Obama’s parents were Barack Obama, Sr., and Ann Dunham. Obama married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson in 1989. They have two daughters, Sasha and Malia.

Legacy

Promoting a message of hope and change throughout his 2008 campaign, Obama electrified voters at home and observers around the globe as he promised to end the war in Iraq, reinvigorate the economy, modernize health care, invest in early childhood education, and promote the use of alternative fuels and renewable energy. With an education in constitutional law and years of experience working as a community organizer, state senator, and senator, our first African American president enters the executive office with both knowledge and practical experience. Yet, his administration faces many daunting challenges as the global economy continues to sink into recession and military conflicts continue not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also in Gaza. Obama maintains a positive attitude regarding the challenges that await him. In his weekly address to the nation during the first week of January, Obama reaffirmed his positive stance regarding the future, “We are a people of boundless industry and ingenuity.We are innovators and entrepreneurs and have the most dedicated and productive workers in the world. And we have always triumphed in moments of trial by drawing on that great American spirit—that perseverance, determination and unyielding commitment to opportunity on which our nation was founded. And in this new year, let us resolve to do so once again.”

Quotes

“Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.” (Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention, July 27, 2004)

“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.” (November 4, 2008)

“Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many.  They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met. On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics. We remain a young nation.  But in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.” (Inaugural Address, January 20, 2009)

At This Time

2009: In January Russia shuts off all gas supplies to Europe through Ukraine, instigating an international energy dispute • Israel begins battling Hamas militants in heavy urban warfare near and around the main city of the Gaza Strip • Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is convicted on charges of fraud and soliciting bribes and removed from office.

The name “Barack” means “one who is blessed” in Swahili.

Obama was a world traveler before he even started junior high. His parents met while they were both students at the University of Hawaii. His father was born and raised in a small village in Kenya, and his mother grew up in a small town in Kansas. Obama was born in Hawaii and lived there until he was six years old. Obama’s parents separated when he was only two years old, and his mother remarried four years later. The new marriage took them to Jakarta, Indonesia, on the other side of the world from the United States. Obama learned to speak Indonesian and excelled in his Indonesian school, but his mother believed he could get an even better education in the United States. So, Obama returned to Hawaii and lived with his grandparents so he could attend a private school.

www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php (Biographical information, as well as the transcripts of all of Obama’s speeches.)
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/obama (Biographical information, essays, and access to Obama’s presidential speeches sponsored by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia.)
www.whitehouse.gov/administration/president_obama/ (Short essay about Obama, as well as information about his administration.)

Check back for more information as it becomes available.