Barack Obama profile picture

Barack Obama

Barack Obama

About Me

Barack Obama has dedicated his life to public service as a community organizer, civil rights attorney, and leader in the Illinois state Senate. Obama now continues his fight for working families following his recent election to the United States Senate.Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Senator Obama is focused on promoting economic growth and bringing good paying jobs to Illinois. Obama serves on the important Environment and Public Works Committee, which oversees legislation and funding for the environment and public works projects throughout the country, including the national transportation bill. He also serves on the Veterans ’ Affairs Committee where he is focused on investigating the disability pay discrepancies that have left thousands of Illinois veterans without the benefits they earned. Senator Obama will also serve on the Foreign Relations Committee.During his seven years in the Illinois state Senate, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans to help working families get ahead by creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit, which in three years provided over $100 million in tax cuts to families across the state. Obama also pushed through an expansion of early childhood education, and after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Senator Obama enlisted the support of law enforcement officials to draft legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.Obama is especially proud of being a husband and father of two daughters, Malia, 8 and Sasha, 4. Obama and his wife, Michelle, married in 1992 and live on Chicago ’s South Side where they attend Trinity United Church of Christ.Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961, in Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. and Ann Dunham. Obama graduated from Columbia University in 1983, and moved to Chicago in 1985 to work for a church-based group seeking to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued with crime and high unemployment. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard Law School where he was the first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review. whateverlife.com

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

Everyone is invited to be my friend. I want to know what the American people want from their government.

Movies:

Senator Obama is committed to providing every American with the opportunity to receive a quality education, from pre-kindergarten to college or vocational school to job retraining programs.Technology has created a quiet revolution by breaking down barriers and connecting the world's economies. Businesses have the ability to move jobs wherever there is an Internet connection. Countries like India and China start schooling their children earlier, keep them in school longer, and have a strategic emphasis on math, science, and technology. The importance of educating American children for the global economy was the subject of a commencement address that Senator Obama delivered in June 2005 at Knox College.Senator Obama believes that we must do the same here in America. States and local school districts, as well as parents, teachers, and students must take the lead. The federal government must fund its mandates and assist in identifying and expanding the best programs.However, there is no substitute for strong parental involvement. Because education begins at home, parents must set high standards and inspirational examples for their children. As a father, Senator Obama believes we need to find the time and the energy to help our kids love learning. Parents can read to their children, discuss what they read, and make time for this by turning off the TV.

Books:

Washington D.C. Office 713 Hart Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 (202) 224-2854 (202) 228-4260 fax (202 228-1404 TDD

Heroes:

Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln

My Blog

Statement of Senator Obama on Zimbabwe

Mr. President, the events of the last few days in Zimbabwe are outrageous and warrant universal condemnation. It is time for the government of Robert Mugabe to cease its repressive and divisive action...
Posted by Barack Obama on Fri, 13 Apr 2007 06:57:00 PST

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama on the Iraq War

On Thursdays, Senator Durbin and I hold a constituent coffee so we can hear from the folks back home. A young man came a few months ago who was about 25, 26 years old. He had been back from Iraq for a...
Posted by Barack Obama on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 11:28:00 PST

Obama Comes to Rockford

Senator Barack Obama wants to know what's important in our community. So the freshman Senator hosted a town hall meeting Saturday at Rock Valley College. "We should begin a phased withdrawal and we s...
Posted by Barack Obama on Sun, 08 Oct 2006 10:10:00 PST

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama on the Military Commission Legislation

Thursday, September 28, 2006 Statement for the Record Mr. President, I am proud to be sponsoring this amendment with the senior senator from West Virginia. He's absolutely right that Congress has ab...
Posted by Barack Obama on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:31:00 PST

Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama on S.2271 - USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization

Thursday, February 16, 2006Mr. President, four years ago, following one of the most devastating attacks in our nation's history, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act to give our nation's law enforcemen...
Posted by Barack Obama on Thu, 28 Sep 2006 07:30:00 PST

Ethics and Lobbying Reform

Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has been a leader in fighting for open and honest government. During his first year as an Illinois State Senator, he helped lead the fight to pass Illinoi...
Posted by Barack Obama on Sat, 23 Sep 2006 11:08:00 PST

Bloggers help Obama pass Senate pork bill

By William Neikirk - Chicago Tribune WASHINGTON -- Teamed with Republican Sen. Tom Coburn, Sen. Barack Obama has scored the biggest legislative victory of his Senate career on a bill to establish fed...
Posted by Barack Obama on Thu, 14 Sep 2006 11:38:00 PST

Next step: pressuring U.S. on Sudan

Chicago Sun-Times N'DJAMENA, Chad -- Sen. Barack Obama departed this capital city Sunday morning on an Army military aircraft to Frankfort, Germany, to catch a commercial flight back to the United Sta...
Posted by Barack Obama on Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:23:00 PST

The imperfections of man

Chicago Tribune EditorialBeing Barack Obama means having to dampen expectations at every turn--here and everywhere he goes. Before he was even sworn in to the Senate he got questions about a president...
Posted by Barack Obama on Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:14:00 PST

Xavier University Commencement Address

Remarks of Senator Barack ObamaNew Orleans, Louisiana Good afternoon President Francis, the Board of Trustees, faculty, parents, family, friends, and the Class of 2006. I want to start by thanking yo...
Posted by Barack Obama on Sat, 26 Aug 2006 01:29:00 PST