A blog exploring the life and Presidency of Barack Obama.
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Early Life
Barack Hussein Obama II was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. His mother, Ann Dunham, was a white American from Wichita, Kansas; his father, Barack Obama Sr., was a black Kenyan studying in the United States. Obama’s parents met while both were attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student on a scholarship. The couple married on February 2, 1961, and Obama was born six months later. In 1963, Dunham filed for divorce; the marriage technically remained intact until Barack Sr.’s death in 1982. Obama’s father went on to marry another woman and have two more children.
Education
Barack Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Ann Dunham and Barack Obama Sr. He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years before transferring to Columbia University in New York City, where he graduated with a degree in political science. In 1983, he began working as a community organizer in Chicago. Four years later, he entered Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he returned to Chicago to practice law.
Career
Barack Obama is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency. He previously served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008. Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state. Raised largely in Hawaii, he also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago. In 1988, he enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and an academic, teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. He represented Illinois’s 13th district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2004. During his first term as president, Obama signed into law economic stimulus legislation in response to the Great Recession in an attempt to revive the U.S. economy and mitigate job losses associated with it; within his first 100 days of office he had also signed multiple executive orders designed to close Guantanamo Bay detention camp permanently and improve transparency surrounding it while establishing standards by which detainees could be tried going forward if they were kept there temporarily under executive authority until Congress could pass legislation properly authorizing their detention or trial elsewhere; made moves towards repealing “Don’t ask don’t tell”, which prevented openly gay people serving openly in uniform within the United States Armed Forces; ended U.S.’s combat role within Iraq subsequent to that country’s parliamentary approval of Status of Forces Agreement with Iraq; ordered international military intervention in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi while Gaddafi’s forces were attacking Libyan rebels during Libyan Civil War; and authorized operation that resulted in killing Osama bin Laden during raid on Abbottabad compound where bin Laden was living by members of United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group and United States Army Special Operations Forces under overall command of then-CIA director and United States counter-terrorism coordinator Leon Panetta without any prior congressional authorization although some members were briefed on operation beforehand since it posed unique circumstances requiring decisions without time for congressional involvement due some members potentially leaking authorization request to media which could prompt bin Laden moving locations before raid could be conducted thereby diminishing chances for success as well as American lives being put at greater risk if mission failed resulting Taliban later using unauthorization by Congress as justification for not holding peace talks with United States until after 2014 withdrawal date set by Status of Forces Agreement between United States and Afghanistan subsequently signed by President Hamid Karzai on May 27, 2012; renewed Patriot Act while expanding government’s domestic surveillance capabilities; appointed two liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to vacant positions on Supreme Court thereby solidifying court’s liberal majority replacing more conservative Justices David Souter and John Paul Stevens respectively retired during Obama’s tenure with court subsequently issuing rulings that overturned District of Columbia v Heller which had recognized an individual right under Second Amendment for civilians owning handguns thereby lifting D.C.’s then-existing ban on handgun ownership making it unconstitutional since it violated said right now recognized by court; National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 which included controversial provision commonly referred to section 1021 or commonly known as indefinite detention clause subsequent passage into law prompted multiple lawsuits challenging constitutionality especially since said provision authorized detention without trial indefinitely even for American citizens arrested on American soil although administration later issued signing statement indicating president did not believe such broad Detention Clause authority existed saying “I reject any approach that would authorize indefinite military detention without trial” but DID NOT veto bill due numerous other provisions President wanted included most notably came at time when administration was winding down War on Terror started by previous administration post 9/11 therefore wartime powers already granted through Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) passed September 18th 2001 allowing use “all necessary and appropriate force” now being used less after winding down multiple wars started by 9/11 AUMF while transferring power back towards CIA rather than military when conducting counterterrorism operations against Al Qaeda going forward per Administration policy white paper leaked February 5th 2013 although some groups such detaining Americans indefinitely would still technically be possible albeit unlikely scenario given current public mood towards paranoids post 9/11 demanding overreach government never agree do something like that again given allhell breaking loose likely occur if such thing ever attempted again politically speaking…at least not without another Pearl Harbor style attack giving them plausible deniability get away it again;”
Political Views
Barack Obama is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to be elected to the presidency. He previously served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois from 2005 to 2008.
Family Life
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham. His parents divorced when he was two years old, and he was raised by his mother and her second husband, Lolo Soetoro.Obama’s half sister Maya Soetoro-Ng is two years younger than he is. As a child, Obama attended elementary school in Jakarta before returning to Hawaii to attend Punahou School from the fifth grade until his graduation from high school in 1979. He then studied at Occidental College for two years before transferring to Columbia University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1983. In the early 1980s, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago. He subsequently attended Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review before graduating with a Juris Doctor degree in 1991.
Religion
Born in 1961, Barack Obama was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. His mother was a Christian, and his father was a Muslim. However, Obama did not practice any religion as a child. When he was young, his family moved to Kenya, where his grandfather was a tribal chief. There, Obama became interested in the Muslim faith and began attending a madrassa, or Islamic school.
In 1971, Obama returned to the United States to attend college. He majored in political science and later attended law school. After graduation, he became a civil rights lawyer and community organizer in Chicago. In 2004, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and in 2008 he became the 44th president of the United States.
As president, Obama has continued to identify as a Christian. He is a member of the United Church of Christ and attends church regularly with his family.
Personal Life
Barack Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He spent his childhood between Hawaii and Indonesia, before attending Occidental College in Los Angeles. In 1983, Obama transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he graduated with a degree in political science. After working as a community organizer and lawyer, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996. He became a U.S. Senator in 2004, and was elected President of the United States in 2008. Obama was re-elected to a second term in 2012.
During his time as President, Obama worked towards achieving healthcare reform, reducing the number of American troops overseas, and increasing government transparency. He also worked to improve relations with foreign countries, and made significant progress on reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. In 2016, Obama announced that he would not be seeking a third term as President.
Legacy
Barack Obama is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have been elected to the presidency and is considered a political icon. During his time in office, Obama made history with a number of policies and initiatives, including the Affordable Care Act, which provided millions of Americans with health insurance, and the legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide. He also helped broker a nuclear deal with Iran, led the country through difficult economic times, and oversaw the military operation that killed Osama bin Laden. After leaving office, Obama remained active in politics, campaigning for Democrats in the 2018 midterm elections. He also started a number of initiatives, including the Obama Foundation, which is devoted to empowering young people around the world.
Quotes
“My story is the American story. That I’m an African American in America, but I’m also a descendant of slaves who worked on plantations in America. I’m also the descendant of people who fought for freedom in America.”
“The work of democracy has always been to move forward towards a more perfect union. For our Nation, that means making sure our economy works for everybody, not just a wealthy few.”
“Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.”
Books
Obama has written three bestselling books: Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance (1995), The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream (2006), and Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters (2010).
