US-Mexico border, and $400 million in counterinsurgency aid for Pakistan.[186]
In May 2009, it was reported that Obama plans to expand the military by 20,000 employees.[187]
On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt.[188] The wide ranging speech called for a "new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States.[189][190] The speech received both praise and criticism from leaders in the region.[191][192][193][194][195] In March 2010, Secretary of State Clinton criticized the Israeli government for approving expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem.[196]
On April 8, 2010, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the latest Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), a "major" nuclear arms control agreement that reduces the nuclear weapons stockpiles of both countries.[197]
In March 2011, international reaction to Muammar Gaddafi's military crackdown on rebel forces and civilians in Libya culminated in a United Nations resolution to enforce a no fly zone in Libya. Obama authorized U.S. forces to participate in international air attacks on Libyan air defenses using Tomahawk cruise missiles to establish the protective zone.[198]
Guantánamo Bay detention camp[link]
On his first day in office, Obama requested a 120-day suspension of all trials for alleged terrorists held at the Guantánamo Bay detention camp, so the new administration could "review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases pending before military commissions as of 2011[update], specifically".[199] Another order established a task force to lead a review of detention policies, procedures and individual cases. Obama addressed the State Department that "the United States will not torture" and drafted an executive order to close Guantánamo within a year.[200] On January 22, 2009, Obama signed an executive order ensuring safe, lawful, and humane treatment of individuals detained in armed conflicts. This order restricts interrogators to methods listed and authorized by an Army Field Manual.[201] A detainee released since Obama took office claimed in an interview with Agence France-Presse that conditions at Guantánamo had worsened, stating guards wanted to "take their last revenge" before the facility is closed.[202] On March 13, 2009, the administration announced that it would no longer refer to prisoners at Guantánamo Bay as enemy combatants, but it also asserted that the president has the authority to detain terrorism suspects there without criminal charges.[203]
The case review of detainee files by administration officials and prosecutors was made more difficult than expected as the Bush administration had failed to establish a coherent repository of the evidence and intelligence on each prisoner. By September 2009, prosecutors recommended to the Justice Department which detainees are eligible for trial, and the Justice Department and the Pentagon worked together to determine which of several now-scheduled trials will go forward in military tribunals and which in civilian courts. While 216 international terrorists are already held in maximum security prisons in the U.S., Congress was denying the administration funds to shut down the camp and adapt existing facilities elsewhere, arguing that the decision was "too dangerous to rush".[204] In November, Obama stated that the U.S. would miss the January 2010 date for closing the Guantánamo Bay prison as he had ordered, acknowledging that he "knew this was going to be hard". Obama did not set a specific new deadline for closing the camp, citing that the delay was due to politics and lack of congressional cooperation.[205] The state of Illinois has offered to sell to the federal government the Thomson Correctional Center, a new but largely unused prison, for the purpose of housing detainees. Federal officials testified at a December 23 hearing that if the state commission approves the sale for that purpose, it could take more than six months to ready the facility.[206]
Killing of Osama bin Laden[link]
Main article: Death of Osama bin Laden
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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.[207] CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to Obama in March 2011.[207] 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.[207] 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.[208][209] Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing,[210] and buried at sea several hours later.[211] Within minutes of Obama'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.[208][212] Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton,[213] and from many countries around the world.[214]
Overseas Contingency Operation[link]
Obama discontinued use of the term "War on Terror" and instead uses the term "Overseas Contingency Operation". However, Obama has stated that the U.S. is at war with Al-Qaeda, saying "Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred."[215]
In April 2010, the Obama administration authorized the targeted killing of the radical Muslim cleric and American citizen Anwar al-Awlaki, who was believed to have shifted from encouraging attacks on the United States to directly participating in them.[216]
Gun control[link]
During the presidential campaign, Obama announced that he favors measures that respect Second Amendment rights, while at the same time keeping guns away from children and criminals.[217][218] On February 25, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Obama administration would seek a new assault weapons ban across the United States, saying that it would have a positive impact on the drug-related violence in Mexico.[219] After the statement drew criticism from the NRA and some House Democrats, the Administration reportedly ordered the Justice Department to end public discussion of the issue.[220] Obama has signed into law two bills containing amendments reducing restrictions on gun owners, one which permits guns to be transported in checked baggage on Amtrak trains[221] and another which allows carrying loaded firearms in national parks located in states allowing concealed carry.[222][223]
See also: Operation Fast and Furious
Science and technology[link]
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Wikinews has related news: NSA to participate in U.S. cybersecurity |
Cybersecurity[link]
Obama initiated a 60-day review of cybersecurity[224] by Melissa Hathaway, a consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, appointed Acting Senior Director for Cyberspace.[225][226]
The New York Times reported in 2009, that the NSA is intercepting communications of American citizens including a Congressman, although the Justice Department believed that the NSA had corrected its errors.[227] United States Attorney General Eric Holder resumed the wiretapping according to his understanding of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments Act of 2008 that Congress passed in July 2008, but without explaining what had occurred.[228]
Environment[link]
On January 27, 2009, Obama issued two presidential memoranda concerning energy policy. One directed the Department of Transportation to raise fuel efficiency standards incrementally to 35 miles per US gallon (15 km/L) by 2020, and the other directed the Environmental Protection Agency to allow individual states to set stricter tailpipe emissions regulations than the federal standard.[41][229]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides $54 billion in funds to double domestic renewable energy production, renovate federal buildings making them more energy-efficient, improve the nation's electricity grid, repair public housing, and weatherize modest-income homes.[230]
On February 10, 2009, Obama overturned a Bush administration policy that had opened up a five-year period of offshore drilling for oil and gas near both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has been quoted as saying, "To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside" the plan "and create our own timeline".[231]
On May 19, 2009, Obama announced a plan to increase the Corporate Average Fuel Economy national standards for gasoline mileage, by creating a single new national standard that will create a car and light truck fleet in the United States that is almost 40 percent cleaner and more fuel-efficient by 2016, than it is today, with an average of 35.5 miles per gallon.[232] Environmental advocates and industry officials welcomed the new program, but for different reasons. Environmentalists called it a long-overdue tightening of emissions and fuel economy standards after decades of government delay and industry opposition. Auto industry officials said it would provide the single national efficiency standard they have long desired, a reasonable timetable to meet it and the certainty they need to proceed with product development plans.[232]
On March 30, 2010, Obama partially reinstated Bush administration proposals to open certain offshore areas along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling. The proposals had earlier been set aside by President Obama after they were challenged in court on environmental grounds.[233]
On May 27, 2010, Obama extended a moratorium on offshore drilling permits after the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill which is considered to be the worst oil spill in U.S. history.[234][235] Although BP took responsibility for the disaster and its ongoing after effects, Obama began a federal investigation along with forming a bipartisan commission to review the incident and methods to avoid it in the future.[236][237][238] Obama visited the Gulf Coast on May 2 and May 28 and expressed his frustration on the June 8 NBC Today Show, by saying "I don't sit around just talking to experts because this is a college seminar. We talk to these folks because they potentially have the best answers, so I know whose ass to kick."[239] Obama's response to the disaster drew confusion and criticism within segments of the media and public.[240]
NASA[link]
Main article: Space policy of the Barack Obama administration
Obama set up the Augustine panel to review the Constellation program in 2009, and announced in February 2010, that he was cutting the program from the 2011 United States federal budget, describing it as "over budget, behind schedule, and lacking in innovation."[241][242][243][244][245] After the decision drew criticism in the United States, a new "Flexible path to Mars" plan was unveiled at a space conference in April 2010.[246][247][248] It included new technology programs, increased R&D spending, a focus on the International Space Station and contracting out flying crew to space to commercial providers.[249] The new plan also increased NASA's 2011 budget to $19 billion from $18.3 billion in 2010.[246]
In July 2009, Obama appointed Charles Bolden, a former astronaut, to be administrator of NASA.[250]
Stem cell research[link]
On March 9, 2009, Obama repealed a Bush-era policy that prevented federal tax dollars from being used to fund research on new lines of embryonic stem cells. Such research has been a matter of debate between those who emphasize the therapeutic potential of such research and those who suggest that elements of this research breach ethical limitations. Obama stated that "In recent years, when it comes to stem cell research, rather than furthering discovery, our government has forced what I believe is a false choice between sound science and moral values...In this case, I believe the two are not inconsistent. As a person of faith, I believe we are called to care for each other and work to ease human suffering. I believe we have been given the capacity and will to pursue this research — and the humanity and conscience to do so responsibly."[251]
Social policy[link]
On January 23, 2009, Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy, a measure from the Reagan and Bush eras that required any non-governmental organization receiving U.S. Government funding to refrain from performing or promoting abortion services in other countries.[252]
On June 17, 2009, Obama authorized the extension of some benefits (but not health insurance or pension benefits) to same-sex partners of federal employees.[253] Obama has chosen to leave larger changes, such as the repeal of Don't ask, don't tell and the Defense of Marriage Act, to Congress.[254][255]
On October 19, 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a directive to federal prosecutors in states with medical marijuana laws not to investigate or prosecute cases of marijuana use or production done in compliance with those laws.[256]
On December 16, 2009, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, which repealed a 21-year-old ban on federal funding of needle exchange programs.[257]
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.[258] Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" had been a key campaign promise that Obama had made during the 2008 presidential campaign.[259][260]
Health care reform[link]
See also: Health care reform in the United States
Once the stimulus bill was enacted, health care reform became Obama's top domestic priority. On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,000 page plan for overhauling the US health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of the year.[261]
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the ten-year cost to the federal government of the major insurance-related provisions of the bill at approximately $1.0 trillion.[262] In mid-July 2009, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the CBO, testified that the proposals under consideration would significantly increase federal spending and did not include the "fundamental changes" needed to control the rapid growth in health care spending.[263][264] However after reviewing the final version of the bill introduced after 14 months of debate the CBO estimated that it would reduce federal budget deficits by $143 billion over 10 years and by more than a trillion in the next decade.[265]
After much public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over his administration's proposals.[266] In March 2010, Obama gave several speeches across the country to argue for the passage of health care reform.[267][268] On March 21, 2010, after Obama announced an executive order reinforcing the current law against spending federal funds for elective abortion services, the House, by a vote of 219 to 212, passed the version of the bill previously passed on December 24, 2009, by a 60-vote supermajority in the Senate. The bill, which includes over 200 Republican amendments, was passed without a single Republican vote. On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the bill into law. Immediately following the bill's passage, the House voted in favor of a reconciliation measure to make significant changes and corrections to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was passed by both houses with two minor alterations on March 25, 2010, and signed into law on March 30, 2010.[269][270]
Education reform[link]
On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, which ended the role of private banks in lending out federally-insured student loans.[271] By directly lending to students, the government is projected to save taxpayers $68 billion dollars over the next several years.[272] Federally-insured student loans will instead be distributed by the Department of Education.[273] The law also increased the amount of Pell Grant awards given each year, doubling its current funding.[274][275] Starting in 2014, the law permits borrowers to cap the amount they spend on student loans each year to ten percent of their discretionary income and have their balance forgiven if they have faithfully paid the balance of their loan over 20 years.[274][276] Additionally, the law seeks to make it easier for parents to qualify for Grad PLUS loans, and spends billions on poor and minority schools and $2 billion for community colleges.[272][273]
Gates arrest controversy[link]
Further information: Henry Louis Gates arrest controversy
From left to right: Gates, Crowley, and President Obama.
Photo taken before Vice President Biden's arrival.
On July 16, 2009, prominent African American Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was arrested at his Cambridge, Massachusetts home by a local white police officer, Cambridge Police Sgt. James Crowley, for disorderly conduct. Gates, who was locked out of his house, had attempted to break into his own property, thus causing the initial alarm from a neighbor who called 9-1-1. The incident sparked national controversy over whether Gates's civil rights had been violated by Crowley. On July 21, the Cambridge Police Department dropped charges against Gates. On July 22, President Barack Obama, commented on the incident over national and international television, criticized the arrest, and stated the police acted "stupidly" in handling the incident. National law enforcement organizations and members objected to Obama's comments and criticized his handling of the issue. In the aftermath, Obama stated that he regretted his comments exacerbating the situation, and hoped that the situation could become a "teachable moment". To reduce tensions, on July 24, Obama invited both parties to the White House to discuss the issue over beers, and on July 30, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden joined Crowley and Gates in a private, cordial meeting in a courtyard near the White House Rose Garden; this became known colloquially as the "Beer Summit".[277]
Wall Street reform[link]
On July 21, 2010, Obama signed Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, considered to be the largest financial system overhaul since the New Deal. The law recognizes complex financial derivatives and makes rules to protect consumers from unfair practices in loans and credit cards by establishing a new consumer protection agency. At the signing ceremony in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington D.C. Obama proclaimed, "There will be no more taxpayer-funded bailouts. Period." Obama also mentioned that "These reforms represent the strongest consumer financial protections in history." At the ceremony were Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., the two committee chairmen who sponsored the bill.[278]
2010 midterm elections[link]
Due in large part to voter frustration over high unemployment and a stalled economy, Republicans won control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections. On reflection after the election, Obama blamed himself, in part, for the many Democrats who went down to defeat knowing that they had risked their careers to support his agenda of economic stimulus legislation and a landmark health care bill.[279] Democrats narrowly retained the Senate majority and will continue to control it through the 112th Congress.[280]
Obama called the elections "humbling" and a "shellacking".[281] He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.[282]
2012 re-election campaign[link]
On April 4, 2011, President Obama announced that he would seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election. The campaign will be based in Chicago and is being run by many former members of the White House staff and members of the successful 2008 campaign.[283]
References[link]
- ^ a b "Obama's birth certificate: Final chapter". Politifact. June 27, 2008. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
- ^ "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized". Associated Press. msnbc.com. November 17, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27775757/. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
- ^ "Barack Obama, long time UCC member, inaugurated forty-fourth U.S. President" (Press release). United Church of Christ. January 20, 2009. http://www.ucc.org/news/obama-inauguration.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009. "Barack Obama, who spent more than 20 years as a UCC member, is the forty-fourth President of the United States."
- ^ An Associated Press wire story on Obama's resignation from Trinity United Church of Christ in the course of the Jeremiah Wright controversy stated that he had, in doing so, disaffiliated himself with the UCC. (See "Obama's church choice likely to be scrutinized". Associated Press. msnbc.com. November 17, 2008. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27775757/. Retrieved January 20, 2009. )
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff; Baker, Peter (November 6, 2008). "Rahm Emanuel Accepts Post as White House Chief of Staff". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/07elect.html. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Geithner, Summers among key economic team members announced today" (Press release). Office of the President-elect. November 24, 2008. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/geithner_summers_among_key_economic_team_members_announced_today/. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Baker, Peter (November 25, 2008). "Defense Secretary Said to Be Staying On". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/25/defense-secretary-said-to-be-staying-on/. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ Baker, Peter (November 30, 2008). "Obama's Choice for U.N. Is Advocate of Strong Action Against Mass Killings". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/us/politics/01rice.html. Retrieved December 6, 2008.
- ^ "Official Obama-Biden Transition Website". Office of the President-elect. http://change.gov/content/home. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Transition announces rules for lobbyists in Transition" (Press release). Office of the President-elect. November 11, 2008. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/obama_transition_announces_rules_for_lobbyists_in_transition. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Citizen's Briefing Book". Office of the President-elect. http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Marisa Taylor (January 20, 2009). "Change Has Come To WhiteHouse.Gov". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/20/change-has-come-to-whitehousegov/. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ^ United States Constitution. "20th Amendment to the United States Constitution". http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxx.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Signs First Presidential Proclamation". CNN. January 20, 2009. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/01/20/obama-signs-first-presidential-proclamation/. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
- ^ Kelley, Matt (January 19, 2009). "Obama to be sworn in on 'Lincoln Bible'". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-19-Lincoln-bible_N.htm. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Chief justice fumbles oath". The Washington Times. January 20, 2009. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/20/obama-roberts-fumble-oath/. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
- ^ "Obama takes presidential oath again after stumble". China Daily. January 22, 2009. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2009-01/22/content_7421457.htm. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
- ^ Chernus, Ira (December 16, 2008). "The First Hundred Days or the Last Hundred Days?". The LA Progressive. http://www.laprogressive.com/2008/12/16/the-first-hundred-days-or-the-last-hundred-days/. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Reid, Tim (November 1, 2008). "Barack Obama lays plans to deaden expectation after election victory". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5051118.ece. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Dorning, Mike (May 28, 2008). "Obama's priorities for first 100 days". Chicago Tribune. http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/05/obamas_priorities_for_first_10.html. Retrieved January 18, 2009.
- ^ Examples of "100 days" – portals:
- "Obama's First 100 Days". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/100-days. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- "Special Reports - The First 100 Days of the 44th President Barack Obama". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/44.president/first.100.days/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- "The 44th President 100 Days". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/politics/100days/main503723.shtml. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Hall, Ashley (January 21, 2009). "Domestic issues to dominate Obama's first 100 days in office". ABC Online, Australia. http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2471452.htm. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Naughton, Philippe (January 21, 2009). "Barack Obama calls halt to Guantanamo trials". London: The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5558726.ece. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b Sahadi, Jeanne (January 20, 2009). "First 100 days: Obama's burden". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/20/news/economy/obama_first100days/?postversion=2009012012. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ West, Larry (January 20, 2009). "Obama's First 100 Days: An Environmental Agenda for Obama's First 100 Days". About.com. http://environment.about.com/b/2009/01/20/obamas-first-100-days-an-environmental-agenda-for-obamas-first-100-days.htm. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Murray, Lisa (January 22, 2009). "Jakarta schoolchildren cheer for the rise of a former student". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/jakarta-schoolchildren-cheer-for-the-rise-of-a-former-student/2009/01/21/1232471395138.html. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Jean Edward (January 16, 2009). "How F.D.R. Made the Presidency Matter". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/how-fdr-made-the-presidency-matter/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Reeves, Richard (January 19, 2009). "Kennedy's Words, Obama's Challenge". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/kennedys-words-obamas-challenge/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Dallek, Richard (January 23, 2009). "L.B.J., Obama and Reassuring a Worried Nation". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/lbj-obama-and-reassuring-a-worried-nation/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ Smith, Jean Edward (January 27, 2009). "Obama's Reagan Transformation?". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://100days.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/obamas-reagan-transformation/. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ "Obama halts all regulations pending review". Associated Press. msnbc.com. January 20, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28758810/. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ "Obama's first day: Pay freeze, lobbying rules". msnbc.com. January 21, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28767687/. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ Memmott, Mark (January 21, 2009). "Revelry Over, Obama freezing pay of top staff; signs ethics rules". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/61712448/1. Retrieved January 21, 2009.
- ^ a b "Obama breaks his own rule". CNN. January 23, 2009. http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/23/campbell.brown.lobbyists/index.html. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ^ "Obama grants two more lobbyists waivers". The Hill. March 10, 2009. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/3960-obama-grants-two-more-lobbyists-waivers. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Glaberson, William (January 21, 2009). "Obama Issues Directive to Shut Down Guantánamo". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22gitmo.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Closure Of Guantanamo Detention Facilities". The White House. January 22, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ClosureOfGuantanamoDetentionFacilities/. Retrieved January 27, 2009.
- ^ "Obama signs order to close Guantanamo in a year". The Washington Times. January 22, 2009. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jan/22/obama-signs-order-close-guantanamo-year/. Retrieved March 19, 2010.
- ^ Obama Reverses Key Bush Security Policies, The New York Times, January 22, 2009
- ^ a b "Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel". The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ExecutiveOrder-EthicsCommitments. Retrieved January 22, 2009.
- ^ a b "From Peril to Progress". The White House. January 26, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog_post/Fromperiltoprogress/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "Obama ends funding ban for abortion groups abroad". Reuters. January 23, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50M3PQ20090123. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
- ^ Obama reverses Bush abortion-funds policy. January 23, 2009.
- ^ a b "President Barack Obama's Weekly Video Address". The White House. January 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 22, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090122233027/http://www.whitehouse.gov/weekly_address/. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ a b "Official White House YouTube Channel". YouTube. YouTube, LLC. January 24, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/user/whitehouse. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Baker, Peter (January 24, 2009). "In Effort to Build Support, Obama Details Stimulus Plan". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/politics/25obama.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Bleeker, Andrew (November 15, 2008). "Your Weekly Address from the President-elect". Change.gov. The Office of the President-elect. http://change.gov/newsroom/entry/your_weekly_address_from_the_president_elect/. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Vargas, Jose Antonio (November 14, 2008). "The YouTube Presidency". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/11/14/the_youtube_presidency.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim and Adam Nagourney (January 25, 2009). "Melding Obama's Web to a YouTube Presidency". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/26/us/politics/26grassroots.html. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
- ^ "A Wonderful Day". The White House. January 29, 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/01/29/a-wonderful-day. Retrieved January 29, 2009.
- ^ "CHIP". The White House.
- ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2009/roll070.xml
- ^ "Congress Readies Final Vote On $790B Stimulus Bill". WUSA. http://www.wusa9.com/news/watercooler/story.aspx?storyid=81491. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Associated Press (13 February 2009). "http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/feb/13/congress-readies-final-vote-on-stimulus/". Columbia Daily Tribune. http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2009/feb/13/congress-readies-final-vote-on-stimulus/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Sahadi, Jeanne (2009-01-27). "Stimulus with interest: $1.2 trillion". Money.cnn.com. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/27/news/economy/stimulus_spending. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ "Stimulus: Now for the hard part" CNN. February 17, 2009.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl (March 9, 2009). "Obama Lifts Bush's Strict Limits on Stem Cell Research". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10stem.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (March 9, 2009). "Obama Looks to Limit Impact of Tactic Bush Used to Sidestep New Laws". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/10/us/politics/10signing.html. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Obama, Barack (March 9, 2009). "Subject: Presidential Signing Statements". The White House. http://graphics.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/2009signingstm.mem.final.rel.pdf. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
- ^ Savage, Charlie (June 27, 2009). "A Bill Signing, With Reservations". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/a-bill-signing-with-reservations/. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
- ^ a b Woodward, Calvin (April 1, 2009). "PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama tax pledge up in smoke". Seattle Times. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008961613_apobamataxpromise.html. Retrieved May 24, 2011.
- ^ "Obama's new slogan: 'We can't wait'". USA Today. October 24, 2011. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2011/10/obamas-new-slogan-we-cant-wait/1.
- ^ "'We can't wait': Obama to use executive authority to boost economy as Republicans dither on jobs". http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/24/1029465/-We-cant-wait:-Obama-to-use-executive-authority-to-boost-economy-as-Republicans-dither-on-jobs.
- ^ "Barack Obama's initial approval rating is highest since JFK". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/01/obama-approval.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Approval Ranks Near Top". msnbc.com. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/01/26/1760773.aspx. Retrieved January 28, 2009. Obama was behind John F. Kennedy at 72%, and above Dwight D. Eisenhower's 68%. He was also behind presidents who came to office in a time of crisis (Harry Truman at 87%, Lyndon B. Johnson at 78%, and Gerald Ford at 71%).
- ^ Montopoli, Brian (February 5, 2009). "Obama's Approval Rating: 62 Percent". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/05/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4778267.shtml. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
- ^ Memmott, Mark (January 30, 2009). "President's approval rating ends week at 66%". USA Today. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/01/62157136/1. Retrieved February 4, 2009.
- ^ "Obama's disapproval rating hits new high". CNN. 13 September 2011. http://articles.cnn.com/2011-09-13/politics/cnn.poll.obama_1_disapproval-rating-president-barack-obama-handling?_s=PM:POLITICS. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ "Obama Approval Rating Increases to 67%". Gallup.com. 2009-02-27. http://www.gallup.com/poll/116224/Obama-Approval-Rating-Increases.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ "Obama Approval Index History". Rasmussen Reports. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/obama_approval_index_history. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
- ^ "Obama’s Afghanistan Rating Declines A Year Out, Widespread Anti-Incumbent Sentiment". November 11, 2009. http://people-press.org/reports/pdf/561.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Obama Approval Numbers Mirror Stimulus Debate", Rasmussen Reports, February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "Obama, Geithner Get Low Grades From Economists". The Wall Street Journal. March 11, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Americans Most Confident in Obama on Economy". Gallup Poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/117415/Americans-Confident-Obama-Economy.aspx. Retrieved April 17, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Rated Highest as Person, Lowest on Deficit, Spending". Gallup Poll. http://www.gallup.com/poll/120770/Obama-Rated-Highest-as-Person-Lowest-Deficit-Spending.aspx. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
- ^ Hechtkopf, Kevin (September 1, 2009). "Poll: Obama Approval Rating Dips Slightly". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/09/01/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5280405.shtml. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ "45% Now Rate Obama's Economic Performance As Poor". Rasmussen Reports. November 12, 2009. http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/november_2009/45_now_rate_obama_s_economic_performance_as_poor. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
- ^ McCormick, John (March 24, 2010), "Obama Widens Approval Above All as Democrats, Republicans Lag", Bloomberg. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
- ^ Blanton, Dana (April 8, 2010). "Fox News Poll: Health Care and the Midterm Elections". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/08/fox-news-poll-health-care-midterm-elections/#. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ Blanton, Dana (April 9, 2010). "Fox News Poll: 53% Disapprove of Obama's Handling of the Economy". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/09/fox-news-poll-disapprove-obamas-handling-economy/?test=latestnews. Retrieved April 10, 2010.
- ^ Gallup Daily: Obama Job Approval, Gallup Poll, April 10, 2010, Retrieved April 12, 2010 Each result is based on a three-day rolling average
- ^ Daily Presidential Tracking Poll, Rasmussen Reports, April 10, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2010.
- ^ "Election Other - President Obama Job Approval". RealClearPolitics. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ "Obama Approval Ratings Nationally". Obama Approval Ratings. January 3, 2012. http://www.nationalpolls.com/obama/national.html. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ Daniel Guarnera (December 19, 2008). "Obama's Cabinet Full ... Except for Drug Czar". http://www.addictionpro.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=440B847037BC4AFA8B377E381E9C548D&nm=&type=Blog&mod=BlogTopics&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=908F70B4E94849F8B3FAA3025FE9221A. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "The Cabinet". The White House.
- ^ a b "The Obama Cabinet: Confirmations & Nominations". NPR. January 22, 2009. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99674016. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Rushing, J. Taylor (January 19, 2009). "Senate considers unanimous-consent on Obama Cabinet". The Hill. http://thehill.com/homenews/news/17822-senate-considers-unanimous-consent-on-obama-cabinet. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "More Obama Cabinet Nominees Confirmed". The New York Times. January 22, 2009. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/more-obama-cabinet-nominees-confirmed/. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
- ^ Knowlton, Brian (January 21, 2009). "On His First Full Day, Obama Tackles Sobering Challenges". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22obamacnd.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Phillips (January 22, 2009). "More Obama Cabinet Nominees Confirmed". The New York Times (The New York Times Company). http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/more-obama-cabinet-nominees-confirmed/. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ "Geithner confirmed, sworn in at Treasury: Obama cites urgency of acting quickly.". The Boston Globe (The New York Times Company). January 27, 2008. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/01/27/geithner_confirmed_sworn_in_at_treasury/. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ a b Weisman, Jonathan (January 24, 2009). "Delays in Cabinet Nominations Demonstrate GOP Resolve". The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones & Company, Inc.). http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123275672929711875.html. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
- ^ Josh Hakala. "Senate confirms Holder as first black AG". Mlive.com. http://www.mlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2009/02/senate_confirms_eric_holder_as.html. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Zeleny, Jeff (February 2, 2009). "Obama Set to Add Republican to Cabinet". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/us/politics/03gregg.html. Retrieved February 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Associated Press (6 March 2009). "Tom Daschle Withdraws Nomination For HHS Secretary". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/03/tom-daschle-withdraws-nom_n_163557.html. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Solis confirmed – CNN Political Ticker". CNN. 2012-04-10. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/24/solis-confirmed. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ a b "Former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk confirmed as US trade representative". Chicagotribune.com. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-kirk-trade,0,5324728.story. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Zajac, Andrew (February 4, 2009). "Commerce Nominee's Own Finances Have Suffered". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Rachel Weiner (15 March 2009). "Judd Gregg Withdraws Commerce Secretary Nomination (VIDEO)". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/12/judd-gregg-withdraws-comm_n_166502.html. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Christi Parsons (9 March 2011). "Gary Locke, Commerce secretary, nominated as U.S. ambassador to China". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/09/news/la-pn-locke-china-ambassador-20110310. Retrieved 14 May 202.
- ^ a b Wheaton, Sarah (March 24, 2009). "Locke Confirmed as Commerce Secretary". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/locke-confirmed-as-commerce-secretary/. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
- ^ "President Obama Will Nominate Governor Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of HHS, Announces Release of $155 Million of ARRA Funds for Health Clinics Across America". White House. 2 March 2009. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/President-Obama-nominates-Governor-Kathleen-Sebelius-Secretary-of-HHS-Announces-Re/. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Associated Press (13 May 2009). "Obama To Tap Sebelius for HHS Secretary". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-4835996.html.
- ^ Obama's promise of ethics reform faces early test, International Herald Tribune, February 3, 2009
- ^ a b Tax issues prompt Obama nominee to withdraw (February 3, 2009), CNN.
- ^ Tax problems delay vote on Hilda Solis, UPI Online, February 5, 2009
- ^ "Trade nominee Ron Kirk agrees to pay back taxes". Bostonherald.com. 2009-03-02. http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1155758&srvc=next_article. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ Another Obama Nominee Has Tax Issues, CBS News, March 31, 2009
- ^ Michael A. Fletcher, Obama Criticized as Too Cautious, Slow on Judicial Posts, The Washington Post (October 16, 2009).
- ^ "Leahy Blasts Republicans For Stalled Nominees". Washington Time. http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/12/15/leahy-blasts-gop-for-stalled-nominees/. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Millhiser, Ian (July 30, 2010). "Falling Off a Cliff: Judicial Confirmation Rates Have Nosedived in the Obama Presidency". Center for American Progress. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/judicial_confirmations.html. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
- ^ Henry, Ed (January 19, 2009). "Obama's top priority: the economy". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/19/news/economy/obama_first_week/. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ Goldman, Russell; Jake Tapper (January 5, 2009). "Obama Pushes Economic Plan, Saying It Can't Wait". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Business/story?id=6568008&page=1. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ Bohan, Caren; Lisa Lambert (February 20, 2009). "Obama vows to spend stimulus money wisely". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2044566820090220. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
- ^ Halloran, Liz (January 27, 2009). "Obama Woos Hill Republicans On Stimulus Plan". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99927275. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ a b "Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, Stimulus Watch". http://stimulus.org/.
- ^ Condon, Stephanie (April 15, 2010). "What's Obama Doing to Your Taxes?". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20002548-503544.html. Retrieved 2010-11-13.
- ^ "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2011" (PDF). http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2011/assets/budget.pdf. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
- ^ "Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey". United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. August 1, 2009. http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=LN_cpsbref3.
- ^ Stephanopoulos, George (July 5, 2009). "Biden: We 'Misread the Economy'". George's Bottom Line (ABC News). http://blogs.abcnews.com/george/2009/07/biden-we-misread-the-economy-.html. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ Stephanopoulos, George (July 5, 2009). "'This Week' Transcript: Exclusive: Vice President Joe Biden". This Week (ABC News): 3. http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Politics/story?id=8002421&page=3. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- ^ MacGillis, Alec (January 13, 2010). "Economic stimulus has created or saved nearly 2 million jobs, White House says". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/12/AR2010011203737.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ "Tracking the Money". Recovery.gov. http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ a b Theodossiou, Eleni; Hipple, Steven F. (2011). "Unemployment Remains High in 2010". Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 134 (3): 3–22. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/03/art1full.pdf. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
- ^ Eddlemon, John P. (2011). "Payroll Employment Turns the Corner in 2010". Monthly Labor Review (Bureau of Labor Statistics) 134 (3): 23–32. http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/03/art2full.pdf. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
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- ^ Thoma, Mark (December 1, 2010). "Senate GOP Pledges to Block All Bills Until Tax Cuts are Extended for All". Wall Street Pit. http://wallstreetpit.com/52023-senate-gop-pledges-to-block-all-bills-until-tax-cuts-are-extended-for-all. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
- ^ "Senate Republicans block 9/11 health bill". Reuters. December 9, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/12/10/us-usa-congress-firefighters-idUSTRE6B903120101210. Retrieved 2012-5-14.
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- ^ Reuters, "U.S. House Panel Passes Health Bill, Critics Slam Cost," The New York Times, July 17, 2009
- ^ "House Approves Health Overhaul, Sending Landmark Bill to Obama," The New York Times, March 21, 2010
- ^ "Obama presents health plan, attacks 'scare tactics'" - CNN.com. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
- ^ "Obama Not Worried About "Procedural Rules" like "Deem and Pass" for Health Care - Political Punch". Blogs.abcnews.com. 2010-03-17. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/obama-not-worried-about-procedural-rules-like-deem-and-pass-for-health-care.html. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Somashekhar, Sandhya; Kane, Paul (March 18, 2010). "Democrats yet to decide on health-care bill bear the weight of Washington". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/17/AR2010031704184.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ David Beardsley (25 March 2010). "Congress Passes Final Tweaking to Health Reform Bill". http://www.wusa9.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=99102. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Gregg Hitt (25 March 2010). "Congress Approves Final Health Overhaul". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094104575143603431943646.html. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Herszenhorn, David M. (March 30, 2010). "The Last Piece in Place". The New York Times. http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/the-last-piece-in-place/. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Montopoli, Brian (March 30, 2010). "Obama Lauds Passage of Education Reform". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20001419-503544.html.
- ^ a b "What would change if student lending legislation passes". The Washington Post. March 26, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/25/AR2010032503578.html. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
- ^ a b Madison, Lucy (2011-10-26). "Who will benefit from Obama's student loan plan?". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20126172-503544/who-will-benefit-from-obamas-student-loan-plan/. Retrieved 2012-5-14.
- ^ Associated Press (30 March 2010). "Q&A: What does student loan overhaul mean for U.S., you?". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-03-30-student-loans_N.htm. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ "Obama on 'milestone' education bill". msnbc.com. 2010-03-30. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/03/30/2246401.aspx. Retrieved 2010-12-18.
- ^ Khan, Huma; McPhee, Michele; Goldman, Russell (July 24, 2009). "Obama Called Police Officer Who Arrested Gates, Still Sees 'Overreaction' in Arrest". http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=8163051&page=1. Retrieved 07-12-2010.
- ^ Censky, Annalyn (July 21, 2010). "Obama on new law: 'No more taxpayer bailouts'". CNN. http://money.cnn.com/2010/07/21/news/economy/obama_signs_wall_street_reform_bill/index.htm. Retrieved 07-22-2010.
- ^ Espo, David; Pace, Julie (November 3, 2010). "Obama Takes Responsibility For Voter Frustration On Election Night". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/obama-takes-responsibility_n_778302.html. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "GOP roars back to take U.S House; Dems cling to Senate Majority". Election Center (CNN). November 3, 2010. http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/02/election.main/index.html. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ Richardson, Chris (November 4, 2010). "Obama calls midterm elections a 'shellacking' for Democrats". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2010/1104/Obama-calls-midterm-elections-a-shellacking-for-Democrats. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ Norris, Michele; Siegel, Robert (November 3, 2010). "Obama: Midterm Election Was A 'Shellacking'". NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=131048554. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
- ^ "Lack of change you can believe in". The Economist. http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/04/barack_obamas_re-election_campaign.
External links[link]
*"President Barack Obama: The Man and His Journey"
- "Obama's People" (photography: Nadav Kander)
- The Official White House YouTube page
- "President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address". The White House.
- "Wrapping Up Open for Questions". The White House.
- "President Obama's State of the Union Address" C-SPAN.
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http://wn.com/Presidency_of_Barack_Obama
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Президентство Барака Обамы
http://fr.wn.com/Présidence de Barack Obama
http://nl.wn.com/Kabinet-Obama
http://cs.wn.com/Vláda Baracka Obamy
http://es.wn.com/Anexo Administración Obama
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| Carly Rae Jepsen | |
|---|---|
 Jepsen performing on Canada Day in 2010 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born | (1985-11-21) November 21, 1985 (age 26) Mission, British Columbia, Canada |
| Genres | Pop, pop rock |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | 604 (2008–present) Schoolboy/Interscope (2012–present) |
| Website | carlyraemusic.com |
Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian recording artist and singer-songwriter from Mission, British Columbia. In 2007, she placed third in the fifth season of Canadian Idol, and was a part of the Canadian Idol Top 3 concert tour.[1]
Shortly after competing on Idol, she signed to Fontana and MapleMusic, and released her debut album, Tug of War, on September 30, 2008. Three years later, she released a new single, entitled "Call Me Maybe", which was released by 604 Records, and was followed by the release of her debut extended play, Curiosity, on February 14, 2012. "Call Me Maybe" was met with much success, reaching the Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the number 1 spot on the Canadian Hot 100. The single also went to number 1 in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Jepsen signed with Interscope Records in 2012.
Contents |
Life and career[link]
Jepsen attended Heritage Park Secondary School in Mission, British Columbia and has since performed there post-graduation. She later attended the Canadian College of Performing Arts in Victoria, BC before auditioning for Canadian Idol. After completing the Canadian Idol tour, Jepsen retreated to B.C. to focus on writing, recording and completing her band. Her demos attracted attention and she was eventually signed a joint management deal with Simkin Artist Management and Dexter Entertainment. A deal with Fontana/Maple Music quickly followed, leading Jepsen into the studio with producer/writer Ryan Stewart.[2]
[edit] 2008–11: Tug of War
On June 16, 2008, Jepsen released her debut single and another single, a cover of John Denver's song "Sunshine On My Shoulders". It is the only cover song on her debut album.[3] On July 21, 2008, Jepsen added two new songs from the album to her MySpace page: "Bucket" and "Heavy Lifting". In August 2008, Jepsen's MySpace page announced that the album's title would be Tug of War, and it was released on September 30, 2008. The page also mentioned two more songs that were included on the album: "Tug of War" and "Sweet Talker". The former was released as a single on iTunes on September 16, 2008, and has been receiving radio airplay on various stations across Canada. She performed the latter as her Canadian Idol audition.[4]
A music video for "Tug of War" was released in January 2009. "Bucket", her second single, was released in May 2009, and the video for "Sour Candy", a duet with Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench who has also help produce some of her songs including Call Me Maybe, has also been released. All of Jepsen's music videos have been directed by Ben Knechtel. In spring 2009, she toured western Canada with Marianas Trench and Shiloh.[5] She then went on a cross-Canada tour with Marianas Trench, The New Cities and Mission District.
[edit] 2012–present: Curiosity
Jepsen's second album Curiosity was released on February 14, 2012. It was produced by Ryan Stewart and Kevin James Maher produced the track "Dear Julien". On the same day as the release, Justin Bieber made the announcement on the MuchMusic program New Music Live that Jepsen has been signed to Schoolboy Records, the label run by Justin Bieber's manager, Scooter Braun.[6] The lead single, "Call Me Maybe" (which gained notoriety after "Primetime" Sam Roberts played the track during "After Opie and Anthony Live" on SiriusXM Satellite Radio) is from her second studio album Curiosity was released on September 21, 2011 and was produced by Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench and co-written by Jepsen, Ramsay and Tavish Crowe. "Call Me Maybe" is the first song by a Canadian artist to reach the top of the digital chart since Justin Bieber's “Baby” in January 2010. It is also only the 11th song by a Canadian artist to reach No. 1 on the Digital Songs chart since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital download sales in 2005. The song has also peaked at #1 on Billboard's Canadian Hot 100, being the 4th Canadian artist to do so, after Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend", Nikki Yanofsky's "I Believe", and the Young Artists for Haiti version of "Wavin' Flag", originally by Canadian rapper K'naan.[7] Jepsen is currently touring on the Shout it Out World Tour. She is the opening act for the pop-rock trio Hanson. In February 2012, Jepsen visited Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun in Los Angeles, California, where she subsequently signed to Schoolboy Records and Interscope. Her music will still be distributed by 604 Records in Canada. On March 23, 2012, Jepsen made her first American television debut on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing "Call Me Maybe" (with Jared Manierka on keys), later joined by Justin Bieber. Carly was also the first Canadian Idol contestant to enter the UK charts, when Call Me Maybe debuted at #1. Carly played at Citywalk at Universal Studios on April 14 2012. 400 people who paid $5 were allowed to meet with the singer and get CDs autographed by her.
Jepsen, 26, has been criticized in the press for dressing "too young" for her age in an effort to appeal to the pre-teen demographic.[8][9]
On May 20th, 2012 Jepsen performed "Call Me Maybe" at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards. On May 22th, 2012 she performed "Tug of War", "Curiosity", and "Call Me Maybe" at the first Q102 Springle Ball concert.
[edit] Canadian Idol performances
| Episode | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "Sweet Talker" | Carly Rae Jepsen | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 80 | "I Try" | Macy Gray | Duets | Advanced |
| Top 40 | "Breathe (2 AM)" | Anna Nalick | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 22 | "Put Your Records On" | Corinne Bailey Rae | 11 | Advanced |
| Top 18 | "Sweet Ones" | Sarah Slean | 4 | Advanced |
| Top 14 | "Waiting in Vain" | Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | Advanced |
| Top 10 | "Inside and Out" | Bee Gees | 3 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 9 | "Georgia on My Mind" | Hoagy Carmichael | 5 | Safe |
| Top 8 | "Torn" | Ednaswap | 7 | Safe |
| Top 7 | "Killer Queen" | Queen | 3 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 6 | "Come To My Window" | Melissa Etheridge | 4 | Bottom 3 |
| Top 5 | "Chuck E's in Love" | Rickie Lee Jones | 4 | Safe |
| Top 4 | "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" | Mary Martin | 1 | Safe |
| "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)" | Ivie Anderson | 5 | ||
| Top 3 | "At Seventeen" | Janis Ian | 3 | Eliminated |
| "White Flag" | Dido | 6 |
Discography[link]
Main article: Carly Rae Jepsen discography
Studio albums[link]
- Tug of War (2008)
Extended plays[link]
- Curiosity (2012)
Tours[link]
Opening act
- Justin Bieber – Believe Tour (North American dates) (2012)
Filmography[link]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Canadian Idol | Herself (Contestant) | Season 5/Eliminated 3rd |
Awards and nominations[link]
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Canadian Radio Music Awards[10] | Song of the Year, "Tug of War" | Won |
| Western Canadian Music Awards[11] | Song of the Year, "Tug of War" | Nominated | |
| Juno Awards[12] | New Artist of the Year | Nominated | |
| Juno Awards[12] | Songwriter of the Year (With Ryan Stewart) | Nominated | |
| Much Music Video Awards | UR FAVE New Artist | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Much Music Video Awards[13] | Video of the Year, "Call Me Maybe" | Pending |
| Much Music Video Awards[13] | Pop Video of the Year, "Call Me Maybe" | Pending | |
| Much Music Video Awards[13] | UR Fave Video, "Call Me Maybe" | Pending | |
| Much Music Video Awards[13] | UR Fave Artist | Pending |
References[link]
- ^ Carly Rae Jepsen. CTV.ca (2008-01-22). Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ Carly Rae Jepsen "MySpace". http://www.myspace.com/carlyraemusic Carly Rae Jepsen. Retrieved 2012-04-16.
- ^ Carly Rae has 'sunshine on her shoulders'. CTV.ca (2008-07-08). Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ Carly's ''Canadian Idol'' Audition. Youtube.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ Carly's MySpace Blog April 3, 2009. Blogs.myspace.com. Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ Bieber's record label signs Carly Rae Jepsen. Toronto Sun. Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ The 4th Canadian Single to Top the Canadian Billboard Hot 100 « Canadian Music Blog. Musiccanada.wordpress.com (2012-02-05). Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ "Carly Rae Jepsen Age Confusion: The 26-Year-Old Who Dresses Like A Tween (PHOTOS)". Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/21/carly-rae-jepsen-age-style_n_1533302.html?ref=topbar. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
- ^ "Did Carly Rae Jepsen Dress Too Young For Her Age At The Billboard Awards?". Crushable. http://crushable.com/entertainment/did-carly-rae-jepsen-dress-too-young-for-her-age-at-the-billboard-music-awards-580/. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
- ^ Canadian Music Week – 2010 CRMA Nominees. cmw.net
- ^ Jepsen's MySpace Blog January 27, 2010. Blogs.myspace.com (2010-01-27). Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
- ^ a b Michael Bublé, Drake, Justin Bieber, AND 'premier rock legends' as Junos announce 2010 nominees, performers. newsodrome.com
- ^ a b c d "Marianas Trench leads with seven nominations at the 2012 MMVAs | 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards". Mmva.muchmusic.com. 2012-05-15. http://mmva.muchmusic.com/marianas-trench-leads-with-seven-nominations-at-the-2012-mmvas/. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
External links[link]
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jepsen, Carly Rae |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Canadian Artist |
| Date of birth | November 21, 1985 |
| Place of birth | Vancouver |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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"Romney" redirects here. For other uses, see Romney (disambiguation).
| Mitt Romney | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 70th Governor of Massachusetts | |
| In office January 2, 2003 – January 4, 2007 |
|
| Lieutenant | Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by | Jane Swift (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | Deval Patrick |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Willard Mitt Romney (1947-03-12) March 12, 1947 (age 65) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Romney (m. 1969) «start: (1969)»"Marriage: Ann Romney to Mitt Romney" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Mitt_Romney) |
| Children | Taggart (b. 1970) Matthew (b. 1971) Joshua (b. 1975) Benjamin (b. 1978) Craig (b. 1981) |
| Residence | Belmont, Massachusetts Wolfeboro, New Hampshire San Diego, California |
| Alma mater | Brigham Young University (BA) Harvard University (MBA, JD) |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) |
| Positions | Co-founder, Bain Capital (1984–1999) CEO, Bain & Company (1991–1992) CEO, 2002 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee (1999–2002) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | MittRomney.com |
|
This article is part of a series about Mitt Romney |
Mitt Romney
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|---|---|---|
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2012 Presidential campaign |
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Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He was the 70th Governor of Massachusetts (2003–07).
The son of Lenore and George W. Romney (Governor of Michigan, 1963–69), he was raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. In 1966, after one year at Stanford University, he left the United States to spend thirty months in France as a Mormon missionary. In 1969, he married Ann Davies, and the couple had five children together. In 1971, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brigham Young University and, in 1975, a joint Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration from Harvard University as a Baker Scholar. He entered the management consulting industry, which in 1977, led to a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as Chief Executive Officer, he helped bring the company out of financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded the spin-off Bain Capital, a private equity investment firm that became highly profitable and one of the largest such firms in the nation. His net worth is estimated at $190–250 million, wealth that has helped fund his political campaigns. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he served as Ward Bishop and later Stake President in his area near Boston. He ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, losing to long-time incumbent Ted Kennedy. In 1999, he was hired as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics; and he helped turn the fiscally troubled games into a success.
He was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002 but did not seek re-election in 2006. During his term he presided over a series of spending cuts and increases in fees that eliminated a projected $1.5 billion deficit. He also signed into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation, which provided near-universal health insurance access via state-level subsidies and individual mandates.
Romney ran for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, winning several primaries and caucuses but losing the nomination to John McCain. In the following years, he gave speeches and raised campaign funds on behalf of his fellow Republicans. In June 2011, he announced that he would seek the 2012 Republican presidential nomination; as of May 2012, he has won enough caucuses and primaries to become the party's presumptive nominee.
Contents
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Early life and education[link]
See also: Romney family
Heritage and youth[link]
Willard Mitt Romney[1] was born at Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan,[2] the youngest child of George W. Romney, a self-made man who by 1948 had become an automobile executive, and Lenore Romney (née LaFount), an aspiring actress turned homemaker.[3][4][5] His mother was a native of Logan, Utah, and his father was born in a Mormon colony in Chihuahua, Mexico, to American parents.[6][7] He is of primarily English descent, and also has more distant Scottish and German ancestry.[8][9][10] He is a fifth-generation member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).[11][12] A great-great-grandfather, Miles Romney, converted to the faith in its first decade, and another great-great-grandfather, Parley P. Pratt, was an early leader in the church during the same time.[13]
He was preceded in birth by three siblings: Margo Lynn, Jane LaFount, and G. Scott. Mitt followed after a gap of nearly six years. He was named after family friend, hotel magnate J. Willard Marriott, and his father's cousin Milton "Mitt" Romney, a former quarterback for the Chicago Bears.[14][nb 1] In 1953, the family moved from Detroit to the affluent suburb of Bloomfield Hills.[16] In 1954, his father became the chairmen and CEO of American Motors, a company he helped avoid bankruptcy, and return to profitability.[16] By the time Mitt was twelve, his father had become a nationally known figure in print and on television,[17] and Mitt idolized him.[18]
He attended public elementary schools[15] until the seventh grade, when he began commuting to Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, a traditional private boys' preparatory school where he was one of only a few Mormons and where many students came from backgrounds even more privileged than he.[19][20] He was not particularly athletic and at first did not excel academically.[18] During his sophomore year he participated in the 1962 campaign in which his father was elected Governor of Michigan.[nb 2] When his parents moved to the state capitol as part of George Romney taking office, Mitt took up residence at Cranbrook's Stevens Hall.[19] George Romney was re-elected twice; Mitt worked for him as an intern in the governor's office, and was present at the 1964 Republican National Convention when his moderate father battled conservative party nominee Barry Goldwater over issues of civil rights and ideological extremism.[18][22] During these years, Romney had a steady set of chores and summer jobs, including working as a security guard at a Chrysler plant.[23]
At Cranbrook he was a manager for the ice hockey team and a member of the pep squad,[19] and during his final year joined the cross country running team.[15] He belonged to eleven school organizations and school clubs, and started the Blue Key Club boosters group.[19] During his final year at Cranbook, Romney improved academically, but was still not a star pupil.[18][20] He won an award for those "whose contributions to school life are often not fully recognized through already existing channels".[20] Romney was involved in many pranks.[nb 3]
In March of his senior year, he began dating Ann Davies, two years his younger, whom he had first met in elementary school; she attended the private Kingswood School, the sister school to Cranbrook.[27][20] The two informally agreed to marriage around the time of his June 1965 graduation.[18]
University, France mission, marriage and children: 1965–1975[link]
Romney attended Stanford University for a year,[18][nb 4] where he worked as a night security guard in order to pay for trips home to see Ann.[28] Although the campus was becoming radicalized with the beginnings of 1960s social and political movements, he kept a well-groomed appearance and participated in pre-Big Game actions designed to protect the Stanford Axe.[18] In May 1966, he was part of a counter-protest against a group staging a sit-in in the university administration building in opposition to draft status tests.[18][29]
"As you can imagine, it's quite an experience to go to Bordeaux and say, 'Give up your wine! I've got a great religion for you!'"
—Mitt Romney in 2002 reflecting upon his missionary experience.[30]
In July 1966, he left for a thirty-month stay in France as a Mormon missionary,[18][31] a traditional rite of passage that his father and many other relatives had volunteered for.[nb 5] He arrived in Le Havre with ideas about how to change and promote the French Mission, while facing physical and economic deprivation in their cramped quarters.[33][13] Rules against drinking, smoking, and dating were strictly enforced.[13] Most individual Mormon missionaries do not gain many converts,[35] and Romney was no exception:[33] he later estimated ten to twenty for his entire mission.[36] The nominally Catholic but secular, wine-loving French people were especially resistant to a religion that prohibits alcohol.[18][13][30] He became demoralized, and later recalled it as the only time when "most of what I was trying to do was rejected."[33] In Nantes, he suffered a bruised jaw while defending two female missionaries who were being bothered by a group of local rugby players.[13] He continued to work hard; having grown up in Michigan rather than the more insular Utah world, Romney was better able to interact with the French than other missionaries.[37][13] He was promoted to zone leader in Bordeaux in early 1968, then in the spring of that year became assistant to the mission president in Paris, the highest position for a missionary.[33][13][38] In the Mission Home in Paris he enjoyed palace-like accommodations.[38] Romney's support for the U.S. role in the Vietnam War was only reinforced when the French greeted him with hostility over the matter and he debated them in return.[13][33] He witnessed the May 1968 general strike and student uprisings and was upset by the breakdown in social order.[39]
In June 1968, an automobile he was driving in southern France was hit by another vehicle, seriously injuring him and killing one of his passengers, the wife of the mission president.[nb 6] Romney, who was not at fault in the accident,[nb 6] became co-acting president of a mission demoralized and disorganized by the May civil disturbances and by the car accident.[37] He rallied and motivated the others and they met an ambitious goal of 200 baptisms for the year, the most for the mission in a decade.[37] By the end of his stint in December 1968, he was overseeing the work of 175 fellow members.[33][40] Romney developed a lifelong affection for France and its people, and speaks French.[42] The experience in the country instilled in him a belief that life is fragile and that he needed seriousness of purpose.[18][37][13] It also represented a crucible, after having been an indifferent Mormon growing up: "On a mission, your faith in Jesus Christ either evaporates or it becomes much deeper ... For me it became much deeper."[33]
While he was away, Ann Davies had converted to the Mormon faith, guided by George Romney, and had begun attending Brigham Young University (BYU).[18] Mitt was nervous that she had been wooed by others while he was away, and she had indeed started dating popular campus figure Kim S. Cameron and had sent Romney in France a "Dear John letter", greatly upsetting him; he wrote to her to in an attempt to win her back.[43][15] At their first meeting following Romney's return they reconnected, and decided to get married immediately but agreed to wait three months to appease their parents.[44] At Ann's request, Romney began attending Brigham Young too, in February 1969.[43][nb 4] The couple were married on March 21, 1969, in a civil ceremony at Ann's family's home in Bloomfield Hills that was presided over by a church elder.[46][47][48] The following day, the couple flew to Utah for a wedding ceremony at the Salt Lake Temple.[46][47]
Romney had missed much of the tumultuous American anti-Vietnam War movement while away, and was surprised to learn that his father had turned against the effort during his unsuccessful 1968 presidential campaign.[33] Regarding the military draft, Romney had initially received a student deferment, then, like most Mormon missionaries, a ministerial deferment while in France, and then a student deferment.[33][49] When those ran out, his high number in the December 1969 draft lottery (300) ensured he would not be selected.[33][49][50]
At culturally conservative BYU, he remained isolated from much of the upheaval of the era, and did not join in protests against the war, or the LDS Church's policy at the time of denying full membership to blacks.[24][33][43] He became president of, and an innovative fundraiser for, the all-male Cougar Club booster organization and showed a new-found discipline in his studies.[33][43] In his senior year, he took leave to work as driver and advance man for his mother Lenore Romney's eventually unsuccessful 1970 campaign for U.S. Senator from Michigan.[24][46] He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with highest honors in 1971,[43] and gave commencement addresses to both the College of Humanities and to the whole of BYU.[nb 7]
The Romneys' first son, Taggart, was born in 1970[46] while they were undergraduates at Brigham Young[52] and living in a basement apartment.[33][43] Ann subsequently gave birth to Matt (1971), Josh (1975), Ben (1978), and Craig (1981).[46] Her work as a homemaker would enable her husband to pursue his career.[53]
Romney still wanted to pursue a business path, but his father, by now serving in President Richard Nixon's cabinet as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, advised him that a law degree would be valuable to his career.[54][55] Thus he became one of only fifteen students to enroll at the recently created joint Juris Doctor/Master of Business Administration four-year program coordinated between Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School.[56] Fellow students considered him guilelessly optimistic, noting his solid work ethic and buttoned-down demeanor and appearance.[56][57] He readily adapted to the business school's pragmatic, data-driven case study method of teaching, participated in class well, and led a study group whom he pushed to get all A's.[55] He had a different social experience from most of his classmates, since he lived in a Belmont, Massachusetts, house with Ann and two children.[46][55] He was non-ideological and did not involve himself in the political or social issues of the day.[46][55] He graduated in 1975 cum laude from the law school, in the top third of that class, and was named a Baker Scholar for graduating in the top five percent of his business school class.[51][56]
Business career[link]
Management consulting[link]
Romney was recruited by several firms and chose to remain in Massachusetts to work for Boston Consulting Group (BCG), reasoning that working as a management consultant to a variety of companies would better prepare him for a future position as a chief executive.[54][58][nb 8] He was part of a 1970s wave of top graduates who chose to go into consulting rather than join a major company directly.[60] His legal and business education proved useful in his job[54] while he applied BCG principles such as the growth-share matrix.[61] He was viewed as having a bright future there.[54][62]
In 1977, he was hired away by Bain & Company, a management consulting firm in Boston that had been formed a few years earlier by Bill Bain and other former BCG employees.[61][54][63] Bain would later say of the thirty-year-old Romney, "He had the appearance of confidence of a guy who was maybe ten years older."[64] With Bain & Company, Romney learned what writers and business analysts have dubbed the "Bain way",[54][63][65] which consisted of immersing the firm in each client's business,[54][64] and not just issuing recommendations but staying with the company until changes were put into place.[61][63][66] Romney became a vice president of the firm in 1978,[15] and worked with clients such as the Monsanto Company, Outboard Marine Corporation, Burlington Industries, and Corning Incorporated.[58] Within a few years, he was one of Bain & Company's best consultants and was sought after by clients over more senior partners.[54][67]
Private equity[link]
File:Bain Capital.png
Logo of Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney co-founded in 1984
Romney was restless for a company of his own to run, and in 1983, Bill Bain offered him the chance to head a new venture that would buy into companies, have them benefit from Bain techniques, and then reap higher rewards than consulting fees.[54][61] He initially refrained from accepting the offer, and Bain re-arranged the terms in a complicated partnership structure so that there was no financial or professional risk to Romney.[54][64][68] Thus, in 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found the spin-off private equity investment firm, Bain Capital.[66] In the face of skepticism from potential investors, Bain and Romney spent a year raising the $37 million in funds needed to start the new operation, which had fewer than ten employees.[58][64][69] As general partner of the new firm, Romney spent little money on costs such as office appearance, and saw weak spots in so many potential deals that by 1986, few had been done.[54] At first, Bain Capital focused on venture capital opportunities.[54] Their first big success was a 1986 investment to help start Staples Inc., after founder Thomas G. Stemberg convinced Romney of the market size for office supplies and Romney convinced others; Bain Capital eventually reaped a nearly sevenfold return on its investment, and Romney sat on the Staples board of directors for over a decade.[54][69][70]
Romney soon switched Bain Capital's focus from startups to the relatively new business of leveraged buyouts: buying existing firms with money mostly borrowed against their assets, partnering with existing management to apply the "Bain way" to their operations (rather than the hostile takeovers practiced in other leverage buyout scenarios), and selling them off in a few years.[54][64] Existing CEOs were offered large equity stakes in the process, owing to Bain Capital's belief in the emerging agency theory that CEOs should be bound to maximizing shareholder value rather than other goals.[70] Bain Capital lost most of its money in many of its early leveraged buyouts, but then started finding deals that made large returns.[54] The firm invested in or acquired Accuride, Brookstone, Domino's Pizza, Sealy Corporation, Sports Authority, and Artisan Entertainment, as well as lesser-known companies in the industrial and medical sectors.[54][64][71] He ran Bain Capital for fourteen years, during which time the firm's average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent.[58] Much of this profit was earned from a relatively small number of deals; Bain Capital's overall success–to–failure ratio was about even.[nb 9]
Less an entrepreneur than an executive running an investment operation,[67][72] Romney was skilled at presenting and selling the deals the company made.[68] The firm initially gave a cut of its profits to Bain & Company, but Romney persuaded Bain to give that up.[68] Within Bain Capital, Romney spread profits from deals widely within the firm to keep people motivated, often keeping less than ten percent for himself.[73] Viewed as a fair manager, he received considerable loyalty from the firm's members.[70] Romney's wary instincts were still in force at times, and he was generally data-driven and averse to risk.[54][70] He wanted to drop a Bain Capital hedge fund that initially lost money, but other partners prevailed and it eventually gained billions.[54] He also personally opted out of the Artisan Entertainment deal, not wanting to profit from a studio that produced R-rated films.[54] Romney was on the board of directors of Damon Corporation, a medical testing company later found guilty of defrauding the government; Bain Capital tripled its investment before selling off the company, and the fraud was discovered by the new owners (Romney was never implicated).[54] In some cases, Romney had little involvement with a company once acquired.[69]
"Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter but it is necessary to save the life of the patient. My job was to try and make the enterprise successful, and in my view the best security a family can have is that the business they work for is strong."
—Mitt Romney in 2007, commenting on job losses at companies that Bain Capital executed leveraged buyouts of.[68]
Bain Capital's leveraged buyouts sometimes led to layoffs, either soon after acquisition or later after the firm had left.[61][68][69] How jobs added compared to those lost due to these investments and buyouts is unknown, due to a lack of records and Bain Capital's penchant for privacy on behalf of itself and its investors.[74][75][76] In any case, maximizing the value of acquired companies and the return to Bain's investors, not job creation, was the firm's fundamental goal, as it was for most private equity operations.[69][77] Bain Capital's acquisition of Ampad exemplified a deal where it profited handsomely from early payments and management fees, even though the subject company itself ended up going into bankruptcy.[54][70][77] Dade Behring was another case where Bain Capital received an eightfold return on its investment, but the company itself was saddled with debt and laid off over a thousand employees before Bain Capital exited (the company subsequently went into bankruptcy, with more layoffs, before recovering and prospering).[74] Bain was among the private equity firms that took the most fees in such cases.[64][70]
In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse.[66] He was announced as its new CEO in January 1991[78][79] but drew only a symbolic salary of one dollar.[66] He managed an effort to restructure the firm's employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while rallying the firm's thousand employees, imposing a new governing structure that included Bain and the other founding partners giving up control, and increasing fiscal transparency.[54][58][66] Within about a year, he had led Bain & Company through a turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without further layoffs or partner defections.[58] He turned Bain & Company over to new leadership and returned to Bain Capital in December 1992.[54][79][80]
Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital in February 1999 to serve as the President and CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games Organizing Committee.[54][81] By that time, Bain Capital was on its way to being one of the top private equity firms in the nation,[68] having increased its number of partners from 5 to 18, with 115 employees overall, and $4 billion under its management.[64][69] Bain Capital's approach of applying consulting expertise to the companies it invested in became widely copied within the private equity industry.[25][69] Economist Steven Kaplan would later say, "[Romney] came up with a model that was very successful and very innovative and that now everybody uses."[70]
Personal wealth[link]
In August 2001, Romney announced that he would not return to Bain Capital.[81] He transferred his ownership to other partners and negotiated an agreement that allowed him to receive a passive profit share as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.[73][82] Because the private equity business continued to thrive, this deal brought him millions of dollars in annual income.[73] As a result of his business career, by 2007, Romney and his wife had a net worth of between $190 and $250 million, most of it held in blind trusts since 2003.[82] In 2012, it was estimated that he had amassed twice the net worth of the last eight presidents combined,[83] and would rank among the four richest in American history if elected.[83][84]
An additional blind trust existed in the name of the Romneys' children and grandchildren that was valued at between $70 and $100 million as of 2007.[85] The couple's net worth remained in the same range as of 2011, and was still held in blind trusts.[86] In 2010, Romney and his wife received $21.7 million in income, almost all of it from investments, of which about $3 million went to federal income taxes (a rate of 13.9 percent, based upon the beneficial rate accorded investment income by the U.S. tax code) and almost $3 million to charity, including $1.5 million to the LDS Church.[87] Romney has always tithed to the church, including stock from Bain Capital holdings.[13][88][89] In 2010, the Romney family's Tyler Charitable Foundation gave out about $650,000, with some of it going to organizations that fight specific diseases such as cystic fibrosis and multiple sclerosis.[90]
Local LDS Church leadership[link]
During his years in business, Romney also served in the local lay clergy (consisting of all Mormon men over the age of 12).[13] Around 1977, he became a counselor to the president of the Boston Stake.[91] He later served as bishop of the ward (leader of the congregation) at Belmont, Massachusetts, from 1981 to 1986, acting as the ecclesiastical and administrative head of his congregation.[92][93] As such, in addition to home teaching, he also formulated Sunday services and classes using LDS scriptures to guide the congregation.[94] He forged bonds with other religious institutions in the area when the Belmont meetinghouse was destroyed by a fire of suspicious origins in 1984; the congregation rotated its meetings to other houses of worship while it was rebuilt.[88][93]
From 1986 to 1994, he presided over the Boston Stake, which included more than a dozen wards in eastern Massachusetts with about 4,000 church members altogether.[67][94][95] He organized a team to handle financial and management issues, sought to counter anti-Mormon sentiments, and tried to solve social problems among poor Southeast Asian converts.[88][93] An unpaid position, his local church leadership often took 30 or more hours a week of his time,[94] and he became known for his tireless energy in the role.[67] He generally refrained from overnight business travel owing to his church responsibilities.[94]
He took a hands-on role in general matters, helping in maintenance efforts in- and outside homes, visiting the sick, and counseling troubled or burdened church members.[92][93][94] A number of local church members later credited him with turning their lives around or helping them through difficult times.[88][93][94] Some others were rankled by his leadership style and desired a more consensus-based approach.[93] Romney tried to balance the conservative dogma insisted upon by the church leadership in Utah with the desire of some Massachusetts members to have a more flexible application of doctrine.[67] He agreed with some modest requests from the liberal women's group Exponent II for changes in the way the church dealt with women, but clashed with women whom he felt were departing too much from doctrine.[67] In particular, he counseled women not to have abortions except in the rare cases allowed by LDS doctrine, and also in accordance with doctrine, encouraged prospective mothers who were not in successful marriages to give up children for adoption.[67] Romney later said that the years spent as an LDS minister gave him direct exposure to people struggling in economically difficult circumstances, and empathy for those going through problematic family situations.[96]
1994 U.S. senatorial campaign[link]
Main article: United States Senate election in Massachusetts, 1994
By 1993, Romney had been thinking about entering politics, partly based upon Ann's urging and partly to follow in his father's footsteps.[46] He decided to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who was seeking re-election for the sixth time. Kennedy was potentially vulnerable that year – in part because of the unpopularity of the Democratic Congress as a whole, and in part because this was Kennedy's first election since the William Kennedy Smith trial in Florida, in which Kennedy had suffered some negative public relations regarding his character.[97][98][99] Romney changed his affiliation from Independent to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy in February 1994.[46] He took a leave of absence from Bain Capital in November 1993, and stepped down from his church leadership role during 1994, due to the campaign.[100][94]
Radio personality Janet Jeghelian took an early lead in polls among candidates for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat, but Romney proved the most effective fundraiser.[101][102] He won 68 percent of the vote at the May 1994 Massachusetts Republican Party convention; businessman John Lakian finished a distant second and Jeghelian was eliminated.[103] Romney defeated Lakian in the September 1994 primary with over 80 percent of the vote.[15][104]
In the general election, Kennedy faced the first serious re-election challenger of his career in the young, telegenic, and well-funded Romney.[97] Romney ran as a fresh face, as a businessperson who stated he had created ten thousand jobs, and as a Washington outsider with a solid family image and moderate stances on social issues.[97][105] When Kennedy tried to tie Romney's policies to those of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, Romney responded, "Look, I was an independent during the time of Reagan-Bush. I'm not trying to take us back to Reagan-Bush."[106] Romney stated: "Ultimately, this is a campaign about change."[107] After two decades out of public view, his father George re-emerged during the campaign.[108][109]
Romney's campaign was effective in portraying Kennedy as soft on crime, but had trouble establishing its own positions in a consistent manner.[110] By mid-September 1994, polls showed the race to be approximately even.[97][111][112] Kennedy responded with a series of attack ads, which focused on Romney's seemingly shifting political views on issues such as abortion and on the treatment of workers at the Ampad plant owned by Romney's Bain Capital.[97][113][114] The latter was effective in blunting Romney's momentum.[70] Kennedy and Romney held a widely watched late October debate without a clear winner, but by then, Kennedy had pulled ahead in polls and stayed ahead afterward.[115] Romney spent $3 million of his own money in the race and more than $7 million overall.[116][nb 10] In the November general election, despite a disastrous showing for Democrats overall, Kennedy won the election with 58 percent of the vote to Romney's 41 percent,[54] the smallest margin in Kennedy's eight re-election campaigns for the Senate.[119]
2002 Winter Olympics[link]
Romney returned to Bain Capital the day after the election, but the loss had a lasting effect; he told his brother, "I never want to run for something again unless I can win."[46][120] When his father died in 1995, Mitt donated his inheritance to BYU's George W. Romney Institute of Public Management and joined the board and was vice-chair of the Points of Light Foundation (which had incorporated his father's National Volunteer Center).[45][81] His mother died in 1998. Romney felt restless as the decade neared a close; the goal of simply making more money was losing its appeal to him.[46][120] He no longer had a church leadership position, although he still taught Sunday School.[92] During the long and controversial approval and construction process for the $30 million Mormon temple in Belmont, he feared that as a political figure who had opposed Kennedy, he would become a focal point for opposition to the structure.[93] He thus kept to a limited, behind-the-scenes role in attempts to ease tensions between the church and local residents, but locals nonetheless sometimes referred to it as "Mitt's Temple".[88][92][93]
Ann Romney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998; Mitt described watching her fail a series of neurological tests as the worst day of his life.[46] After two years of severe difficulties with the disease, she found while living in Park City, Utah (where the couple had built a vacation home) a mixture of mainstream, alternative, and equestrian therapies that gave her a lifestyle mostly without limitations.[53] When the offer came for him to take over the troubled 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, to be held in Salt Lake City in Utah, she urged him to take it, and eager for a new challenge, he did.[120][121] On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of 2002.[122]
Before Romney came on, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks.[122] Plans were being made to scale back the Games to compensate for the fiscal crisis, and there were fears the Games might be moved away entirely.[123] The Games had also been damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including prior Salt Lake Olympic Committee president and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and committee vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.[124] Romney was chosen by Utah figures looking for someone with expertise in business and law and with connections to the state and the LDS Church.[125] The appointment faced some initial criticism from non-Mormons, and fears from Mormons, that it represented cronyism or gave the Games too Mormon an image.[30]
Romney ran the planning for the Games like a business.[126] He revamped the organization's leadership and policies, reduced budgets, and boosted fundraising, alleviated the concerns corporate sponsors and recruited many new ones.[120][125] He appealed to Utah's citizenry with a message of optimism that helped restore confidence in the effort.[120][126] He worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[121] Overall, he oversaw a $1.32 billion budget, 700 employees, and 26,000 volunteers.[122] The federal government provided between approximately $400 million[125][127][128] and $600 million[126][129] of that budget, much of it a result of Romney's having aggressively lobbied Congress and federal agencies.[129][130][131] It would prove to be a record level of federal funding for the staging of a U.S. Olympics, a fact Romney would cite as a selling point during his campaign for the Massachusetts governorship.[128][130] An additional federal $1.1 billion was spent on indirect support in the form of highway and transit projects.[132]
Romney emerged as the public face of the Olympic effort, appearing in photographs, news stories and Olympics pins.[120] Robert H. Garff, the chair of the organizing committee, later said that "It was obvious that he had an agenda larger than just the Olympics,"[120] and that Romney wanted to use the Olympics to propel himself into the national spotlight and a political career.[125][133] Garff believed the initial budget shortfall was not as bad as Romney portrayed, given there were still three years to reorganize.[125] Utah Senator Bob Bennett said that much of the needed federal money was already in place and an analysis by The Boston Globe stated that the committee already had nearly $1 billion in committed revenues.[125] Olympics critic Steve Pace, who led Utahns for Responsible Public Spending, thought Romney exaggerated the initial fiscal state in order to lay the groundwork for a well-publicized rescue.[133] Kenneth Bullock, another board member of the organizing committee and also head of the Utah League of Cities and Towns, often clashed with Romney at the time, and later said that Romney deserved some credit for the turnaround but not as much as he claimed:[120] Bullock said: "He tried very hard to build an image of himself as a savior, the great white hope. He was very good at characterizing and castigating people and putting himself on a pedestal."[125]
Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million.[134] His performance as Olympics head was rated positively by 87 percent of Utahns.[135] Romney and his wife contributed $1 million to the Olympics, and he donated to charity the $1.4 million in salary and severance payments he received for his three years as president and CEO.[136]
Romney was widely praised for his efforts with the 2002 Winter Olympics[121] including by President George W. Bush,[25] and it solidified his reputation as a turnaround artist.[125] Harvard Business School taught a case study based around his actions.[61] He wrote a book about his experience titled Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, published in 2004. The role gave Romney experience in dealing with federal, state, and local entities, a public persona he had previously lacked, and the chance to re-launch his political aspirations.[120] He was mentioned as a possible candidate for statewide office in both Massachusetts and Utah, and also as possibly joining the Bush administration.[121][137][138]
Governor of Massachusetts[link]
2002 gubernatorial campaign[link]
Main article: Massachusetts gubernatorial election, 2002
In 2002, Republican Acting Governor Jane Swift's administration was plagued by political missteps and personal scandals.[135] Many Republicans viewed her as a liability and considered her unable to win a general election.[139] Prominent party figures – as well as the White House – wanted Romney to run for governor,[137][140] and the opportunity appealed to him for its national visibility.[141] One poll taken at that time showed Republicans favoring Romney over Swift by more than 50 percentage points.[142] On March 19, 2002, Swift announced she would not seek her party's nomination, and hours later Romney declared his candidacy,[142] for which would face no opposition in the primary.[143] In June 2002, Massachusetts Democratic Party officials contested Romney's eligibility to run for governor, citing residency issues involving his time in Utah for the Olympics.[144] That same month, the bipartisan Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission unanimously ruled that he was an eligible candidate.[145]
He again ran as a political outsider,[135] saying he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views.[146] Supporters of Romney hailed his business success, especially with the Olympics, as the record of someone who would be able to bring a new era of efficiency into Massachusetts politics.[143] The campaign was the first to use microtargeting techniques, in which fine-grained groups of voters were reached with narrowly tailored messaging.[147] Nevertheless, Romney initially had difficulty connecting with voters and fell behind his Democratic opponent, Massachusetts State Treasurer Shannon O'Brien, in polls before rebounding.[148] During the election he contributed over $6 million – a state record at the time – to the nearly $10 million raised for his campaign overall.[149][150] Romney was elected governor on November 5, 2002, with 50 percent of the vote to O'Brien's 45 percent.[151]
Tenure, 2003–2007[link]
Main article: Governorship of Mitt Romney
When Romney was sworn in as the 70th governor of Massachusetts on January 2, 2003, [152] both houses of the Massachusetts state legislature held large Democratic majorities.[153] He picked his cabinet and advisors more on managerial abilities than partisan affiliation.[23] Upon entering office in the middle of a fiscal year, he faced an immediate $650 million shortfall and a projected $3 billion deficit for the next year.[138] Unexpected revenue of $1.0–1.3 billion from a previously enacted capital gains tax increase and $500 million in unanticipated federal grants decreased the deficit to $1.2–1.5 billion.[154][155] Through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and removal of corporate tax loopholes,[154] the state ran surpluses of around $600–700 million for the last two full fiscal years Romney was in office, although it began running deficits again after that.[nb 11]
Romney supported raising various fees by more than $300 million, including those for driver's licenses, marriage licenses, and gun licenses.[138][154] He increased a special gasoline retailer fee by two cents per gallon, generating about $60 million per year in additional revenue.[138][154] (Opponents said the reliance on fees sometimes imposed a hardship on those who could least afford them.)[154] Romney also closed tax loopholes that brought in another $181 million from businesses over the next two years and over $300 million for his term.[138][160] Romney did so in the face of conservative and corporate critics that considered them tax increases.[160]
The state legislature, with Romney's support, also cut spending by $1.6 billion, including $700 million in reductions in state aid to cities and towns.[161] The cuts also included a $140 million reduction in state funding for higher education, which led state-run colleges and universities to increase tuition by 63 percent over four years.[138][154] Romney sought additional cuts in his last year as governor by vetoing nearly 250 items in the state budget, but all were overridden by the heavily Democratic legislature.[162]
The cuts in state spending put added pressure on localities to reduce services or raise property taxes, and the share of town and city revenues coming from property taxes rose from 49 to 53 percent.[138][154] The combined state and local tax burden in Massachusetts increased during Romney's governorship but remained below the national average.[138]
Romney sought to bring near-universal health insurance coverage to the state. This came after Staples founder Stemberg told him at the start of his term that doing so would be the best way he could help people,[163][164][165] and after the federal government, owing to the rules of Medicaid funding, threatened to cut $385 million in those payments to Massachusetts if the state did not reduce the number of uninsured recipients of health care services.[23][163][166] Although he had not campaigned on the idea of universal health insurance,[165] Romney decided that because people without insurance still received expensive health care, the money spent by the state for such care could be better used to subsidize insurance for the poor.[164][165]
After positing that any measure adopted not raise taxes and not resemble the previous decade's failed "Hillarycare" proposal, Romney formed a team of consultants from diverse political backgrounds.[23][163][166] Beginning in late 2004, they came up with a set of proposals more ambitious than an incremental one from the Massachusetts Senate and more acceptable to him than one from the Massachusetts House of Representatives that incorporated a new payroll tax.[23][163][166] In particular, Romney pushed for incorporating an individual mandate at the state level.[21] Past rival Ted Kennedy, who had made universal heath coverage his life's work and who, over time, had developed a warm relationship with Romney,[167] gave the plan a positive reception, which encouraged Democratic legislators to cooperate.[163][166] The effort eventually gained the support of all major stakeholders within the state, and Romney helped break a logjam between rival Democratic leaders in the legislature.[163][166]
"There really wasn't Republican or Democrat in this. People ask me if this is conservative or liberal, and my answer is yes. It's liberal in the sense that we're getting our citizens health insurance. It's conservative in that we're not getting a government takeover."
—Mitt Romney upon passage of the Massachusetts health reform law in 2006.[163]
On April 12, 2006, Romney signed the resulting Massachusetts health reform law, commonly called "Romneycare", which requires nearly all Massachusetts residents to buy health insurance coverage or face escalating tax penalties, such as the loss of their personal income tax exemption.[168] The bill also establishes means-tested state subsidies for people who do not have adequate employer insurance and whose income is below a threshold, with funds that were previously used to compensate for the health costs of the uninsured.[169][170][171] He vetoed eight sections of the health care legislation, including a controversial $295-per-employee assessment on businesses that do not offer health insurance and provisions guaranteeing dental benefits to Medicaid recipients.[168][172] The legislature overrode all eight vetoes, but the governor's office said the differences were not essential.[172] The law was the first of its kind in the nation and became the signature achievement of Romney's term in office.[166][nb 12]
At the beginning of his governorship, Romney opposed same-sex marriage and civil unions, but advocated tolerance and supported some domestic partnership benefits.[166][174][175] Faced with the dilemma of choosing between same-sex marriage or civil unions after the November 2003 Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision legalizing same-sex marriages (Goodridge v. Department of Public Health), Romney reluctantly backed a state constitutional amendment in February 2004 that would have banned same-sex marriage but still allow civil unions, viewing it as the only feasible way to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.[176] In May 2004, Romney instructed town clerks to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but citing a 1913 law that barred out-of-state residents from getting married in Massachusetts if their union would be illegal in their home state, no marriage licenses were to be issued to out-of-state same-sex couples not planning to move to Massachusetts.[174][177] In June 2005, Romney abandoned his support for the compromise amendment, stating that the amendment confused voters who oppose both same-sex marriage and civil unions.[174] Instead, Romney endorsed a petition effort led by the Coalition for Marriage & Family that would have banned same-sex marriage and made no provisions for civil unions.[174] In 2004 and 2006, he urged the U.S. Senate to vote in favor of the Federal Marriage Amendment.[178][179]
In 2005, Romney revealed a change of view regarding abortion, moving from the "unequivocal" pro-choice position expressed during his 2002 campaign to a pro-life one in opposition to Roe v. Wade.[166] He subsequently vetoed a bill on pro-life grounds that would expand access to emergency contraception in hospitals and pharmacies[180] (the veto was overridden by the legislature).[181]
Romney generally used the bully pulpit approach towards promoting his agenda, staging well-organized media events to appeal directly to the public rather than pushing his proposals in behind-doors sessions with the state legislature.[166] Romney dealt with a public crisis of confidence in Boston's Big Dig project – that followed a fatal ceiling collapse in 2006 – by wresting control of the project from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.[166]
During 2004, Romney spent considerable effort trying to bolster the state Republican Party, but it failed to gain any seats in the state legislative elections that year.[138][182] He was given a prime-time appearance at the 2004 Republican National Convention, and was already being discussed as a potential 2008 presidential candidate.[183] Midway through his term, Romney decided that he wanted to stage a full-time run for president,[184] and on December 14, 2005, announced that he would not seek re-election for a second term.[185][186] As chair of the Republican Governors Association, Romney traveled around the country, meeting prominent Republicans and building a national political network;[184] he spent part or all of more than 200 days out of state during 2006, preparing for his run.[187]
He had a 61 percent job approval rating in public polls after his initial fiscal actions in 2003, but it began to sink after that.[188] His frequent out-of-state travel contributed to a decline in his approval rating towards the end of his term;[189][188] at 34 percent in November 2006, his rating level ranked 48th of the 50 U.S. governors.[190] Dissatisfaction with Romney's administration and the weak condition of the Republican state party were among several factors that led to Democrat Deval Patrick's lopsided win over Republican Kerry Healey, Romney's Lieutenant Governor, in the 2006 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.[191][189]
Romney filed to register a presidential campaign committee with the Federal Election Commission on his penultimate day in office as governor.[192] His term ended January 4, 2007.
2008 presidential campaign[link]
Main article: Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2008
Romney formally announced his candidacy for the 2008 Republican nomination for president on February 13, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.[193] In his speech, he frequently invoked his father and his own family and stressed experiences in the private, public, and voluntary sectors that had brought him to this point.[193][194] He said, "Throughout my life, I have pursued innovation and transformation,"[194] and casting himself as a political outsider, said, "I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician."[195]
Romney's campaign initially emphasized his résumé of a highly profitable career in the business world and his stewardship of the Olympics.[184][196][nb 13] He also had political experience as governor, together with a political pedigree courtesy of his father, and had a reputation for a strong work ethic and energy level.[184][196][65] Ann Romney, who had become an outspoken advocate for those with multiple sclerosis,[199] was in remission and would be an active participant in his campaign,[200] helping to soften his political personality.[65] Moreover, a number of commentators noted that with his square jaw and ample hair graying at the temples, the 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m)[201] Romney – referred to as handsome in scores of media stories[202] – physically matched one of the common images of what some believed a president should look like.[66][203][204][205] Romney's liabilities included having run for senator and served as governor in one of the nation's most liberal states, having taken some positions there that were opposed by the party's conservative base, and subsequently shifting those positions.[184][196][200] His religion was also viewed with suspicion and skepticism by some in the Evangelical portion of the party.[206]
Romney assembled for his campaign a veteran group of Republican staffers, consultants, and pollsters.[196][207] He was little-known nationally, though, and stayed around the 10 percent range in Republican preference polls for the first half of 2007.[184] He proved the most effective fundraiser of any of the Republican candidates;[208] his Olympics ties helped him with fundraising from Utahns and from sponsors and trustees of the games.[136] He also partly financed his campaign with his own personal fortune.[196] These resources, combined with the mid-year near-collapse of nominal front-runner John McCain's campaign, made Romney a threat to win the nomination and the focus of the other candidates' attacks.[209] Romney's staff suffered from internal strife and the candidate himself was indecisive at times, constantly asking for more data before making a decision.[196][210]
During all of his political campaigns, Romney has generally avoided speaking publicly about specific Mormon doctrines, referring to the U.S. Constitution prohibition of religious tests for public office.[211] But persistent questions about the role of religion in Romney's life in this race, as well as Southern Baptist minister and former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee's rise in the polls based upon an explicitly Christian-themed campaign, led to the December 6, 2007, "Faith in America" speech.[212] He said should neither be elected nor rejected based upon his religion,[213] and echoed Senator John F. Kennedy's famous speech during his 1960 presidential campaign in saying, "I will put no doctrine of any church above the plain duties of the office and the sovereign authority of the law."[212] Instead of discussing the specific tenets of his faith, he said that he would be informed by it and that, "Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone."[212][213] Academics would later study the role religion had played in the campaign.[nb 14]
In the January 3, 2008, Iowa Republican caucuses, the first contest of the primary season, Romney received 25 percent of the vote and placed second to the vastly outspent Huckabee, who received 34 percent.[216][217] Of the 60 percent of caucus-goers who were evangelical Christians, Huckabee was supported by about half of them while Romney by only a fifth.[216] Two days later, Romney won the lightly contested Wyoming Republican caucuses.[218]
At a Saint Anselm College debate, Huckabee and McCain pounded away at Romney's image as a flip flopper.[216] Indeed, this label would stick to Romney through the campaign[196] (but was one that Romney rejected as unfair and inaccurate, except for his acknowledged change of mind on abortion).[65][219] Romney seemed to approach the campaign as a management consulting exercise, and showed a lack of personal warmth and political feel; journalist Evan Thomas wrote that Romney "came off as a phony, even when he was perfectly sincere."[65][220] Romney's staff would conclude that competing as a candidate of social conservatism and ideological purity rather than of pragmatic competence had been a mistake.[65]
Romney finished in second place by 5 percentage points to the resurgent McCain in the next-door-to-his-home-state New Hampshire primary on January 8.[216] Romney rebounded to win the January 15 Michigan primary over McCain by a solid margin, capitalizing on his childhood ties to the state and his vow to bring back lost automotive industry jobs which was seen by several commentators as unrealistic.[nb 15] On January 19, Romney won the lightly contested Nevada caucuses, but placed fourth in the intense South Carolina primary, where he had effectively ceded the contest to his rivals.[225] McCain gained further momentum with his win in South Carolina, leading to a showdown between him and Romney in the Florida primary.[226][227]
For ten days, Romney campaigned intensively on economic issues and the burgeoning subprime mortgage crisis, while McCain repeatedly, and inaccurately, asserted that Romney favored a premature withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.[nb 16] McCain won key last-minute endorsements from Florida Senator Mel Martinez and Governor Charlie Crist, which helped push him to a 5 percentage point victory on January 29.[226][227] Although many Republican officials were now lining up behind McCain,[227] Romney persisted through the nationwide Super Tuesday contests on February 5. There he won primaries or caucuses in several states, including Massachusetts, Alaska, Minnesota, Colorado, and Utah, but McCain won more, including large states such as California and New York.[229] Trailing McCain in delegates by a more than two-to-one margin, Romney announced the end of his campaign on February 7 during a speech before the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.[229]
Altogether, Romney had won 11 primaries and caucuses,[230] received about 4.7 million total votes,[231] and garnered about 280 delegates.[232] He spent $110 million during the campaign, including $45 million of his own money.[233]
Romney endorsed McCain for president a week later.[232] He became one of the McCain campaign's most visible surrogates, appearing on behalf of the GOP nominee at fundraisers, state Republican party conventions, and on cable news programs.[234] His efforts earned McCain's respect and the two developed a warmer relationship; he was on the nominee's short list for the vice presidential running mate slot, where his economic expertise would have balanced one of McCain's weaknesses.[235] McCain, behind in the polls, opted instead for a high-risk, high-reward "game changer", and selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.[236] McCain lost the election to Democratic Senator Barack Obama.
Activity between presidential campaigns[link]
Following the election, Romney paved the way for a possible 2012 presidential campaign by using his Free and Strong America political action committee (PAC) to raise money for other Republican candidates and to pay his existing political staff's salaries and consulting fees.[237][238] An informal network of former staff and supporters around the nation were eager for him to run again.[239] He continued to give speeches and raise funds for Republicans,[240] but turned down many potential media appearances, fearing overexposure.[219] He also spoke before business, educational, and motivational groups.[241] He served on the board of directors of Marriott International from 2009 to 2011 (having earlier served on it from 1993 to 2002).[242]
In 2009, the Romneys sold their primary residence in Belmont and their ski chalet in Utah, leaving them an estate along Lake Winnipesaukee in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and an oceanfront home in the La Jolla district of San Diego, California, which they had bought the year before.[219][243][244] The San Diego home was beneficial in location and climate for Ann Romney's multiple sclerosis therapies and for recovering from her late 2008 diagnosis and lumpectomy for mammary ductal carcinoma in situ.[243][245][246] Both it and the New Hampshire location were near some of their grandchildren,[243] who by 2011 numbered sixteen.[247] Romney maintained his voting registration in Massachusetts, however, and bought a smaller condominium in Belmont during 2010.[245][248][nb 17] In February 2010, Romney had a minor altercation with LMFAO member Skyler Gordy, known as Sky Blu, on an airplane flight.[nb 18]
Romney's book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness, was released in March 2010; an 18-state book tour was undertaken.[255] The book, which debuted atop The New York Times Best Seller list,[256] avoided anecdotes about his personal or political life in favor of a presentation of his economic and geopolitical views.[257][258] Earnings from the book were donated to charity.[86]
In nationwide opinion polling for the 2012 Republican Presidential primaries, Romney led or placed in the top three with Palin and Huckabee. A January 2010 National Journal survey of political insiders found that a majority of Republican insiders, and a plurality of Democratic insiders, predicted Romney would be the party's 2012 nominee.[259] Romney campaigned heavily for Republican candidates in the 2010 midterm elections,[260] raising more money than the other prospective 2012 Republican presidential candidates.[261] Beginning in early 2011, Romney presented a more relaxed visual image, including rarely wearing a necktie.[262][263]
2012 presidential campaign[link]
Main article: Mitt Romney presidential campaign, 2012
See also: Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012 , Results of the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, and Republican Party vice presidential candidates, 2012
On April 11, 2011, Romney announced in a video taped outdoors at the University of New Hampshire that he had formed an exploratory committee for a run for the Republican presidential nomination.[264][265] A Quinnipiac University political science professor stated, "We all knew that he was going to run. He's really been running for president ever since the day after the 2008 election."[265]
Romney stood to gain from the Republican electorate's tendency to nominate candidates who had previously run for president and appeared to be "next in line" to be chosen.[239][266][267] The early stages of the race found him as the apparent front-runner in a weak field, especially in terms of fundraising prowess and organization.[268][269][270] Perhaps his greatest hurdle in gaining the Republican nomination was party opposition to the Massachusetts health care reform law that he had shepherded five years earlier.[263][265][267] As many potential Republican candidates decided not to run (including Mike Pence, John Thune, Haley Barbour, Mike Huckabee, and Mitch Daniels), Republican party figures searched for plausible alternatives to Romney.[268][270]
On June 2, 2011, he formally announced the start of his campaign. Speaking on a farm in Stratham, New Hampshire, he focused on the economy and criticized President Obama's handling of it.[271] He said, "In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it – because I have lived it."[267]
Romney raised $56 million during 2011, far more than any of his Republican opponents,[272] and refrained from spending any of his own money on his campaign.[273] He initially ran a low-key, low-profile campaign.[274] Michele Bachmann staged a brief surge in polls, then by September 2011, Romney's chief rival in polls was a recent entrant, Texas Governor Rick Perry.[275] Perry and Romney exchanged sharp criticisms of each other during a series of debates among the Republican candidates.[276] The October 2011 decisions of Chris Christie and Sarah Palin not to run finally settled the field.[277][278] Perry faded after poor performances in those debates, while Herman Cain's long-shot bid gained popularity until allegations of sexual misconduct derailed him.[279][280]
Romney continued to seek support from a wary Republican electorate; at this point in the race, his poll numbers were relatively flat and at a historically low level for a Republican frontrunner.[277][281][282] After the charges of flip-flopping that marked his 2008 campaign began to accumulate again, Romney declared in November 2011 that "I've been as consistent as human beings can be."[283][284][285] In the final month before voting began, Newt Gingrich enjoyed a major surge, taking a solid lead in national polls and in most of the early caucus and primary states,[286] before settling back into parity or worse with Romney following a barrage of negative ads from Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney Super PAC.[287]
In the initial 2012 Iowa caucuses of January 3, Romney was announced as the victor on election night with 25 percent of the vote, edging out a late-gaining Rick Santorum by eight votes (with an also-strong Ron Paul finishing third),[288] but sixteen days later, Santorum was certified as the winner by a 34-vote margin.[289] Romney decidedly won the New Hampshire primary the following week with a total of 39 percent; Paul finished second and Jon Huntsman third.[290]
In the run-up to the South Carolina Republican primary, Gingrich launched attack ads criticizing Romney for causing job losses while at Bain Capital, Perry referred to Romney's role there as "vulture capitalism", and Sarah Palin questioned whether Romney could prove his claim that 100,000 jobs were created during that time.[291][292] Many conservatives rallied in defense of Romney, rejecting what they inferred as criticism of free-market capitalism.[291] However, during two debates, Romney fumbled questions about releasing his income tax returns, while Gingrich gained support with audience-rousing attacks on the debate moderators.[293][294] Romney's double-digit lead in state polls evaporated and he lost to Gingrich by 13 points in the January 21 primary.[293] Combined with the delayed loss in Iowa, Romney's admitted bad week represented a lost chance to end the race early, and he decided to release his tax returns quickly.[293][295] The race turned to the Florida Republican primary, where in debates, appearances, and advertisements, Romney unleashed a concerted, unrelenting attack on Gingrich's past record and associations and current electability.[296][297] Romney enjoyed a big spending advantage from both his campaign and his aligned Super PAC, and after a record-breaking rate of negative ads from both sides, Romney won Florida on January 31, gaining 46 percent of the vote to Gingrich's 32 percent.[298]
There were several caucuses and primaries during February, and Santorum won three in a single night early in the month, propelling him into the lead in national and some state polls and positioning him as Romney's main rival.[299] Romney won the other five, including a closely fought contest in his home state of Michigan at the end of the month.[300][301] In the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses of March 6, Romney won six of ten contests, including a narrow victory in Ohio over a greatly outspent Santorum, and although he failed to win decisively enough to end the race, still held a more than two-to-one edge over Santorum in delegates.[302] Romney maintained his delegate margin through subsequent contests,[303] and Santorum stopped his campaign on April 10.[304] Following a sweep of five more contests on April 24, the Republican National Committee put its resources behind Romney as the party's presumptive nominee.[305] Romney clinched a majority of the delegates with a win in the Texas primary on May 29.
Political positions and public perceptions[link]
For more details on specific Romney positions on many issues, see Political positions of Mitt Romney.
For much of his business career, Romney did not take public political positions.[306][307] While he had kept abreast of national politics during college,[33] and the circumstances of his father's presidential campaign loss would irk him for decades,[24] his early philosophical influences were often non-political, as during his missionary days when he read Napoleon Hill's pioneering self-help tome Think and Grow Rich, and encouraged his colleagues to do the same.[13][61] Until his 1994 U.S. Senate campaign, he was registered as an Independent.[46] In the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries, he voted for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas.[306][308]
In the 1994 Senate race, Romney aligned himself with Republican Massachusetts Governor William Weld, saying "I think Bill Weld's fiscal conservatism, his focus on creating jobs and employment and his efforts to fight discrimination and assure civil rights for all is a model that I identify with and aspire to."[309] As a gubernatorial candidate in 2002, and then initially as Governor of Massachusetts, he generally operated in the mold established by Weld and followed by Weld's two other Republican successors, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift: restrain spending and taxing, be tolerant or permissive on social issues, protect the environment, be tough on crime, try to appear post-partisan.[308][310]
Later during his time as governor, Romney's position on abortion changed in conjunction with a similar change of position on stem cell research.[166][nb 19] Also during that time, his position or choice of emphasis on some aspects of gay rights,[nb 20] and some aspects of abstinence-only sex education,[nb 21] moved in a more conservative direction. The change in 2005 on abortion was the result of what he described as an epiphany experienced while investigating stem cell research issues.[166] He later said, "Changing my position was in line with an ongoing struggle that anyone has that is opposed to abortion personally, vehemently opposed to it, and yet says, 'Well, I'll let other people make that decision.' And you say to yourself, but if you believe that you're taking innocent life, it's hard to justify letting other people make that decision."[166]
This increased alignment with traditional conservatives on social issues coincided with Romney's becoming a candidate for the 2008 Republican nomination for President.[317][318] He joined the National Rifle Association and portrayed himself as a lifelong hunter.[nb 22] He downplayed the Massachusetts health care law,[21][308][318] became a convert on signing an anti-tax pledge,[61][21] and backed away from further closings of corporate tax loopholes.[160] There was a display of aggressiveness on foreign policy matters, such as wanting to double the number of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[318] Skeptics, including some Republicans, charged Romney with opportunism and having a lack of core principles.[166][196][308] The fervor with which Romney adopted his new stances and attitudes contributed to the perception of inauthenticity which hampered that campaign.[61][262]
While there have been many biographical parallels between the lives of George and Mitt Romney,[nb 23] one particular difference is that while George was willing to defy political trends, Mitt has been much more willing to adapt to them.[21][23] Mitt Romney has said that learning from experience and changing views accordingly is a virtue, and that, "If you're looking for someone who's never changed any positions on any policies, then I'm not your guy."[324] Romney responded to criticisms of ideological pandering with the explanation that "The older I get, the smarter Ronald Reagan gets."[200]
Journalist Daniel Gross sees Romney as approaching politics in the same terms as a business competing in markets, in that successful executives do not hold firm to public stances over long periods of time, but rather constantly devise new strategies and plans to deal with new geographical regions and ever-changing market conditions.[308] Political profiler Ryan Lizza notes the same question regarding whether Romney's business skills can be adapted to politics, saying that "while giving customers exactly what they want may be normal in the corporate world, it can be costly in politics".[61] Writer Robert Draper holds a somewhat similar perspective: "The Romney curse was this: His strength lay in his adaptability. In governance, this was a virtue; in a political race, it was an invitation to be called a phony."[65] Writer Benjamin Wallace-Wells sees Romney as a detached problem solver rather than one who approaches political issues from a humanistic or philosophical perspective.[70] Journalist Neil Swidey views Romney as a political and cultural enigma, "the product of two of the most mysterious and least understood subcultures in the country: the Mormon Church and private-equity finance," and believes that has led to the continued interest in a 1983 episode in which Romney kept his family dog on the roof of his car during a long road trip.[nb 24] Political writer Joe Klein views Romney as actually more conservative on social issues than he portrayed himself during his Massachusetts campaigns and less conservative on other issues than his presidential campaigns have represented, and concludes that Romney "has always campaigned as something he probably is not."[328]
Immediately following the March 2010 passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Romney attacked the landmark legislation as "an unconscionable abuse of power" and said the act should be repealed.[329] The antipathy Republicans felt for it created a potential problem for the former governor, since the new federal law was in many ways similar to the Massachusetts health care reform passed during Romney's term; as one Associated Press article stated, "Obamacare ... looks a lot like Romneycare."[329] While acknowledging that his plan was an imperfect work in progress, Romney did not back away from it, and has consistently defended its underpinning state-level health insurance mandate.[329][330] He has focused on its bipartisan support in the state legislature, the absence of Congressional Republican support for Obama's plan,[329] and has contended that it was the right answer to Massachusetts' specific problems at the time.[329][331] While Romney has not explicitly argued for a federally imposed mandate, and as of 2010 explicitly opposes one, during his 1994 Senate campaign he indicated he would vote for an overall health insurance proposal that contained one.[332][333] He suggested during his time as governor and during his 2008 presidential campaign that the Massachusetts plan was a model for the nation and that, over time, mandate plans might be adopted by most or all of the nation.[334][335][336]
Romney's foreign policy views are rooted in a firm belief in American exceptionalism and the need to preserve American supremacy in the world.[257] This parallels the Mormon belief that the United States Constitution is divinely inspired and that the U.S. was selected by God to play a special part in human history.[337] Indeed, Romney's political beliefs regarding a limited role for government, a need for self-reliance, and requirements for welfare recipients, often reflect Mormon tenets adapted for the secular world.[337][338]
Throughout his business, Olympics, and political career, Romney's instinct has been to apply the "Bain way" towards problems.[65][318][339] Romney has said, "There were two key things I learned at Bain. One was a series of concepts for approaching tough problems and a problem-solving methodology; the other was an enormous respect for data, analysis, and debate."[339] He has written, "There are answers in numbers – gold in numbers. Pile the budgets on my desk and let me wallow."[61] Romney believes the Bain approach is not only effective in the business realm but also in running for office and, once there, in solving political conundrums such as proper Pentagon spending levels and the future of Social Security.[318][339] Former Bain and Olympics colleague Fraser Bullock has said of Romney, "He's not an ideologue. He makes decisions based on researching data more deeply than anyone I know."[25] Romney's technocratic instincts have thus always been with him; in his public appearances during the 2002 gubernatorial campaign he sometimes gave PowerPoint presentations rather than conventional speeches.[340] Upon taking office he became, in the words of The Boston Globe, "the state's first self-styled CEO governor".[138] During his 2008 presidential campaign, he constantly asked for data, analysis, and opposing arguments,[318] and has been decribed by Slate magazine as a potential "CEO president".[308]
Awards and honors[link]
Romney has received five honorary doctorates, including one in Business from the University of Utah in 1999,[341] in Law from Bentley College in 2002,[342] in Public Administration from Suffolk University Law School in 2004,[343] in Public Service from Hillsdale College in 2007,[344] and in Humanities from Liberty University in 2012.[345]
People magazine included him in its 50 Most Beautiful People list for 2002,[346] and in 2004, he received the inaugural Truce Ideal Award for his role in the 2002 Winter Olympics.[347] The Cranbrook School gave him their Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005.[19] In 2008 he shared with his wife Ann, the Canterbury Medal from The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for "refus[ing] to compromise their principles and faith" during the presidential campaign.[348] In 2012 Romney was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.[349]
Writings[link]
- With Timothy Robinson (2004). Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games. Washington: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89526-084-0.
- No Apology: The Case for American Greatness. New York: St. Martin's Press. 2010. ISBN 978-0-312-60980-1.
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ He was called "Billy" until kindergarten, when he indicated a preference for "Mitt".[15]
- ^ Mitt's campaigning for his father included working the phone banks and appearing at county fairs where he manned a booth and exclaimed over a loudspeaker, "You should vote for my father for Governor. He's a truly great person. You've got to support him. He's going to make things better."[21]
- ^ Such pranks included sliding down golf courses on large ice cubes, dressing as a police officer and tapping on the car windows of teenage friends who were making out, and staging an elaborate formal dinner on the median of a busy street.[18][20] The golf course escapade apparently got Romney and Ann Davies arrested, or otherwise detained, by the local police.[24][25] Romney was also arrested in 1981 while at a family outing at Lake Cochituate in Massachusetts. According to Romney, a ranger from Cochituate State Park told him his motorboat had an insufficiently visible license number and he would face a $50 fine if he took the boat onto the lake. Disagreeing about the license and wanting to continue the outing, Romney took it out anyway, saying he would pay the fine. The angry officer then arrested him for disorderly conduct. The charges were dropped several days later after Romney threatened to sue the officer and the state for false arrest.[26]
- ^ a b When initially considering colleges after high school, Romney had not wanted to go to BYU.[43] He later recounted that he had planned to attend BYU to convince Ann to marry him, then the couple planned to transfer together back to Stanford, but in the end, they enjoyed BYU and decided to stay.[45]
- ^ Romney's great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and two uncles had been missionaries,[32] as had his older brother.[33] All five of Romney's sons later served as missionaries as well.[34]
- ^ a b On June 16, 1968, Romney was driving fellow missionaries on dangerous roads in southern France.[18][37][40] As they drove through the village of Bernos-Beaulac, a Mercedes that was passing a truck missed a curve and swerved into the opposite lane hitting the Citroën DS Romney was driving in a head-on collision.[18][41] Trapped between the steering wheel and door, the unconscious and seriously injured Romney had to be pried from the car; a French police officer mistakenly wrote Il est mort in his passport.[18][24][40] The wife of the mission president was killed and other passengers were seriously injured as well.[40] George Romney relied on his friend Sargent Shriver, the U.S. Ambassador to France, to go to the local hospital and discover that his son had survived.[24] Romney, who was not at fault in the accident,[33][40] had suffered broken ribs, a fractured arm, a concussion, and facial injuries, but recovered quickly without needing surgery.[37][40] The French police say that they have no records of the incident because such records are routinely destroyed after 10 years.[40]
- ^ Some sources incorrectly report that Romney graduated BYU as valedictorian. Romney himself has corrected this notion, saying that he was not. While he believes he did have the highest grade point average for his BYU years in the College of Humanities, he did not if his Stanford year was factored in, and he did not among the graduating class university-wide.[51][45]
- ^ Romney sat for the bar exam in his home state of Michigan in July 1975, passed it and was admitted to practice law there, but never worked as a lawyer and only considered in case his business career did not work out.[59]
- ^ One study of 68 deals that Bain Capital made during Romney's time there found that the firm lost money or broke even on 33 of them.[67] Another study that looked at the eight-year period following 77 deals during Romney's time found that in 17 cases the company went bankrupt or out of business, and in 6 cases Bain Capital lost all its investment. But 10 deals were very successful and represented 70 percent of the total profits.[72]
- ^ Kennedy spent $10.5 million overall, including a $1.5 million loan to himself.[117] This was the second-most expensive race of the 1994 election cycle, after the Dianne Feinstein–Michael Huffington Senate race in California.[118]
- ^ Official state figures for fiscal year 2005 (July 1, 2004 – June 30, 2005) declared a $594.4 million surplus.[138][156] For fiscal 2006, the surplus was $720.9 million.[156] During fiscal 2007, Romney cut $384 million in spending that the legislature wanted; in January 2007, midway through the fiscal year, incoming Governor Deval Patrick restored that amount,[157] and also declared that the state faced a "looming budget shortfall" of $1 billion for fiscal 2008.[158] Patrick consequently proposed a budget for fiscal 2008 that included $515 million in spending cuts and $295 million in new corporate taxes.[159] As it happened, the state ended fiscal 2007 with a $307.1 million deficit and fiscal 2008 with a $495.2 million deficit.[156]
- ^ Within four years, the Massachusetts law had achieved its primary goal of expanding coverage: in 2010, 98% of state residents had coverage, compared to a national average of 83%. Among children and seniors the 2010 coverage rate was even higher, 99.8% and 99.6% respectively. Approximately two-thirds of residents received coverage through employers; one-sixth each received it through Medicare or public plans.[173]
- ^ American political opinion periodically looked towards industry for business managers who it was thought could straighten out what was held to be wrong in the nation's capital. The track record of such efforts was at best mixed, with Lee Iacocca declining to run, Romney's father George and Steve Forbes failing to get far in the primaries, and Ross Perot staging one of the more successful third-party runs in American history.[197][198]
- ^ Regarding the role of Romney's religion in the 2008 campaign, one academic study, based upon research conducted throughout the 2008 primaries, showed that a negative perception of Mormonism was widespread during the election, and that perception was often resistant to factual information that would correct mistaken notions about the religion or Romney's relationship to it.[214] The authors concluded that, "For Romney ... religion is the central story."[214] Another study, analyzing a survey conducted during January 2008 (when an African American, a woman, and a Mormon all had realistic chances of becoming the first president from that group), found that voters had internally accepted the notion of black equality, paving the way for Barack Obama's election; had partially established but not fully internalized the notion of gender equality, making Hillary Rodham Clinton's task somewhat more difficult; but had only selectively internalized the notion of religious equality, and in particular not extended it to Mormons, thus making Romney's run significantly more difficult.[215] Those authors concluded that, "for a Mormon candidate, the road to the presidency remains very rough ... The bias against a Mormon candidate is substantial."[215]
- ^ Romney proposed a $20 billion "workout, not a bailout" of the U.S. auto industry. It was termed unrealistic or "pandering" by several news reports.[221][222][223][224]
- ^ Previously, Romney had proposed a private timetable for gradually reducing U.S. forces. McCain's statements regarding this were termed dishonest or misleading by several news reports.[226][227][228]
- ^ Following the August 2009 death of his past rival and sometime ally Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Romney declared that he had no interest in running in the special January 2010 election to replace him.[249] Romney was an early supporter of Scott Brown, the successful Republican candidate in that race. Some of Romney's former aides were used by Brown's campaign and Romney raised funds for Brown.[250][251]
- ^ After having attended the 2010 Winter Olympics, Romney and wife were on board an Air Canada plane waiting to take off on a flight from Vancouver to Los Angeles when he got into a physical altercation with Sky Blu, sitting in front of him, over Sky Blu's seat not being in the upright position. Romney said that Sky Blu became physically violent and that he did not retaliate, while Sky Blu said that Romney gave him a "Vulcan grip" first and that he responded physically to that. Sky Blu was escorted off the aircraft by Canadian police but Romney did not press charges and Sky Blu was released.[252][253][254]
- ^ During his 2002 campaign, Romney expressed support for embryonic stem cell research, and said he would lobby President Bush (who had banned most federal funding for such research) to support it. In early 2005, Romney announced his position on therapeutic cloning, saying he was against it – and vetoing a funding bill for stem cell research because it allowed it – but still in favor of research on unused embryos from fertility treatments. In early 2007, he said he was now against expanded federal funding for such excess embryo research (but still thought private funding for such research was ethical, to the dismay of some conservative Republicans).[311]
- ^ As described. While Romney has consistently rejected same-sex marriage throughout his political career, there was a rhetorical shift in emphasis during his time as governor. The shift culminated in Romney avoiding discussions about the protection of gays from bias and instead characterizing himself as a conservative stalwart in the battle against same-sex marriage and in support of heterosexual families. The shift is even greater if compared to Romney's pledges from his 1994 senatorial campaign.[312][313]
- ^ During his 2002 campaign, Romney said he backed age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education in public schools. In 2005, he accepted federal funding to a faith-based organization to teach abstinence-only education in public schools. Romney said such programs would supplement rather than replace existing ones, while opponents feared that funding pressure would lead to schools dropping comprehensive programs for the freely available abstinence-only ones.[314][315][316]
- ^ Romney joined the National Rifle Association as a life member in August 2006. In December 2007, he cited a past endorsement from them, which he later said was unofficial support.[21][206][319][320] In April 2007, he said, "I've been a hunter pretty much all my life," but then said he had only gone hunting twice and did not own guns, and "I'm not a big-game hunter. I've made that very clear. I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will. I began when I was 15 or so and I have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times."[321]
- ^ Biographical parallels between George and Mitt Romney include: Both served as Mormon missionaries in Europe and considered the experiences formative. Both pursued high school sweethearts singlemindedly until the women agreed to marry them several years later, then had families with four or five children. Both had very successful careers in business and became known for turning around failing companies or organizations. Both presided over a stake in the LDS Church. Both achieved their first elected position at age 55, as Republican governor of a Democratic-leaning state. The two bear a close physical resemblance at similar ages and both have been said to "look like a president". Both staged their first presidential run in the year they turned 60. Both were considered suspect by ideological conservatives within the Republican Party.[21][322] There are also obvious differences in their paths, including that George had a hardscrabble upbringing while Mitt's was affluent, and that Mitt far exceeded George's accomplishments in formal education. Another is that Mitt's personality is more reserved, private, and controlled than his father's was, traits he got from his mother Lenore.[323]
- ^ In summer 1983, Romney and his family embarked on a 12-hour drive from Boston to his parents' cottage on the Canadian side of Lake Huron. Seamus, the family Irish setter, was put up on the station wagon's roof rack, inside a dog carrier with its own attached windshield, but after some hours the dog suffered gastrointestinal distress, evidence of which was readily seen on the rear window. With his five children loudly expressing revulsion, Romney calmly stopped off at a service station, hosed off the dog, carrier, and car, put the dog back in the carrier and completed the journey.[46][325] Since becoming public in 2007, the story has been the source of complaints from animal lovers, a point of psychological study regarding Romney's emotion-free crisis management, an obsession to New York Times columnist Gail Collins, and the occasional target of news stories, talk show hosts and political rivals.[325][206][326][327]
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- ^ a b Altman, Alex (March 3, 2010). "The Skimmer: Mitt Romney's 'No Apology'". Time. http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1969266,00.html.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (March 2, 2010). "In book, Romney styles himself wonk, not warrior". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2010/03/02/mitt_romneys_no_apology_is_not_light_reading/.
- ^ "GOP Insiders Sour On Palin". The Hotline. January 7, 2010. http://hotlineoncall.nationaljournal.com/archives/2010/01/gop_insiders_so.php.
- ^ Burns, Alexander (October 13, 2010). "Mitt Romney's plan: Go big, go everywhere". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43566.html.
- ^ Vogel, Kenneth P. (October 14, 2010). "Romney's $1.7 million tops field". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43607.html.
- ^ a b Zeleny, Jeff (March 5, 2011). "To Quiet Critics, Romney Puts 2012 Focus on Jobs". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/us/politics/06romney.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all.
- ^ a b Martin, Jonathan; Burns, Alexander (April 12, 2011). "5 challenges for front-runner Mitt Romney". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52981.html.
- ^ "Romney forms presidential exploratory committee". CNN. April 11, 2011. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/romney-forms-presidential-exploratory-committee/.
- ^ a b c Viser, Matt (April 12, 2011). "Romney takes next big step toward run for president". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2011/04/12/romney_takes_next_big_step_toward_run_for_president/?page=all.
- ^ Lewis, Matt (October 20, 2009). "Palin or Romney: Republicans Weigh Passion vs. Principle". Politics Daily. http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/10/20/palin-or-romney-republicans-weigh-passion-vs-principle/.
- ^ a b c Shear, Michael D. (June 2, 2011). "Romney, Opening Race, Presents Himself as the Candidate to Face Obama". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/us/politics/03romney.html.
- ^ a b Burns, Alexander (May 17, 2011). "X factor: 5 questions for the GOP race". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55095.html.
- ^ Green, Joshua (May 5, 2011). "The Do-Nothing Frontrunner". The Atlantic. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/05/the-do-nothing-frontrunner/238376/.
- ^ a b Martin, Jonathan (May 22, 2011). "With Mitch Daniels out, GOP looking for new 2012 option". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0511/55425.html.
- ^ Condon, Stephanie (June 2, 2011). "Romney launches presidential bid with Obama "misery index" attack". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20068348-503544.html?tag=cbsnewsMainColumnArea.
- ^ Shear, Michael D. (January 13, 2012). "Obama Raised $42 Million in Last Quarter of '11". The New York Times. http://mobile.nytimes.com/article?a=892875&f=77.
- ^ Viser, Matt (September 27, 2011). "Romney expects to raise much less money this quarter". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2011/09/romney-expects-raise-much-less-money-this-quarter/gOgGPHq6sp8zUl8toWr54L/index.html.
- ^ Smith, Ben (August 1, 2011). "Mitt Romney's low-profile strategy". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/60444.html.
- ^ "Accelerating GOP Race Poised to Test Perry’s Staying Power, Romney’s Obama Strategy". Fox News. September 3, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/03/accelerating-gop-race-poised-to-test-perrys-staying-power-romneys-obama/.
- ^ Kucinich, Jackie (September 25, 2011). "GOP debates signal a race between Romney and Perry". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-09-25/GOP-presidential-race-Romney-Perry-debates/50547872/1.
- ^ a b Babington, Charles (October 5, 2011). "With GOP Field Set, Romney Woos The Unconvinced". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2016416269_apuscampaign2012reset.html.
- ^ Tulumello, Jennifer Skalka (November 11, 2011). "Newt Gingrich: Will his mini-surge in the polls last?". The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Elections/President/2011/1111/Newt-Gingrich-Will-his-mini-surge-in-the-polls-last.
- ^ "Cain and Gingrich Benefit from Perry Swoon". Fox News. September 29, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/09/29/cain-and-gingrich-benefit-from-perry-swoon/.
- ^ "Cain Suspends Presidential Campaign, Cites 'Hurt' Caused by 'False' Allegations". Fox News. December 3, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/03/cain-prepares-to-discuss-campaigns-future-after-damage-assessment/.
- ^ "Cain Surges, Nearly Ties Romney for Lead in GOP Preferences". The Gallup Organization. October 10, 2011. http://www.gallup.com/poll/149990/Cain-Surges-Nearly-Ties-Romney-Lead-GOP-Preferences.aspx.
- ^ Klein, Joe (December 1, 2011). "Why Don't They Like Mitt?". Time. http://swampland.time.com/2011/12/01/mitt-romney-why-dont-they-like-him/.
- ^ Elliot, Philip (October 9, 2011). "Romney rivals may go after him for flip-flops". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2011/10/09/romney_rivals_may_go_after_him_for_flip_flops/.
- ^ Coral Davenport (October 28, 2011). "Mitt Romney's shifting views on climate change". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20127273-503544/mitt-romneys-shifting-views-on-climate-change/.
- ^ Wallsten, Peter (November 3, 2011). "Romney says he's been consistent". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/romney-says-hes-been-consistent/2011/11/03/gIQAbfJejM_blog.html.
- ^ Allen, Mike (December 12, 2011). "Mitt Romney on Newt Gingrich: He's the front-runner". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70298_Page2.html.
- ^ Montopoli, Brian (December 19, 2011). "Poll: Newt Gingrich's lead over Romney is gone". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57345145-503544/poll-newt-gingrichs-lead-over-romney-is-gone/.
- ^ "Romney defeats Santorum by 8 votes in Iowa". CNN. January 4, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/03/politics/iowa-caucus/index.html.
- ^ Silver, Nate (January 19, 2012). "The Semantics and Statistics of Santorum's Win in Iowa". The New York Times. http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/the-semantics-and-statistics-of-santorums-win-in-iowa/.
- ^ "Romney secures front-runner status with New Hampshire win, looks to take momentum into South Carolina". Fox News. January 11, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/10/new-hampshire-republican-primary/.
- ^ a b "Romney, Gingrich tangle over ads in South Carolina". Fox News. January 13, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/13/conservatives-rally-against-criticism-romneys-bain-record/.
- ^ Lee, MJ (January 12, 2012). "Sarah Palin: Mitt Romney needs Bain show & tell". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71364.html.
- ^ a b c "Gingrich wins huge come-from-behind victory in South Carolina". McClatchy Newspapers. January 21, 2012. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/01/21/136532/gingrich-appears-to-be-headed.html.
- ^ Dickerson, John (January 20, 2012). "The Brawl". Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/01/south_carolina_debate_gingrich_nails_open_marriage_question_bests_a_flustered_romney_.html.
- ^ "Mitt Romney will release tax returns Tuesday; rival Newt Gingrich calls himself most electable GOP candidate". Associated Press. MassLive.com. January 22, 2012. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/mitt_romney_will_release_tax_r.html.
- ^ Burns, Alexander; Bravender, Robin (January 24, 2012). "Florida Republican primary is 'Armageddon'". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0112/71862.html.
- ^ Rutenberg, Jim; Zeleny, Jeff (January 28, 2012). "The Calculations That Led Romney to the Warpath". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/politics/the-calculations-that-led-romney-to-the-warpath.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all.
- ^ Cohen, Tom; Steinhauser, Paul (February 1, 2012). "Romney claims victory in Florida, builds new momentum". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/31/politics/florida-primary/index.html.
- ^ "Polls: All tied up between Romney and Santorum". CNN. February 14, 2012. http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/02/14/polls-all-tied-up-between-romney-and-santorum/.
- ^ "Romney wins Michigan and Arizona". CNN. February 28, 2012. http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/election/2012/primaries/index.html?hpt=hp_t1.
- ^ "Mitt Romney wins Wyoming caucuses". The Washington Post. February 29, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/mitt-romney-wins-wyoming-caucuses/2012/02/29/gIQAj2yRjR_blog.html.
- ^ "Romney builds delegate lead with Super Tuesday wins". Fox News. March 7, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03/07/romney-builds-delegate-lead-with-super-tuesday-wins/.
- ^ "Romney sweeps 3 primary contests, eyes general election battle". Fox News. April 4, 2012. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/04/03/romney-looks-for-big-night-and-beyond-in-wisconsin/.
- ^ Cohen, Tom (April 10, 2012). "Santorum suspends campaign, clearing Romney's path". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/10/politics/campaign-wrap/index.html?hpt=hp_t2.
- ^ "RNC officially names Mitt Romney the party's 'presumptive nominee'". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2012. http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-rnc-officially-names-mitt-romney-the-partys-presumptive-nominee-20120425,0,790798.story.
- ^ a b Hersh, The Shadow President, p. 139.
- ^ Canellos, The Last Lion, p. 295.
- ^ a b c d e f Gross, Daniel (February 26, 2007). "The CEO Candidate". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2160642/.
- ^ Zeller, Shawn (December 11, 2007). "Romney haunted by liberal past". PolitiFact.com. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2007/dec/11/romney-haunted-liberal-past/.
- ^ Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2004, p. 769.
- ^ Helman, Scott (February 11, 2007). "Romney's stem cell view may upset the right". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/02/11/romneys_stem_cell_view_may_upset_the_right/.
- ^ Nagourney, Adam; Kirkpatrick David D. (December 9, 2006). "Romney's Gay Rights Stance Draws Ire". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/09/us/politics/09romney.html.
- ^ "Run touts success, dodges shifts". USA Today. June 15, 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/mitt-romney.htm.
- ^ Martin, Jonathan (July 19, 2007). "Romney also once backed 'age-appropriate' sex ed". Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/jonathanmartin/0707/Romney_also_once_backed_ageappropriate_sex_ed.html.
- ^ Donald, Brooke (April 21, 2006). "Romney promotes abstinence classes". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press: p. B8. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mAE1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=Mk8KAAAAIBAJ&pg=3578,1309352&dq=romney+abstinence+only+education&hl=en.
- ^ "Romney Announces Abstinence Education Program". WCVB-TV. April 20, 2006. http://www.thebostonchannel.com/r/8858946/detail.html.
- ^ "Profile: Mitt Romney". BBC News. February 15, 2007 (updated February 7, 2008). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6362249.stm.
- ^ a b c d e f Luo, Michael (November 24, 2007). "For Romney & Company, Campaign Is All Business". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/24/us/politics/24manage.html.
- ^ McPike, Erin (December 17, 2007). "Romney's tough day on the trail". msnbc.com. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/12/17/4436604-romneys-tough-day-on-the-trail.
- ^ Shear, Michael D. (December 16, 2007). "Romney Claims NRA Endorsement He Didn't Receive". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2007/12/romney-claims-nra-endorsement.html.
- ^ Udell, Emily (April 5, 2007). "Romney Aims Again to Explain Hunting". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070405/romney-hunting/.
- ^ Glass, Andrew (January 13, 2008). "Romney plays nostalgia card in Michigan". Politico. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7848.html.
- ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (February 23, 2012). "Political Lessons, From a Mother's Losing Run". The New York Times: p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/us/politics/political-lessons-from-a-mothers-losing-run.html?pagewanted=all.
- ^ "Romney: I'll keep campaign promises". Associated Press. msnbc.com. December 16, 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22287061/ns/politics-decision_08/.
- ^ a b Swidey, Neil (January 8, 2012). "What our fascination with Mitt Romney's dog Seamus says about our culture". The Boston Globe. http://articles.boston.com/2012-01-08/news/30605151_1_romney-family-mitt-romney-dog.
- ^ "Mitt Romney and the dog on the car roof: one columnist's obsession". PolitiFact.com. September 8, 2011. http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/13/gail-collins/mitt-romney-and-dog-car-roof-one-columnists-obsess/.
- ^ Moos, Jeanne (January 13, 2012). "Mitt Romney 'dog-on-the-roof' story appears in Newt Gingrich ad". CNN. KSDK. http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/296683/18/Mitt-Romney-dog-on-the-roof-story-appears-in-Newt-Gingrich-ad.
- ^ Klein, Joe (December 12, 2011). "Where is the Love?". Time: p. 31.
- ^ a b c d e Johnson, Glen (March 26, 2010). "Romneycare may come back to haunt Mitt on health issue". Deseret News. Associated Press (Salt Lake City). http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700019894/Romneycare-may-come-back-to-haunt-Mitt-on-health-issue.html.
- ^ Johnson, Glen (December 15, 2010). "Health Mandate Cases to Loom Over 2012 Romney Run". Associated Press. ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=12405439.
- ^ Issenberg, Sasha (March 30, 2010). "Romney defends Mass. health care law". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2010/03/30/romney_defends_massachusetts_health_care_law/.
- ^ Smith, Ben (April 19, 2010). "Blogger: Romney wants repeal, but not of mandate". Politico. http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0410/Blogger_Romney_wants_repeal_but_not_of_mandate.html.
- ^ Viser, Matt (May 12, 2011). "Romney support for individual mandate complicates health care politics". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2011/05/romney_support.html.
- ^ Appleby, Julie (July 5, 2005). "Mass. Gov. Romney's health care plan says everyone pays". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/health/2005-07-04-health-insurance-usat_x.htm.
- ^ Romano, Andrew (April 16, 2010). "If the Mitt Fits". Newsweek. http://www.newsweek.com/2010/04/15/if-the-mitt-fits.html.
- ^ Sargent, Greg (May 11, 2011). "Flashback: Mitt Romney hoped for 'a nation that's taken a mandate approach'". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/flashback-mitt-romney-hoped-for-a-nation-with-a-mandate-approach/2011/03/03/AFPqVUqG_blog.html.
- ^ a b Kantor, Jodi (May 19, 2012). "Romney’s Faith, Silent but Deep". The New York Times: p. 1. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/us/politics/how-the-mormon-church-shaped-mitt-romney.html?_r=1&hp&pagewanted=all.
- ^ Bowman, Matthew (February 8, 2012). "President Romney, Compassionate Conservative? How Mormonism May Shape Mitt's Welfare Policies". The New Republic. http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/100490/mormon-romney-poverty-welfare-poor.
- ^ a b c Hewitt, A Mormon in the White House?, pp. 56–58.
- ^ Barone and Cohen, Almanac of American Politics 2004, p. 772.
- ^ Egan, Dan (April 9, 1999). "SLOC Boss Romney Will Give U. Commencement Address". The Salt Lake Tribune: p. B3.
- ^ "Mitt Romney Calls for Bentley College Graduates to 'Be American Heroes'" (Press release). Bentley College. May 1, 2002. http://newsroom.bentley.edu/press-release/mitt-romney-calls-bentley-college-graduates-be-american-heroes-0.
- ^ "Suffolk University to Award Eight Honorary Degrees" (Press release). Suffolk University. May 24, 2004. http://www.suffolk.edu/16089.html.
- ^ "Commencement 2007". Hillsdale College. http://www.hillsdale.edu/images/userImages/cclawson/Page_4889/PC_News_Summer07.pdf. Retrieved June 9, 2011.
- ^ Bible, Mitzi (May 12, 2012). "Commencement 2012: Paying tribute to Liberty’s heritage, God's blessings". Liberty University. http://www.liberty.edu/news/index.cfm?PID=18495&MID=55432.
- ^ "Mitt Romney: Politician". People. May 13, 2002. http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20137022,00.html.
- ^ Pane, Lisa Marie (February 13, 2006). "Romney looks ahead, back in Olympics visit". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/olympics/articles/2006/02/13/romney_looks_ahead_back_in_olympics_visit/?page=all.
- ^ Roche, Lisa Riley (May 10, 2008). "Romney honored for 'Defense of Religious Liberty'". Deseret News (Salt Lake City). http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700224763,00.html.
- ^ Mayer, Marissa (April 18, 2012). "The 100 Most Influential People in the World". Time. http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2111975_2111976_2112000,00.html.
Bibliography[link]
- Balz, Dan; Johnson, Haynes (2009). The Battle for America, 2008: The Story of an Extraordinary Election. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN 978-0-670-02111-6.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2004) (paperback). The Almanac of American Politics 2004. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-106-1.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2006). The Almanac of American Politics 2006. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-111-5.
- Barone, Michael; Cohen, Richard E. (2008) (paperback). The Almanac of American Politics 2008. Washington: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-89234-116-0.
- Canellos, Peter S. (ed.) and The Team at The Boston Globe (2009). The Last Lion: The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4391-3817-5.
- Clymer, Adam (1999). Edward M. Kennedy: A Biography. New York: Wm. Morrow & Company. ISBN 978-0-688-14285-8.
- Heilemann, John; Halperin, Mark (2010). Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-173363-5.
- Hersh, Burton (1997). The Shadow President: Ted Kennedy in Opposition. South Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press. ISBN 978-1-883642-30-3.
- Hewitt, Hugh (2007). A Mormon in the White House?: 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney. Washington: Regnery Publishing. ISBN 978-1-59698-502-5.
- Kranish, Michael; Helman, Scott (2012). The Real Romney. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-212327-5.
- Mahoney, Tom (1960). The Story of George Romney: Builder, Salesman, Crusader. New York: Harper & Brothers. OCLC 236830.
- Thomas, Evan (2009). "A Long Time Coming": The Inspiring, Combative 2008 Campaign and the Historic Election of Barack Obama. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-607-5.
Further reading[link]
- Foster, Craig (2008). A Different God?: Mitt Romney, the Religious Right, and the Mormon Question. Draper, Utah: Greg Kofford Books. ISBN 978-1-58958-117-3.
- Hines, Phillip (2012). Mitt Romney in His Own Words. New York: Threshold Editions. ISBN 978-1-4516-8780-4.
- Scott, Ronald B. (2011). Mitt Romney: An Inside Look at the Man and His Politics. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN 978-0-7627-7927-7.
- Turner, Lisa Ray; Field, Kimberly (2007). Mitt Romney: The Man, His Values, and His Vision. Silverton, Idaho: Mapletree Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60065-109-0.
External links[link]
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- Official
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- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
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- Collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
- Collected news and commentary at The Guardian
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| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Chief Executive Officer of Bain Capital 1984–1999 |
Succeeded by Joshua Bekenstein |
| Preceded by Bill Bain |
Chief Executive Officer of Bain & Company Acting 1991–1992 |
Succeeded by Steve Ellis as Worldwide Managing Director |
| Succeeded by Orit Gadiesh as Chairman of the Board |
||
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by Makoto Kobayashi |
President of Organizing Committee for Winter Olympic Games 2002 |
Succeeded by Valentino Castellani |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Jane Swift Acting |
Governor of Massachusetts 2003–2007 |
Succeeded by Deval Patrick |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Joe Malone |
Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (Class 3) 1994 |
Succeeded by Jack Robinson |
| Preceded by Paul Cellucci |
Republican nominee for Governor of Massachusetts 2002 |
Succeeded by Kerry Healey |
| Preceded by John McCain |
Republican Party presidential candidate Presumptive 2012 |
Most recent |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Romney, Willard Mitt |
| Alternative names | Romney, Mitt |
| Short description | American politician |
| Date of birth | March 12, 1947 |
| Place of birth | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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