Fan loyalty is the loyalty felt and expressed by a fan towards the object of his/her fanaticism. Allegiances can be strong or weak. The loyalties of sports fans have been studied by psychologists, who have determined several factors that create such loyalties. Fan loyalty can be threatened by team actions.

Underpinning psychology

Fan loyalty, particularly with respect to team sports, is different from brand loyalty, in as much as if a consumer bought a product that was of lower quality than expected, he or she will usually abandon allegiance to the brand. However, fan loyalty continues even if the team that the fan supports continues to perform poorly year after year. Author Mark Conrad uses the Chicago Cubs as an example of a team with a loyal fan following, where fans spends their money in support of a poorly performing team that (as of 2010) had not won a pennant since 1945 or a World Series since 1908.

Several psychologists have studied fan loyalty, and what causes a person to be a loyal fan, that sticks with a team through adversity, rather than a fairweather fan, that switches support to whatever teams happen to be successful at the time. These include Dan Wann, a psychologist at Murray State University, psychologist Robert Passikoff, , and B. King.

They attribute it to the following factors: ;entertainment value:The entertainment value that a fan derives from spectating motivates him/her to remain a loyal fan. Entertainment value of team sports is also valuable to communities in general. ;authenticity:This is described by Passikoff as "the acceptance of the game as real and meaningful". ;fan bonding:Fan bonding is where a fan bonds with the players, identifying with them as individuals, and bonds with the team. ;team history and tradition:Shank gives the Cincinnati Reds, all-professional baseball's oldest team, as an example of a team where a long team history and tradition is a motivator for fans in the Cincinnati area. ;group affiliation:Fans receive personal validation of their support for a team from being surrounded by a group of fans who also support the same team. ;fair-weather fans: Fans who only follow their team when they are winning. ;die-hard fans: Fans who follow their team no matter they are winning or losing.

Measurements and indices of fan loyalty

A Fan Loyalty Index was compiled from a survey of Major League Baseball fans in April 1997, and printed in the ''Forecast'' newsletter. Fans were asked to rate their hometown teams on each of four scales. The index ranged from the Chicago Cubs at the top, with a loyalty index of 132, to the Chicago White Sox at the bottom with a loyalty index of 73. The index was scaled such that the mean loyalty index was 100, as scored by both the Colorado Rockies and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Passikoff studied the loyalties of U.S. sports fans towards all Major League sports in the summer of 2000, finding that loyalty to Major League Baseball scored the highest, followed by the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League.

Threats to loyalty

Shank observes that fan loyalty in the U.S. is perhaps higher towards sports teams than any other form of consumer loyalty to goods and services. However, loyalty can be threatened. Fan loyalty towards professional level sports is beginning to erode in the U.S. as a consequence of continual threats to uproot a franchise and to move it to a new town. Shank considers that this is perhaps the reason behind the increased popularity of amateur athletics. School and college teams do not threaten to move away from the fans in order to obtain a better deal on their sports stadium. Athletes in school and college athletics are not traded to and from other teams and do not move around in search of better contracts (although they do, of course, sometimes leave their schools and colleges early for professional contracts).

Some professional sports teams have taken measures to combat this erosion. The Nashville Predators employ customer relationship management techniques to collect information about the demographics and psychographics of their fans. Their loyalty programme involves a loyalty card that is swiped through a card reader in kiosks at the entrances to team events. The team can gather data on the fans, and the fans are rewarded by collecting points that are redeemable against tickets, merchandise, and concessions. The vice president of ticket sales for the Predators, Scott Loft, is quoted by Shanks as observing that "90 percent of sports teams either don't care or don't bother to find out any information about their fan base", however.

References

Further reading

Category:Marketing Category:Sports fandom

name	James Bond
author	Ian Fleming
country	United Kingdom
language	English
subject	Spy fiction
genre	Action/Suspense
publisher	Jonathan Cape
pub date	1953–present
followed by	}}

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The fictional British Secret Service agent has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English-language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with ''Dr. No''.

After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks and Jeffery Deaver. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, John Pearson wrote an authorised biography, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.

There have been 22 films in the Eon Productions series to date, the most recent of which, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from films and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.

The Eon Productions films are generally termed as "official", by fans of the series, originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the early 1960s.

Creation and inspiration

Commander James Bond, (CMG, RNVR) is an intelligence officer of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS; commonly known as MI6). He was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. The hero was named after the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide book ''Birds of the West Indies.'' Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said in a ''Reader's Digest'' interview, "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."

Nevertheless, news sources speculated about real spies or other covert agents after whom James Bond might have been modelled or named, such as Sidney Reilly or William Stephenson, best-known by his wartime intelligence codename of Intrepid. Although they are similar to Bond, Fleming confirmed none as the source figure, nor did Ian Fleming Publications nor any of Fleming's biographers, such as John Pearson or Andrew Lycett. Historian Keith Jeffery speculates in his authorised history of MI6, that Bond may be modelled on Fleming's close friend, Bill "Biffy" Dunderdale, a MI6 agent whose sophisticated persona and penchant for pretty women and fast cars closely matches that of Bond.

James Bond's parents are Andrew Bond, from village of Glencoe (Argyll, Scotland), and Monique Delacroix, from Yverdon (Vaud, Switzerland). Their nationalities were established in ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service.'' Fleming emphasised Bond's Scottish heritage in admiration of Sean Connery's cinematic portrayal, whereas Bond's mother is named after a Swiss fiancée of Fleming's. A planned, but unwritten, novel would have portrayed Bond's mother as a Scot. Ian Fleming was a member of a prominent Scottish banking family. Although John Pearson's fictional biography of Bond gives him a birth date on 11 November (Armistice Day) 1920, the books themselves are inconsistent on the matter. In ''Casino Royale'', he is said to have bought a car in 1933 and to have been an experienced gambler before World War II. Two books later, in ''Moonraker'', he is said to be in his mid-thirties; the setting of this book can be no earlier than 1954 as it refers to the South Goodwin Lightship, which was lost in that year. There is a further reference to Bond's age in ''You Only Live Twice'', when Tanaka tells him he was born in the Year of the Rat (1924/25 or 1912/13). The books were written over a 12-year period during which Bond's age, when mentioned, thus varies, but is usually around 40. In the novel ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service,'' Bond's family motto is found to be ''Orbis non sufficit'' ("The world is not enough"). The novel also states that the family that used this motto may not necessarily be the same Bond family from which James Bond came.

After completing the manuscript for ''Casino Royale'', Fleming allowed his friend (and later editor) William Plomer to read it. Plomer liked it and submitted it to Jonathan Cape, who did not like it as much. Cape finally published it in 1953 on the recommendation of Fleming's older brother Peter, an established travel writer.

Most researchers agree that James Bond is a romanticised version of Ian Fleming, himself a jet-setting womaniser. Both Fleming and Bond attended the same schools, preferred the same foods (scrambled eggs and coffee), maintained the same habits (drinking, smoking, wearing short-sleeve shirts), shared the same notions of the perfect woman in looks and style, and had similar naval career paths (both rising to the rank of naval Commander). They also shared similar height, hairstyle, and eye colour. Some suggest that Bond's suave and sophisticated persona is based on that of a young Hoagy Carmichael. In ''Casino Royale'', Vesper Lynd remarks, "Bond reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael, but there is something cold and ruthless." Likewise, in ''Moonraker'', Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is "certainly good-looking . . . Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way. That black hair falling down over the right eyebrow. Much the same bones. But there was something a bit cruel in the mouth, and the eyes were cold."

Fleming did admit to being partly inspired by a story recounted to him which took place during his service in the Naval Intelligence Division of the Admiralty. The incident is depicted in ''Casino Royale,'' when Ralph Izzard finds himself involved in a card game, playing poker against covert Nazi intelligence agents at a casino in Pernambuco, Brazil.

Novels and related works

Ian Fleming novels

In February 1952, Ian Fleming began writing his first James Bond novel. At the time, Fleming was the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, owners of ''The Daily Express'' in London. Upon accepting the job, Fleming asked for two months' yearly vacation in his contract—time spent writing in Jamaica. Between 1953 and his death in 1964, Fleming published twelve novels and one short-story collection (a second collection was published posthumously).

Fleming had long planned to become an author and whilst serving in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II he had told a friend, "I am going to write the spy story to end all spy stories." Fleming used his experiences of his espionage career and all other aspects of his life as inspiration when writing.

Casino Royale (novel)>Casino Royale''

Live and Let Die (novel)>Live and Let Die''

Moonraker (novel)>Moonraker''

Diamonds Are Forever (novel)>Diamonds Are Forever''

From Russia, with Love (novel)>From Russia, with Love''

Dr. No (novel)>Dr. No''

Goldfinger (novel)>Goldfinger''

For Your Eyes Only (short story collection)>For Your Eyes Only'' – short stories

Thunderball (novel)>Thunderball''

The Spy Who Loved Me (novel)>The Spy Who Loved Me''

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (novel)>On Her Majesty's Secret Service''

You Only Live Twice (novel)>You Only Live Twice''

The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)>The Man with the Golden Gun''

*1966 ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights'' – short stories

Post-Fleming novels

After Fleming's death a continuation novel, Colonel Sun, was written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham) and published in 1968. Although a novelisations of two of the films appeared in print - ''James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me'' and ''James Bond and Moonraker'', both written by screenwriter Christopher Wood - the series of novels did not continue until the 1980s.

In 1981 John Gardner, picked up the series with ''Licence Renewed'', publishing 16 books in total. Gardner moved the series into the 1980s, although retained the ages of the characters as they were when Fleming had left them. In 1996, Gardner retired from writing James Bond books due to ill health and he was replaced by Raymond Benson, who was the first American author of James Bond. Benson wrote six James Bond novels, three novelisations, and three short stories.

In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks had been commissioned to write a new Bond novel to commemorate Fleming's 100th Birthday. The book — titled ''Devil May Care'' – was published on 27 May 2008. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. the commissioned best-selling thriller writer Jeffery Deaver who wrote ''Carte Blanche'', which was published on May 26, 2011.

Young Bond

The ''Young Bond'' series of novels was begun in 2005, by Charlie Higson. Between 2005 and 2008 5 books were published, with the first Young Bond novel, ''SilverFin'' being released as a graphic novel on October 2, 2008 by Puffin Books.

Adaptations

Films

The Eon films

In the late 1950s, Eon Productions guaranteed the film adaptation rights for every 007 novel except for ''Casino Royale'' (those rights were recovered in 1999). In 1962, the first adaptation ''Dr. No'' was made, which featured Sean Connery as 007. Connery starred in six more films after his initial portrayal (including 1983's ''Never Say Never Again'', which was not part of the Eon series). George Lazenby replaced Connery (for one film) before the latter's last Eon film Diamonds Are Forever, after which the part was played by Roger Moore (for seven films), Timothy Dalton (for two films), Pierce Brosnan (for four films) and Daniel Craig (two films to 2008). As of 2008, there have been 22 films in the Eon series. The 21st film, ''Casino Royale'', with Daniel Craig as James Bond, premiered on 14 November 2006, with the film going on general release in Asia and the Middle East the following day. Notably, it is the first Bond film to have been released in China. The second James Bond film to feature Craig is ''Quantum of Solace'', which gets its title from a short story of the same name by Ian Fleming (''For Your Eyes Only'', 1960), but shares no similarities with the plot.

In April 2010, Eon Productions suspended development of ''Bond 23'' indefinitely due to MGM's crippling debt and uncertain future. Prior to this suspension, Craig was expected to return to the franchise for a third time. On 11 January 2011, MGM sent out a press releasing announcing the 23rd Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, will be released on 9 November 2012. The press release reveals that "Sam Mendes [is] directing [the] screenplay written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan."

The film series has grossed over $4 billion (£2 billion) (nearly $11 billion when adjusted for inflation) worldwide, making it the highest grossing film series ever. The 22nd and newest movie in the series, ''Quantum of Solace'', was released in the UK on 31 October 2008. As of 9 November 2008, global box office totals for ''Quantum of Solace'' were almost $161 million (£103 million), placing the Bond series ahead of the ''Harry Potter'' film series even when not adjusting for inflation.

Franchise Count	Title	!Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
		1962		rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"
		1963
		1964
		1965	style="text-align:center;"
			1967
		1969
		1971
		1973
		1974
		1977
		1979
		1981	rowspan="5" style="text-align:center;"
	''Octopussy''	1983
		''A View to a Kill''	1985
	''The Living Daylights''	1987
	''Licence to Kill''	1989
	''GoldenEye''	1995
	''Tomorrow Never Dies''	1997
	''The World Is Not Enough''	1999
	''Die Another Day''	2002
		2006
	''Quantum of Solace''	2008
	''Bond 23''	2012
Totals	''Films 1–22''

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Non-Eon films

In 1967, ''Casino Royale'' was adapted into a spoof Bond film starring David Niven as Sir James Bond 007 and Ursula Andress as Vesper Lynd. David Niven, had, in fact, been Ian Fleming's preference for the part of James Bond. Eon Productions, however, chose Sean Connery. David Niven is the only James Bond actor who is mentioned by name in the text of two of Fleming's James Bond novels. In ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'', Bond visits an exclusive ski resort and is told that David Niven is a frequent visitor and in ''You Only Live Twice'' Kissy Suzuki mentions him as the only man who had been kind to her in her brief foray to Hollywood. Ursula Andress is also mentioned in the text of ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' as being present at the ski resort.

A legal loophole allowed Kevin McClory to release a remake of ''Thunderball'' titled ''Never Say Never Again'' in 1983. The film, featuring Sean Connery as Bond, is not part of the Eon James Bond series of films because it is not part of the Bond film franchise from Eon Productions and United Artists, although it is currently owned by United Artists parent MGM. Its original theatrical release in October 1983 actually created a situation in which two Bond movies were playing in cinemas at the same time, as the Eon Bond film, ''Octopussy'' was still playing in cinemas. Since then, MGM has bought the name "James Bond", preventing a repeat of this episode.

Title	Year	Actor	Director	!Total Box Office *	!Budget *	!Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *†
	1967	David Niven
''Never Say Never Again''	1983	Sean Connery	Irvin Kershner
Totals

* ''All figures are in US Dollars'' † ''Figures are inflated to 2008 dollars as of 24 March 2008 figures based on the Consumer Price Index.''

Television programmes

In 1954, CBS paid Ian Fleming for the rights to adapt ''Casino Royale'' into a one hour television adventure as part of their ''Climax!'' series. However, Barry Nelson played a CIA agent named Jimmy Bond, Clarence Leiter was a British agent played by Michael Pate and Peter Lorre was Le Chiffre.

According to Andrew Pixley's notes to ''Danger Man'' Original soundtrack, Ian Fleming collaborated with Ralph Smart to bring James Bond to television, but dropped out taking his creation with him. Ralph Smart went on to develop ''Danger Man'' with Patrick McGoohan who would later turn down the opportunity to play James Bond.

The 1973 BBC documentary ''Omnibus: The British Hero'' featured Christopher Cazenove playing a number of such title characters (e.g. Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond), including James Bond in dramatised scenes from ''Goldfinger'' – notably featuring the hero being threatened with the novel's circular saw, rather than the film's laser beam — and ''Diamonds Are Forever''.

A TV cartoon series James Bond Jr. was produced in 1991 with Corey Burton in the role of the young James Bond.

Radio programmes

In 1956, Bob Holness starred in a South African radio adaptation of ''Moonraker'', making him the second actor to portray James Bond.

In 1990, a radio adaptation of ''You Only Live Twice'' was produced starring Michael Jayston.

Radio adaptations featuring Toby Stephens have been produced, with ''Dr. No'' in 2008 and ''Goldfinger'' in 2010.

Actors

Cultural impact

James Bond has long been a household name and remains a huge influence within the genre. The ''Austin Powers'' series by writer, producer and comedian Mike Myers, and other parodies such as ''Johnny English'' (2003), ''Bons baisers de Hong Kong'', ''OK Connery'', the "Flint" series starring James Coburn as Derek Flint, the "Matt Helm" movies starring Dean Martin, and ''Casino Royale'' (1967) are testaments to Bond's prominence in popular culture.

The Bond series also received many homages and parodies in popular media. The 1960s TV imitations of James Bond such as ''I Spy'', ''Get Smart'', ''Charles Vine'', ''Matt Helm'' and ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' went on to become popular successes in their own right, the last having enjoyed contributions by Fleming towards its creation: the show's lead character, "Napoleon Solo", was named after a character in Fleming's novel ''Goldfinger''; Fleming also suggested the character name April Dancer, which was later used in the spin-off series ''The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.'' A reunion television movie, ''The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' (1983), is notable for featuring a cameo by George Lazenby as James Bond in tribute to Fleming (for legal reasons, the character was credited as "JB").

George Lucas has said on various occasions that Sean Connery's portrayal of Bond was one of the primary inspirations for the Indiana Jones character, a reason Connery was chosen for the role of Indiana's father in the third film of that series.

His association with Aston Martin sports cars has helped further boost the brand's already strong image and popularity since Bond (then played by Sean Connery) first drove an Aston Martin in Goldfinger in 1964. A poll by Lloyds TSB in September 2010 revealed that Aston Martin was the most desired brand of "dream" car in Britain.

Music

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The "James Bond Theme" was written by Monty Norman and was first orchestrated by the John Barry Orchestra for 1962's ''Dr. No'', although the actual authorship of the music has been a matter of controversy for many years. In 2001, Norman won £30,000 in libel damages from the British paper ''The Sunday Times'', which suggested that Barry was entirely responsible for the composition.

Barry did go on to compose the scores for eleven Bond films in addition to his uncredited contribution to ''Dr. No'', and is credited with the creation of "007", used as an alternate Bond theme in several films, as well as the popular orchestrated theme "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Both the "James Bond Theme" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" have been remixed a number of times by popular artists, including Art of Noise, Moby, Paul Oakenfold, and the Propellerheads. The Beatles used a portion of the "Bond theme" in the introduction of their song "Help" as released on the American version of the "Help" LP. The British/Australian string quartet also named bond (purposely in lower case) recorded their own version of the theme, entitled "Bond on Bond."

Barry's legacy was followed by David Arnold, in addition to other well-known composers such as Chris Minear and Corbin Ott and record producers such as George Martin, Bill Conti, Michael Kamen, Marvin Hamlisch and Éric Serra. Arnold is the series' current composer of choice and composed the score for the 22nd Bond film, ''Quantum of Solace''.

A Bond film staple are the theme songs heard during their title sequences sung by well-known popular singers (which have included Tina Turner, Paul McCartney and Wings, Sheryl Crow and Tom Jones, among many others). Shirley Bassey performed three themes in total. After ''Doctor No'', ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' is the only Bond film with a solely instrumental theme, though Louis Armstrong's ballad "We Have All the Time in the World", which serves as Bond and his wife Tracy's love song and whose title is Bond's last line in the film, is considered the unofficial theme. Likewise, although the credit sequence to ''From Russia with Love'' features an instrumental version of the film's theme, another version, with lyrics sung by Matt Monro, can be partially heard within the film itself, and is featured on the film's soundtrack album.

The themes usually share their names with their film. "Nobody Does It Better", the theme for ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', was the first Bond theme not to share its title with that of the movie, although the words "the spy who loved me" do appear in the lyrics. The song is featured in both credit sequences of the film, and in orchestral form throughout. "Nobody Does It Better" was nominated for an Academy Award for "Best Original Song" of 1977, but lost to the theme song to ''You Light Up My Life''. Hamlisch's score for the film was also nominated for an Oscar, but lost to John Williams' score for ''Star Wars''.

The only other Bond themes to be nominated for an Academy Award for best song are "Live and Let Die", written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by their band Wings, and "For Your Eyes Only", written by Bill Conti and Michael Leeson and performed by Sheena Easton, though a few of John Barry's scores have been nominated.

The only Bond theme to reach number one on the pop charts in the U.S. was Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill".

The only singer, to date, to appear within a title sequence is Sheena Easton during ''For Your Eyes Only''. The only singer of a title song to appear as a character within the film itself, to date, is Madonna, who appeared (uncredited) as fencing instructor Verity, as well as contributing the theme for ''Die Another Day''. The title sequence in ''Die Another Day'' is notable, however, for being the only one in which the visuals actually serve to further the plot of the film itself, as opposed to being merely a montage or collage of abstract images related to the film or to the larger James Bond mythos.

The theme song from ''Quantum of Solace'' is Alicia Keys and Jack White's "Another Way to Die", which is the first James Bond theme song to be a duet. It is also the fourth theme song not to reference the name of the movie in its lyrics.

In 1998, Barry's music from ''You Only Live Twice'' was adapted into the hit song "Millennium" by producer and composer Guy Chambers for British recording artist Robbie Williams. The music video features Williams parodying James Bond, and references other Bond films such as ''Thunderball'' and ''From Russia with Love''. It should also be noted that the video was filmed at Pinewood Studios, where most of the Bond films have been made.

In 2004 the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps won the Drum Corps International World Championship with "007," using the music of James Bond as composed by David Arnold. The Cavaliers performed selections from ''GoldenEye'', ''Die Another Day'' ("Hovercraft Theme" and "Welcome to Cuba"), and ''Tomorrow Never Dies''.

Burt Bacharach's score for 1967's ''Casino Royale'' included "The Look Of Love", nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, has become a standard for its era, with the biggest-selling version recorded by Sérgio Mendes and Brasil '66 (#4 on the Billboard pop charts in 1968). It was heard again in ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'', which was to a degree inspired by ''Casino Royale''.

Video games

In 1983, the first Bond video game, developed and published by Parker Brothers, was released for the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200, the Atari 800, the Commodore 64, and the ColecoVision. Since then, there have been numerous video games either based on the films or using original storylines.

Bond video games, however, did not reach their popular stride until 1997's revolutionary ''GoldenEye 007'' by Rare for the Nintendo 64. Subsequently, virtually every Bond video game has attempted to copy the accomplishments and features of ''GoldenEye 007'' to varying degrees of success; even going so far as to have a game entitled ''GoldenEye: Rogue Agent'' that had little to do with either the video game ''GoldenEye 007'' or the film of the same name. Bond himself plays only a minor role in which he is "killed" in the beginning during a 'virtual reality' mission, which served as the first level of the game.

Since acquiring the licence in 1999, Electronic Arts has released eight games, five of which have original stories, including the popular ''Everything or Nothing'', which broke away from the first-person shooter trend that started with ''GoldenEye 007'' (including the games "Agent Under Fire" and "Nightfire") and instead featured a third-person perspective. It also featured well known actors including Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, John Cleese and Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, although several previous games have used Brosnan's likeness as Bond. In 2005, Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of ''From Russia with Love'', another game in the same vein as ''Everything or Nothing''. This was the second game based on a Connery Bond film (the first was a 1980s text adventure adaptation of ''Goldfinger'') and the first to allow the player to play as Bond with the likeness of Sean Connery. Connery himself recorded new voice-overs for the game, the first time the actor had played Bond in twenty-two years.

In 2006, Activision secured the licence to make Bond-related games, briefly sharing but effectively taking over the licence from EA. The deal became exclusive to Activision in September 2007. Activision studio Treyarch has released the new James Bond game "Quantum of Solace" a movie tie in of "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace" it (not unlike "Goldeneye 007") is a first person shooter and it does include a new 'dashing to cover' and 'cover fire' third person game play.

In relation to the twenty-first film in the series Sony Ericsson released a Casino Royale edition of their K800i mobile phone. In this edition, a Java ME game loosely based on the movie was included. Vodafone has also published a game for the same platform called ''007: Hoverchase'' and developed by IOMO.

Activision released a reimagining of the N64 ''GoldenEye 007'', which was released for the Wii and DS in 2010. A number of changes are present in the game, most notable being Daniel Craig playing Bond, rather than Pierce Brosnan, who was Bond in the original game, and the film.

Comic strips and comic books

In 1957 the ''Daily Express'', a newspaper owned by Lord Beaverbrook, approached Ian Fleming to adapt his stories into comic strips. After initial reluctance by Fleming who felt the strips would lack the quality of his writing, agreed and the first strip ''Casino Royale'' was published in 1958. Since then many illustrated adventures of James Bond have been published, including every Ian Fleming novel as well as Kingsley Amis's ''Colonel Sun'', and most of Fleming's short stories. Later, the comic strip produced original stories, continuing until 1983.

Titan Books is presently reprinting these comic strips in an ongoing series of graphic novel-style collections; by the end of 2005 it had completed reprinting all Fleming-based adaptations as well as ''Colonel Sun'' and had moved on to reprinting original stories.

Several comic book adaptations of the James Bond films have been published through the years, as well as numerous original stories.

Most recently, a thinly veiled version of Bond (called only "Jimmy" to avoid copyright issues) appeared in ''The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier''. In this story, Bond is the villain; he chases the heroic duo of Mina Murray and Allan Quatermain across London, aided by disguised versions of Bulldog Drummond ("Hugo Drummond") and Emma Peel ("Miss Night"). Jimmy is portrayed as an unpleasant incompetent servant of the US who only pretends to work with Britain.

Characters

The James Bond series of novels and films have a plethora of allies and villains. Bond's superiors and other officers of the British Secret Service are known by letters, such as M and Q. In the novels, Bond has employed two secretaries, Loelia Ponsonby and Mary Goodnight, who in the films typically have their roles and lines transferred to M's secretary, Miss Moneypenny. Occasionally Bond is assigned to work a case with his good friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter.

Throughout both the novels and the films there have only been a handful of recurring characters. Some of the more memorable ones include Bill Tanner, Rene Mathis, Jack Wade, Jaws and recently Charles Robinson. J.W. Pepper is also a recurring character.

Vehicles and gadgets

Exotic espionage equipment and vehicles are very popular elements of James Bond's literary and cinematic missions. These items often prove critically important to Bond in successfully completing his missions.

Fleming's novels and early screen adaptations presented minimal equipment such as the booby-trapped attaché case in ''From Russia with Love''. In ''Dr. No'', Bond's sole gadgets were a Geiger counter and a wristwatch with a luminous (and radioactive) face. The gadgets, however, assumed a higher profile in the 1964 film ''Goldfinger''. The film's success encouraged further espionage equipment from Q Branch to be supplied to Bond. In the opinion of critics, some Bond films have included too many gadgets and vehicles, such as 1979's science fiction-oriented ''Moonraker'' and 2002's ''Die Another Day''.

James Bond's cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, V8 Vantage (80s), V12 Vanquish and DBS (00s); the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in ''Goldfinger''; it later features in ''Thunderball'', ''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', and ''Casino Royale''. The films have used a number of different Aston Martin DB5s for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 to an unnamed European collector. That specific car was originally sold for £5,000 in 1970.

In Fleming's books, Bond had a penchant for "battleship grey" Bentleys, while Gardner awarded the agent a modified Saab 900 Turbo (nicknamed the Silver Beast) and later a Bentley Mulsanne Turbo.

In the James Bond film adaptations, Bond has been associated with several well-known watches, usually outfitted with high-tech features not found on production models. The Rolex Submariner, one of the few recurring models, was worn by Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, and Timothy Dalton's versions of James Bond. Roger Moore also sported a number of digital watches by Pulsar and Seiko. Pierce Brosnan's and Daniel Craig's James Bonds were both devotees of the Omega Seamaster. The selection of James Bond's watch has been a matter of both style and finance, as product placement agreements with the watch manufacturers have frequently been arranged.

Bond's weapon of choice in the beginning of ''Dr. No'' is an Italian-made Beretta 418 .25 calibre, later replaced by the German-made Walther PPK, chambered in 7.65 mm (a peculiar choice, as Valentin Zukovsky remarks in ''GoldenEye'': the PPK as found in the U.S. and Western Europe is most commonly chambered in .380 ACP). The PPK was used in every subsequent film and became his signature weapon until the ending of ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', when Bond upgraded to the Walther P99. He has subsequently used the P99 pistol in ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', ''The World Is Not Enough'', ''Die Another Day'', and ''Casino Royale''. Strangely, Bond resumed use of the PPK in ''Quantum of Solace'', the direct sequel of ''Casino Royale''.

See also

Shaken, not stirred

Sir Fitzroy MacLean, 1st Baronet

The Battle for Bond

9007 James Bond Asteroid named after the character

References

External links

; Official sites:

James Bond Official Website

Ian Fleming Publications Official Website

Young Bond Official Website

Pinewood Studios – home of Bond

Pinewood Studios Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage Official Website

Ian Fleming's 'Red Indians' – 30AU – Literary James Bond's Wartime unit

;Unofficial sites:

007James – The Site's Bond, James Bond

MI6 – The Home of James Bond

Licensed to Kill – The fan compendium

Category:Characters in British novels of the 20th century Category:Fictional Scottish people Category:Fictional secret agents and spies Category:Media franchises Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1953

ar:جيمس بوند az:Ceyms Bond be:Джэймс Бонд be-x-old:Джэймз Бонд bg:Джеймс Бонд ca:James Bond cs:James Bond cy:James Bond da:James Bond de:James Bond et:James Bond el:Τζέιμς Μποντ es:James Bond eo:James Bond (fikcia universo) eu:James Bond fa:جیمز باند fr:James Bond fy:James Bond gl:James Bond ko:제임스 본드 hi:जेम्स बॉन्ड hr:James Bond id:James Bond is:James Bond it:James Bond he:ג'יימס בונד jv:James Bond kn:ಜೇಮ್ಸ್ ಬಾಂಡ್‌ sw:James Bond ku:James Bond la:Iacobus Bond lv:Džeimss Bonds lb:James Bond lt:Džeimsas Bondas hu:James Bond ml:ജെയിംസ് ബോണ്ട് mr:जेम्स बाँड ms:James Bond nl:James Bond ja:ジェームズ・ボンド no:James Bond nn:James Bond oc:James Bond pl:James Bond pt:James Bond ro:James Bond ru:Джеймс Бонд sq:James Bond si:ජේම්ස් බොන්ඩ් simple:James Bond sk:James Bond sl:James Bond sr:Џејмс Бонд sh:Džejms Bond su:James Bond fi:James Bond sv:James Bond tl:James Bond ta:ஜேம்ஸ் பாண்ட் te:‌జేమ్స్ బాండ్ th:เจมส์ บอนด์ tr:James Bond uk:Джеймс Бонд vi:James Bond bat-smg:James Bond zh:占士邦

Louis Logic (Born, Louis Dorley) is a New York City based underground hip-hop MC. He is a former member of the Demigodz, appearing on a number of tracks on their first album. He has also released albums as a solo artist, and as The Odd Couple with Jay Love. He has recently made his arrangement with longtime producer J.J. Brown official; his most recent album was released under the artist name "Louis Logic & J.J. Brown."

History

He first became interested in hip-hop at the age of eleven when he was exposed to U.T.F.O.'s hit "Roxanne, Roxanne". By his own admission, lyrical talent did not come naturally to him, and he has cited Vinnie Paz (formerly Ikon the Verbal Hologram) for the name which has become Logic's moniker, 'The Drunken Dragon.' In 2002, the Demigodz ''The Godz Must Be Crazy'' EP was released, featuring Logic on a number of tracks.

Louis Logic's solo career took off in 2003 with the release of ''Sin-A-Matic'', which was met with critical acclaim and widespread underground success. In 2004 he withdrew from the Demigodz, citing that his association with the group was overshadowing his solo career, and the fact that his music was developing in a very different direction from the style which made him comfortable with the Godz, who generally value traditional battle-style rhyming over innovation. However, in 2005 Louis Logic made an appearance on long time Demigodz affiliate Majik Most's debut album "Molesting HipHop (released on Domination Recordings). The song entitled "Chicks Don't Mind" was produced by JJ Brown - Logic's primary producer and close friend.

Although he released ''Alcohol/Ism'' later that year as The Odd Couple with Jay Love, his departure from the Demigodz also marked a retreat from collaborative work. His 2006 album with J.J. Brown, ''Misery Loves Comedy'' features no cameos at all by other rappers, although a singer was brought in for one track. ''Misery Loves Comedy'' was Logics first release on his new label, Fatbeats Records.

In September 2006, Louis and J.J. released their first music video for the single "The Great Divide." The video was directed by Jed I. Rosenberg.

Logic is now working on a project with new producers entitled "Spork Kills". It is a total departure from his previous work, as he has expressed his displeasure with the "undergound" hip-hop scene and labels.

Spork Kills' first single was "Night of the Hip N Dead." The video was directed by Donlee Brussel. It premiered on mtvU.

Discography

Albums

''Music to Drink By: A Collection of Loosies & Exclusives'' (2000, Superegular/Pot to Piss In)

''Debacle in a Bottle: A Not Album'' (2002, Pot to Piss In)

''Sin-A-Matic'' (2003)

''Blame It on the Hooch'' (2004)

''Misery Loves Comedy'' (2006)

''Me & Everyone You Know'' (2010, Pot to Piss In)

Collaborations and guest appearances

Viktor Vaughn — ''Open Mic Nite Pt 1'' (2004, Brick)

The Odd Couple — ''Alcohol/Ism'' (2004, Brick)

J.J. Brown and Louis Logic — ''Misery Loves Comedy'' (2006, Fat Beats)

Spork Kills - ''Beaches Loves Us EP'' (2009, See the Cheetah!)

Bugz Burkholder - ''Me & Everyone You Know'' (2010, Pot to Piss In)

References

External links

"Louis Logic: More Than Rap" Interview in ''MVRemix Urban'', September 2008

Category:American rappers Category:Living people Category:Underground rappers

name	Fair Weather
background	group_or_band
origin	England
genre	Hard rock, pop
years active	1970–1971
label	RCA Records
associated acts	Amen Corner
past members	Andy Fairweather Low Blue Weaver Dennis Byron Clive Taylor Neil Jones }}

Fair Weather was a British rock band formed in 1970 by former Amen Corner guitarist and vocalist, Andy Fairweather Low. They are best known for their track, "Natural Sinner".

Biography

The band evolved from a split within Amen Corner. While saxophone player Allan Jones went on to form Judas Jump, Fairweather Low led Dennis Byron (drums), Blue Weaver (organ), Clive Taylor (bass) and Neil Jones (guitar) into the new band, Fair Weather. The band scored a UK Singles Chart Number 6 hit with "Natural Sinner"/"Haven't I Tried (To Be A Good Man)" in 1970 and recorded one album, ''Beginning From An End''. From the latter were drawn three more singles, "Lay It On Me"/"Looking for the Red Label Pt. 2", "Tutti Frutti"/"Road To Freedom" and "Poor Man's Bum A Run"/"Don't Mess With Cupid". None charted and Fair Weather disbanded in 1971.

Fairweather Low went on to a successful solo career before taking up regular work with Eric Clapton, George Harrison and Roger Waters.

Weaver joined Strawbs and became an in-demand session player with Mott the Hoople, Pet Shop Boys and the Bee Gees.

Discography

Albums

''Beginning From An End'' (1971)

*"God Cried Mother"

*"Don' Mess With Cupid"

*"Dead and Past"

*"I Hear You Knocking"

*"You Ain't No Friend"

*"Sit and Think"

*"Looking for the Red Label"

*"Poor Man's Bum a Run"

*"Natural Sinner"

*"Haven't I Tried"

*"Tutti Frutti"

*"Road to Freedom"

*"Lay It on Me"

"Looking for the Red Label, Pt. 2"

''Let Your Mind Roll On'' (1972 - Germany only - Hansa Records; re-released in 2007 by Dynamic Records)

*"Let Your Mind Roll On"

*"Blues Today"

*"Bring Down the Wall"

*"Love My Home"

*"Mona Lisa"

*"Blue Blue Mohair Suit Shuffler"

*"Misfortune by My Goodluck Sign"

*"Hush Hush Push No Evil"

*"Live off the Land"

*"Karate Boogaloo"

"Lay It on Me"

Singles

"Natural Sinner" (1970) - RCA (RCA 1977) - No. 6 UK

"Lay It On Me"

"Tutti Frutti"

"Poor Man's Bum A Run"

See also

List of performers on Top of the Pops

References

External links

[ Album review @ Allmusic.com]

Category:Welsh musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1970 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1971 Category:British hard rock musical groups

nl:Fair Weather

Name	Barack Obama
Alt	A portrait shot of Barack Obama, looking straight ahead. He has short black hair, and is wearing a dark navy blazer with a blue striped tie over a light blue collared shirt. In the background are two flags hanging from separate flagpoles: the American flag, and the flag of the Executive Office of the President.
Office	44th President of the United States
Vicepresident	Joe Biden
Term start	January 20, 2009
Predecessor	George W. Bush
Jr/sr2	United States Senate
State2	Illinois
Term start2	January 3, 2005
Term end2	November 16, 2008
Predecessor2	Peter Fitzgerald
Successor2	Roland Burris
Office3	Member of the Illinois Senate from the 13th District
Term start3	January 8, 1997
Term end3	November 4, 2004
Predecessor3	Alice Palmer
Successor3	Kwame Raoul
Birth name	Barack Hussein Obama II
Birth date	August 04, 1961
Birth place	Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Spouse	Michelle Robinson (1992–present)
Children	Malia (born 1998) Sasha (born 2001)
Residence	White House (Official)Chicago, Illinois (Private)
Alma mater	Occidental CollegeColumbia University (B.A.)Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Community organizerLawyerConstitutional law professorAuthor
Religion	Christianity
Signature	Barack Obama signature.svg
Signature alt	Barack Obama
Website	barackobama.com
Footnotes	}}

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

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the ''Harvard Law Review''. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.

Following an unsuccessful bid against the Democratic incumbent for a seat in the United States House of Representatives in 2000, Obama ran for the United States Senate in 2004. Several events brought him to national attention during the campaign, including his victory in the March 2004 Illinois Democratic primary for the Senate election and his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004. He won election to the U.S. Senate in Illinois in November 2004. His presidential campaign began in February 2007, and after a close campaign in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries against Hillary Rodham Clinton, he won his party's nomination. In the 2008 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee John McCain, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. In October 2009, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

As president, Obama signed economic stimulus legislation in the form of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Other domestic policy initiatives include the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 and the Budget Control Act of 2011. In foreign policy, he ended the war in Iraq, increased troop levels in Afghanistan, signed the New START arms control treaty with Russia, ordered US involvement in the 2011 Libya military intervention, and ordered the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. In April 2011, Obama declared his intention to seek re-election in the 2012 presidential election.

Early life and career

Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital (now Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children) in Honolulu, Hawaii, and is the first President to have been born in Hawaii. His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, and was of mostly English ancestry, along with Scottish, Irish, German, and Swiss. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was a Luo from Nyang’oma Kogelo, Nyanza Province, Kenya. Obama's parents met in 1960 in a Russian class at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where his father was a foreign student on scholarship. The couple married on February 2, 1961, separated when Obama Sr. went to Harvard University on scholarship, and divorced in 1964. Obama Sr. remarried and returned to Kenya, visiting Barack in Hawaii only once, in 1971. He died in an automobile accident in 1982.

After her divorce, Dunham married Indonesian Lolo Soetoro, who was attending college in Hawaii. When Suharto, a military leader in Soetoro's home country, came to power in 1967, all Indonesian students studying abroad were recalled, and the family moved to the Menteng neighborhood of Jakarta. From ages six to ten, Obama attended local schools in Jakarta, including Besuki Public School and St. Francis of Assisi School.

In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Armour Dunham, and with the aid of a scholarship attended Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, from fifth grade until his graduation from high school in 1979. Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972, remaining there until 1977 when she went back to Indonesia to work as an anthropological field worker. She finally returned to Hawaii in 1994 and lived there for one year before dying of ovarian cancer.

Of his early childhood, Obama recalled, "That my father looked nothing like the people around me—that he was black as pitch, my mother white as milk—barely registered in my mind." Reflecting later on his years in Honolulu, Obama wrote: "The opportunity that Hawaii offered—to experience a variety of cultures in a climate of mutual respect—became an integral part of my world view, and a basis for the values that I hold most dear." Obama has also written and talked about using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years to "push questions of who I was out of my mind." At the 2008 Civil Forum on the Presidency, Obama identified his high-school drug use as a great moral failure.

Following high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles in 1979 to attend Occidental College. In February 1981, he made his first public speech, calling for Occidental's disinvestment from South Africa due to its policy of apartheid. In mid-1981, Obama traveled to Indonesia to visit his mother and sister Maya, and visited the families of college friends in Pakistan and India for three weeks. Later in 1981, he transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialty in international relations and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1983. He worked for a year at the Business International Corporation, then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Chicago community organizer and Harvard Law School

Two years after graduating, Obama was hired in Chicago as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Roseland, West Pullman and Riverdale on Chicago's South Side. He worked there as a community organizer from June 1985 to May 1988. He helped set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time in Europe for three weeks and then for five weeks in Kenya, where he met many of his paternal relatives for the first time. He returned in August 2006 for a visit to his father's birthplace, a village near Kisumu in rural western Kenya.

In late 1988, Obama entered Harvard Law School. He was selected as an editor of the ''Harvard Law Review'' at the end of his first year, and president of the journal in his second year. As an editor, Obama delivered a Black History Minutes segment televised by TBS. During his summers, he returned to Chicago, where he worked as an associate at the law firms of Sidley Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990. After graduating with a J.D. ''magna cum laude'' from Harvard in 1991, he returned to Chicago. Obama's election as the first black president of the ''Harvard Law Review'' gained national media attention and led to a publishing contract and advance for a book about race relations, which evolved into a personal memoir. The manuscript was published in mid-1995 as ''Dreams from My Father''.

University of Chicago Law School and civil rights attorney

In 1991, Obama accepted a two-year position as Visiting Law and Government Fellow at the University of Chicago Law School to work on his first book. He then taught at the University of Chicago Law School for twelve years—as a Lecturer from 1992 to 1996, and as a Senior Lecturer from 1996 to 2004—teaching constitutional law.

From April to October 1992, Obama directed Illinois's Project Vote, a voter registration drive with ten staffers and seven hundred volunteer registrars; it achieved its goal of registering 150,000 of 400,000 unregistered African Americans in the state, and led to ''Crain's Chicago Business'' naming Obama to its 1993 list of "40 under Forty" powers to be. In 1993 he joined Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland, a 13-attorney law firm specializing in civil rights litigation and neighborhood economic development, where he was an associate for three years from 1993 to 1996, then of counsel from 1996 to 2004, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002.

From 1994 to 2002, Obama served on the boards of directors of the Woods Fund of Chicago, which in 1985 had been the first foundation to fund the Developing Communities Project; and of the Joyce Foundation. Once elected, Obama gained bipartisan support for legislation reforming ethics and health care laws. He sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures.

Obama was reelected to the Illinois Senate in 1998, defeating Republican Yesse Yehudah in the general election, and was reelected again in 2002. In 2000, he lost a Democratic primary run for the U.S. House of Representatives to four-term incumbent Bobby Rush by a margin of two to one.

In January 2003, Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained, and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms. Obama resigned from the Illinois Senate in November 2004 following his election to the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senate campaign

In May 2002, Obama commissioned a poll to assess his prospects in a 2004 U.S. Senate race; he created a campaign committee, began raising funds and lined up political media consultant David Axelrod by August 2002, and formally announced his candidacy in January 2003.

Obama was an early opponent of the George W. Bush administration's 2003 invasion of Iraq. On October 2, 2002, the day President Bush and Congress agreed on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, Obama addressed the first high-profile Chicago anti-Iraq War rally, and spoke out against the war. He addressed another anti-war rally in March 2003 and told the crowd that "it's not too late" to stop the war. Decisions by Republican incumbent Peter Fitzgerald and his Democratic predecessor Carol Moseley Braun to not participate in the election resulted in wide-open Democratic and Republican primary contests involving fifteen candidates. In the March 2004 primary election, Obama won in an unexpected landslide—which overnight made him a rising star within the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, ''Dreams from My Father''. In July 2004, Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, seen by 9.1 million viewers. His speech was well received and elevated his status within the Democratic Party.

Obama's expected opponent in the general election, Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, withdrew from the race in June 2004. Six weeks later, Alan Keyes accepted the Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In the November 2004 general election, Obama won with 70 percent of the vote.

U.S. Senator: 2005–2008

Obama was sworn in as a senator on January 3, 2005, becoming the only Senate member of the Congressional Black Caucus. ''CQ Weekly'' characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on analysis of all Senate votes in 2005–2007. Obama announced on November 13, 2008, that he would resign his Senate seat on November 16, 2008, before the start of the lame-duck session, to focus on his transition period for the presidency.

Legislation

Obama cosponsored the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. He introduced two initiatives bearing his name: Lugar–Obama, which expanded the Nunn–Lugar cooperative threat reduction concept to conventional weapons; and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, which authorized the establishment of USAspending.gov, a web search engine on federal spending. On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama—along with Senators Tom Carper, Tom Coburn, and John McCain—introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.

Obama sponsored legislation that would have required nuclear plant owners to notify state and local authorities of radioactive leaks, but the bill failed to pass in the full Senate after being heavily modified in committee. Regarding tort reform, Obama voted for the Class Action Fairness Act of 2005 and the FISA Amendments Act of 2008, which grants immunity from civil liability to telecommunications companies complicit with NSA warrantless wiretapping operations.

In December 2006, President Bush signed into law the Democratic Republic of the Congo Relief, Security, and Democracy Promotion Act, marking the first federal legislation to be enacted with Obama as its primary sponsor. In January 2007, Obama and Senator Feingold introduced a corporate jet provision to the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, which was signed into law in September 2007. Obama also introduced Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, and the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007, neither of which has been signed into law.

Later in 2007, Obama sponsored an amendment to the Defense Authorization Act adding safeguards for personality-disorder military discharges. This amendment passed the full Senate in the spring of 2008. He sponsored the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act supporting divestment of state pension funds from Iran's oil and gas industry, which has not passed committee; and co-sponsored legislation to reduce risks of nuclear terrorism. Obama also sponsored a Senate amendment to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, providing one year of job protection for family members caring for soldiers with combat-related injuries.

Committees

Obama held assignments on the Senate Committees for Foreign Relations, Environment and Public Works and Veterans' Affairs through December 2006. In January 2007, he left the Environment and Public Works committee and took additional assignments with Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. He also became Chairman of the Senate's subcommittee on European Affairs. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Obama made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. He met with Mahmoud Abbas before Abbas became President of the Palestinian National Authority, and gave a speech at the University of Nairobi condemning corruption within the Kenyan government.

Presidential campaigns

2008 presidential campaign

On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Springfield, Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was viewed as symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care, in a campaign that projected themes of "hope" and "change".

A large number of candidates entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. The field narrowed to a duel between Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton after early contests, with the race remaining close throughout the primary process but with Obama gaining a steady lead in pledged delegates due to better long-range planning, superior fundraising, dominant organizing in caucus states, and better exploitation of delegate allocation rules. On June 7, 2008, Clinton ended her campaign and endorsed Obama.

On August 23, Obama announced his selection of Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate. Biden was selected from a field speculated to include former Indiana Governor and Senator Evan Bayh and Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Hillary Clinton called for her supporters to endorse Obama, and she and Bill Clinton gave convention speeches in his support. Obama delivered his acceptance speech, not at the center where the Democratic National Convention was held, but at Invesco Field at Mile High to a crowd of over 75,000; the speech was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide.

During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, 2008, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.

McCain was nominated as the Republican candidate and the two engaged in three presidential debates in September and October 2008. On November 4, Obama won the presidency with 365 electoral votes to 173 received by McCain. Obama won 52.9 percent of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7 percent. He became the first African American to be elected president. Obama delivered his victory speech before hundreds of thousands of supporters in Chicago's Grant Park.

2012 presidential campaign

On April 4, 2011, Obama announced his re-election campaign for 2012 in a video titled "It Begins with Us" that he posted on his website and filed election papers with the Federal Election Commission.

Presidency

First days

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President, and Joe Biden as Vice President, took place on January 20, 2009. In his first few days in office Obama issued executive orders and presidential memoranda directing the U.S. military to develop plans to withdraw troops from Iraq. He ordered the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp "as soon as practicable and no later than" January 2010, but during his first two years in office he has been unable to persuade Congress to appropriate funds required to accomplish the shutdown. Obama reduced the secrecy given to presidential records and changed procedures to promote disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. He also reversed George W. Bush's ban on federal funding to foreign establishments that allow abortions.

Domestic policy

The first bill signed into law by Obama was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, relaxing the statute of limitations for equal-pay lawsuits. Five days later, he signed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover an additional 4 million uninsured children. In March 2009, Obama reversed a Bush-era policy which had limited funding of embryonic stem cell research. Obama stated that he believed "sound science and moral values ... are not inconsistent" and pledged to develop "strict guidelines" on the research.

Obama appointed two women to serve on the Supreme Court in the first two years of his Presidency. Sonia Sotomayor, nominated by Obama on May 26, 2009, to replace retiring Associate Justice David Souter, was confirmed on August 6, 2009, becoming the first Hispanic to be a Supreme Court Justice. Elena Kagan, nominated by Obama on May 10, 2010, to replace retiring Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, was confirmed on August 5, 2010, bringing the number of women sitting simultaneously on the Court to three, for the first time in American history.

On September 30, 2009, the Obama administration proposed new regulations on power plants, factories and oil refineries in an attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions and to curb global warming.

On October 8, 2009, Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a measure that expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

On March 30, 2010, Obama signed the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, a reconciliation bill which ends the process of the federal government giving subsidies to private banks to give out federally insured loans, increases the Pell Grant scholarship award, and makes changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

In a major space policy speech in April 2010, Obama announced a planned change in direction at NASA, the U.S. space agency. He ended plans for a return of human spaceflight to the moon and ended development of the Ares I rocket, Ares V rocket and Constellation program. He is focusing funding (which is expected to rise modestly) on Earth science projects and a new rocket type, as well as research and development for an eventual manned mission to Mars. Missions to the International Space Station are expected to continue until 2020.

On December 22, 2010, Obama signed the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010, a bill that provides for repeal of the Don't ask, don't tell policy of 1993 that has prevented gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the United States Armed Forces. Repealing "Don't ask, don't tell" had been a key campaign promise that Obama had made during the 2008 presidential campaign.

On January 25, 2011, in his 2011 State of the Union Address, President Obama focused strongly on the themes of education and innovation, stressing the importance of innovation economics in working to make the United States more competitive globally. Among other plans and goals, Obama spoke of enacting a five-year freeze in domestic spending, eliminating tax breaks for oil companies and tax cuts for the wealthiest two percent of Americans, banning congressional earmarks, and reducing healthcare costs. Looking to the future, Obama promised that by 2015, the United States would have one million electric vehicles on the road and by 2035, clean-energy sources would be providing 80 percent of U.S. electricity.

Economic policy

On February 17, 2009, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a $787 billion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the economy recover from the deepening worldwide recession. The act includes increased federal spending for health care, infrastructure, education, various tax breaks and incentives, and direct assistance to individuals, which is being distributed over the course of several years.

thumb|President Barack Obama signs the ARRA into law on February 17, 2009 in Denver, Colorado. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President Joe Biden stands behind him.]] In March, Obama's Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, took further steps to manage the financial crisis, including introducing the Public-Private Investment Program for Legacy Assets, which contains provisions for buying up to $2 trillion in depreciated real estate assets. Obama intervened in the troubled automotive industry in March 2009, renewing loans for General Motors and Chrysler to continue operations while reorganizing. Over the following months the White House set terms for both firms' bankruptcies, including the sale of Chrysler to Italian automaker Fiat and a reorganization of GM giving the U.S. government a temporary 60 percent equity stake in the company, with the Canadian government shouldering a 12 percent stake. In June 2009, dissatisfied with the pace of economic stimulus, Obama called on his cabinet to accelerate the investment. He signed into law the Car Allowance Rebate System, known colloquially as "Cash for Clunkers", that temporarily boosted the economy.

Although spending and loan guarantees from the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department authorized by the Bush and Obama administrations totaled about $11.5 trillion, only $3 trillion had been spent by the end of November 2009. However, Obama and the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the 2010 budget deficit will be $1.5 trillion or 10.6 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) compared to the 2009 deficit of $1.4 trillion or 9.9 percent of GDP. For 2011, the administration predicted the deficit will slightly shrink to $1.34 trillion, while the 10-year deficit will increase to $8.53 trillion or 90 percent of GDP. The most recent increase in the U.S. debt ceiling to $14.3 trillion was signed into law on February 12, 2010. On August 2, 2011, after a lengthy congressional debate over whether to raise the nation's debt limit, Obama signed the bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2011. The legislation enforces limits on discretionary spending until 2021, establishes a procedure to increase the debt limit, creates a Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to propose further deficit reduction with a stated goal of achieving at least $1.5 trillion in budgetary savings over 10 years, and establishes automatic procedures for reducing spending by as much as $1.2 trillion if legislation originating with the new joint select committee does not achieve such savings. By passing the legislation, Congress was able to prevent an unprecedented U.S. government default on its obligations.

The unemployment rate rose in 2009, reaching a peak in October at 10.1 percent and averaging 10.0 percent in the fourth quarter. Following a decrease to 9.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, the unemployment rate fell to 9.6 percent in the second quarter, where it remained for the rest of the year. Between February and December 2010, employment rose by 0.8 percent, which was less than the average of 1.9 percent experienced during comparable periods in the past four employment recoveries. GDP growth returned in the third quarter of 2009, expanding at a rate of 1.6 percent, followed by a 5.0 percent increase in the fourth quarter. Growth continued in 2010, posting an increase of 3.7 percent in the first quarter, with lesser gains throughout the rest of the year. In July 2010, the Federal Reserve expressed that although economic activity continued to increase, its pace had slowed, and Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that the economic outlook was "unusually uncertain." Overall, the economy expanded at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2010.

The Congressional Budget Office and a broad range of economists credit Obama's stimulus plan for economic growth. The CBO released a report stating that the stimulus bill increased employment by 1–2.1 million, while conceding that "It is impossible to determine how many of the reported jobs would have existed in the absence of the stimulus package." Although an April 2010 survey of members of the National Association for Business Economics showed an increase in job creation (over a similar January survey) for the first time in two years, 73 percent of 68 respondents believed that the stimulus bill has had no impact on employment.

Within a month of the 2010 midterm elections, Obama announced a compromise deal with the Congressional Republican leadership that included a temporary, two-year extension of the 2001 and 2003 income tax rates, a one-year payroll tax reduction, continuation of unemployment benefits, and a new rate and exemption amount for estate taxes. The compromise overcame opposition from some in both parties, and the resulting $858 billion Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 passed with bipartisan majorities in both houses of Congress before Obama signed it on December 17, 2010.

Health care reform

Obama called for Congress to pass legislation reforming health care in the United States, a key campaign promise and a top legislative goal. He proposed an expansion of health insurance coverage to cover the uninsured, to cap premium increases, and to allow people to retain their coverage when they leave or change jobs. His proposal was to spend $900 billion over 10 years and include a government insurance plan, also known as the public option, to compete with the corporate insurance sector as a main component to lowering costs and improving quality of health care. It would also make it illegal for insurers to drop sick people or deny them coverage for pre-existing conditions, and require every American carry health coverage. The plan also includes medical spending cuts and taxes on insurance companies that offer expensive plans.

On July 14, 2009, House Democratic leaders introduced a 1,017-page plan for overhauling the U.S. health care system, which Obama wanted Congress to approve by the end of 2009. After much public debate during the Congressional summer recess of 2009, Obama delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on September 9 where he addressed concerns over the proposals. In March 2009, Obama lifted a ban on stem cell research.

On November 7, 2009, a health care bill featuring the public option was passed in the House. On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed its own bill—without a public option—on a party-line vote of 60–39. On March 21, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed by the Senate in December was passed in the House by a vote of 219 to 212. Obama signed the bill into law on March 23, 2010.

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

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

Gulf of Mexico oil spill

On April 20, 2010, an explosion destroyed an offshore drilling rig at the Macondo Prospect in the Gulf of Mexico, causing a major sustained oil leak. The well's operator, BP, initiated a containment and cleanup plan, and began drilling two relief wells intended to stop the flow. Obama visited the Gulf on May 2 among visits by members of his cabinet, and again on May 28 and June 4. On May 22 he announced a federal investigation and formed a bipartisan commission to recommend new safety standards, after a review by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and concurrent Congressional hearings. On May 27, he announced a 6-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling permits and leases, pending regulatory review. As multiple efforts by BP failed, some in the media and public expressed confusion and criticism over various aspects of the incident, and stated a desire for more involvement by Obama and the federal government.

Foreign policy

In February and March, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made separate overseas trips to announce a "new era" in U.S. foreign relations with Russia and Europe, using the terms "break" and "reset" to signal major changes from the policies of the preceding administration. Obama attempted to reach out to Arab leaders by granting his first interview to an Arab cable TV network, Al Arabiya.

On March 19, Obama continued his outreach to the Muslim world, releasing a New Year's video message to the people and government of Iran. This attempt at outreach was rebuffed by the Iranian leadership. In April, Obama gave a speech in Ankara, Turkey, which was well received by many Arab governments. On June 4, 2009, Obama delivered a speech at Cairo University in Egypt calling for "a new beginning" in relations between the Islamic world and the United States and promoting Middle East peace.

On June 26, 2009, in response to the Iranian government's actions towards protesters following Iran's 2009 presidential election, Obama said: "The violence perpetrated against them is outrageous. We see it and we condemn it." On July 7, while in Moscow, he responded to a Vice President Biden comment on a possible Israeli military strike on Iran by saying: "We have said directly to the Israelis that it is important to try and resolve this in an international setting in a way that does not create major conflict in the Middle East."

On September 24, 2009, Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to preside over a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.

In March 2010, Obama took a public stance against plans by the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue building Jewish housing projects in predominantly Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem. During the same month, an agreement was reached with the administration of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new pact reducing the number of long-range nuclear weapons in the arsenals of both countries by about one-third. The New START treaty was signed by Obama and Medvedev in April 2010, and was ratified by the U.S. Senate in December 2010.

Iraq War

On February 27, 2009, Obama declared that combat operations in Iraq would end within 18 months. His remarks were made to a group of Marines preparing for deployment to Afghanistan. Obama said, "Let me say this as plainly as I can: By August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end." The Obama administration scheduled the withdrawal of combat troops to be completed by August 2010, decreasing troops levels from 142,000 while leaving a transitional force of 35,000 to 50,000 in Iraq until the end of 2011. On August 19, 2010, the last United States combat brigade exited Iraq. The plan is to transition the mission of the remaining troops from combat operations to counter-terrorism and the training, equipping, and advising of Iraqi security forces. On August 31, 2010, Obama announced that the United States combat mission in Iraq was over. On October 21, 2011 President Obama announced that all U.S. troops would leave Iraq in time to be, "home for the holidays".

War in Afghanistan

Early in his presidency, Obama moved to bolster U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan. He announced an increase to U.S. troop levels of 17,000 in February 2009 to "stabilize a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan", an area he said had not received the "strategic attention, direction and resources it urgently requires". He replaced the military commander in Afghanistan, General David D. McKiernan, with former Special Forces commander Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal in May 2009, indicating that McChrystal's Special Forces experience would facilitate the use of counterinsurgency tactics in the war. On December 1, 2009, Obama announced the deployment of an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan. He also proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date. McChrystal was replaced by David Petraeus in June 2010, after McChrystal's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article.

Israel

During the initial years of the Obama administration, the U.S. increased military cooperation with Israel, including a record number of U.S. troops participating in military exercises in the country, increased military aid, and the re-establishment of the U.S.-Israeli Joint Political Military Group and the Defense Policy Advisory Group. It was reported high-ranking defense officials from both countries had been making an unusual number of trips between the two countries, including Ehud Barak. Part of the military aid increase in 2010 was to fund Israel's missile defense shield. Before his retirement in September 2011, Adm. Mike Mullen, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made four trips to Israel during his four-year tenure, two of them in 2010. Prior to 2007 no Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had done so for over ten years.

In 2011, Obama's Ambassador to the United Nations vetoed a resolution condemning Israeli settlements, with the U.S. the only nation on the Security Council doing so. Like previous American presidential administrations, Obama supports the two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the 1967 borders with land swaps.

Libya

In March 2011, as forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi advanced on rebels across Libya, formal calls for a no-fly zone came in from around the world, including Europe, the Arab League, and a resolution passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate. In response to the unanimous passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 on March 17, Gaddafi who had previously vowed to "show no mercy" to the citizens of Benghazi—announced an immediate cessation of military activities, yet reports came in that his forces continued shelling Misrata. The next day, on Obama's orders, the U.S. military took a lead role in air strikes to destroy the Libyan government's air defense capabilities in order to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly-zone, including the use of Tomahawk missiles, B-2 Spirits, and fighter jets. Six days later, on March 25, by unanimous vote of all of its 28 members, NATO took over leadership of the effort, dubbed Operation Unified Protector. Some Representatives questioned whether Obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath.

|filename=050111 Osama Bin Laden Death Statement audioonly.ogg |title=President Obama announces the death of Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011. |description= }}

Osama bin Laden

Starting with information received in July 2010, intelligence developed by the CIA over the next several months determined what they believed to be the location of Osama bin Laden in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad. CIA head Leon Panetta reported this intelligence to President Obama in March 2011. Meeting with his national security advisers over the course of the next six weeks, Obama rejected a plan to bomb the compound, and authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by United States Navy SEALs. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, resulting in the death of bin Laden and the seizure of papers and computer drives and disks from the compound. Bin Laden's body was identified through DNA testing, and buried at sea several hours later. Within minutes of the President's announcement from Washington, DC, late in the evening on May 1, there were spontaneous celebrations around the country as crowds gathered outside the White House, and at New York City's Ground Zero and Times Square. Reaction to the announcement was positive across party lines, including from former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and from many countries around the world.

2010 midterm election

Obama called the November 2, 2010 election, where the Democratic Party lost 63 seats in, and control of, the House of Representatives, "humbling" and a "shellacking". He said that the results came because not enough Americans had felt the effects of the economic recovery.

Cultural and political image

Obama's family history, upbringing, and Ivy League education differ markedly from those of African American politicians who launched their careers in the 1960s through participation in the civil rights movement. Obama is also not a descendant of American slaves. Expressing puzzlement over questions about whether he is "black enough", Obama told an August 2007 meeting of the National Association of Black Journalists that "we're still locked in this notion that if you appeal to white folks then there must be something wrong". Obama acknowledged his youthful image in an October 2007 campaign speech, saying: "I wouldn't be here if, time and again, the torch had not been passed to a new generation."

Obama is frequently referred to as an exceptional orator. During his pre-inauguration transition period and continuing into his presidency, Obama has delivered a series of weekly Internet video addresses.

According to the Gallup Organization, Obama began his presidency with a 68 percent approval rating before gradually declining for the rest of the year, and eventually bottoming out at 41 percent in August 2010, a trend similar to Ronald Reagan's and Bill Clinton's first years in office. He experienced a small poll bounce shortly after the death of Osama bin Laden, which lasted until around June 2011, when his approval numbers dropped back to where they were prior to the operation. Polls show strong support for Obama in other countries, and before being elected President he has met with prominent foreign figures including then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Italy's Democratic Party leader and then Mayor of Rome Walter Veltroni, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

In a February 2009 poll conducted by Harris Interactive for France 24 and the ''International Herald Tribune'', Obama was rated as the most respected world leader, as well as the most powerful. In a similar poll conducted by Harris in May 2009, Obama was rated as the most popular world leader, as well as the one figure most people would pin their hopes on for pulling the world out of the economic downturn.

Obama won Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Awards for abridged audiobook versions of ''Dreams from My Father'' in February 2006 and for ''The Audacity of Hope'' in February 2008. His concession speech after the New Hampshire primary was set to music by independent artists as the music video "Yes We Can", which was viewed 10 million times on YouTube in its first month and received a Daytime Emmy Award. In December 2008, ''Time'' magazine named Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments".

On October 9, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". Obama accepted this award in Oslo, Norway on December 10, 2009, with "deep gratitude and great humility." The award drew a mixture of praise and criticism from world leaders and media figures. Obama is the fourth U.S. president to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and the third to become a Nobel laureate while in office.

Family and personal life

In a 2006 interview, Obama highlighted the diversity of his extended family: "It's like a little mini-United Nations", he said. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." Obama has a half-sister with whom he was raised, Maya Soetoro-Ng, the daughter of his mother and her Indonesian second husband and seven half-siblings from his Kenyan father's family – six of them living. Obama's mother was survived by her Kansas-born mother, Madelyn Dunham, until her death on November 2, 2008, two days before his election to the Presidency. Obama also has roots in Ireland; he met with his Irish cousins in Moneygall in May 2011. In ''Dreams from My Father'', Obama ties his mother's family history to possible Native American ancestors and distant relatives of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.

Obama was known as "Barry" in his youth, but asked to be addressed with his given name during his college years. Besides his native English, Obama speaks Indonesian at the conversational level, which he learned during his four childhood years in Jakarta. He plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team.

Obama is a well known supporter of the Chicago White Sox, and threw out the first pitch at the 2005 ALCS when he was still a senator. In 2009, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the all star game while wearing a White Sox jacket. He is also primarily a Chicago Bears fan in the NFL, but in his childhood and adolesence was a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and recently rooted for them ahead of their victory in Super Bowl XLIII 12 days after Obama took office as President.

In June 1989, Obama met Michelle Robinson when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. Assigned for three months as Obama's adviser at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial requests to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married on October 3, 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born on July 4, 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), on June 10, 2001. The Obama daughters attended the private University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. When they moved to Washington, D.C., in January 2009, the girls started at the private Sidwell Friends School. The Obamas have a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo, a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy.

Applying the proceeds of a book deal, the family moved in 2005 from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to a $1.6 million house in neighboring Kenwood, Chicago. The purchase of an adjacent lot—and sale of part of it to Obama by the wife of developer, campaign donor and friend Tony Rezko—attracted media attention because of Rezko's subsequent indictment and conviction on political corruption charges that were unrelated to Obama.

In December 2007, ''Money'' magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million. Their 2009 tax return showed a household income of $5.5 million—up from about $4.2 million in 2007 and $1.6 million in 2005—mostly from sales of his books.

Obama tried to quit smoking several times, sometimes using nicotine replacement therapy, and, in early 2010, Michelle Obama said that he had successfully quit smoking.

Religious views

Obama is a Christian whose religious views developed in his adult life. He wrote in ''The Audacity of Hope'' that he "was not raised in a religious household". He described his mother, raised by non-religious parents (whom Obama has specified elsewhere as "non-practicing Methodists and Baptists"), to be detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known". He described his father as "raised a Muslim", but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful". Obama explained how, through working with black churches as a community organizer while in his twenties, he came to understand "the power of the African-American religious tradition to spur social change".

In an interview with the evangelical periodical ''Christianity Today'', Obama stated: "I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life."

On September 27, 2010, Obama released a statement commenting on his religious views saying "I'm a Christian by choice. My family didn't—frankly, they weren't folks who went to church every week. And my mother was one of the most spiritual people I knew, but she didn't raise me in the church. So I came to my Christian faith later in life, and it was because the precepts of Jesus Christ spoke to me in terms of the kind of life that I would want to lead—being my brothers' and sisters' keeper, treating others as they would treat me."

Obama was baptized at the Trinity United Church of Christ, a black liberation church, in 1988, and was an active member there for two decades. Obama resigned from Trinity during the Presidential campaign after controversial statements made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright became public. After a prolonged effort to find a church to attend regularly in Washington, Obama announced in June 2009 that his primary place of worship would be the Evergreen Chapel at Camp David.

Philanthropy

Obama makes regular donations to charitable organizations. 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.

Notes

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References

Further reading

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

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

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

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

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

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

External links

;Official

President Barack Obama ''White House official website''

BarackObama.com (official re-election campaign website)

;Other

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

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