Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i in 1961. He attended Occidental College and
Columbia University, and went on to Harvard Law School. After Harvard,
Obama moved to Chicago where in 1993 he became a lecturer at the
University of Chicago Law School. In 1996, Obama ran for the state
Senate and was unopposed in the decisive Democratic primary. He lost a
2000 challenge in the 1st District Democratic primary against Rep.
Bobby Rush. Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald did not seek
re-election in 2004, and Obama entered a crowded primary. He won 53% of
the vote in an eight-candidate race and went on to win the general
election against Alan Keyes by 43 points, the widest victory margin in
Illinois history. Senator Obama currently serves on the Environment
& Public Works, Foreign Relations, and Veterans' Affairs Committees(2006 Almanac of American Politics).
"America’s stagnation in educational progress threatens the country’s long-term economic and sociological prospects [according to research] ... If you look at Barack Obama’s education proposals—especially his
emphasis on early childhood—you see that they flow naturally and
persuasively from this research." >>Read Op-ED —David Brooks, Op-Ed columnist, "The Biggest Issue," The New York Times (July 29, 2008)
"In
the 2008 campaign, affordable, universal health care for every single
American must not be a question of whether, it must be a question of
how. We have the ideas, we have the resources, and we will have
universal health care in this country by the end of the next
president's first term."
—Washington, DC (12/25/07)
"We know that as progressives we believe in affordable health care for all
Americans, and that we're going to make sure that Americans don't have
to choose between a health care plan that bankrupts the government and
one that bankrupts families, the party that won't just throw a few tax
breaks at families who can't afford their insurance, but will modernize
our health care system and give every family a chance to buy insurance
at a price they can afford."
—Annual 2006 Take Back America Conference (06/14/06)
Videos
Barack Obama talks about his plan for improving the nation's schools and making college more affordable.
Barack Obama discusses his healthcare plan, and tells the personal story of a supporter in Iowa City on May 29, 2007.
Speeches
"When I'm President, we'll rally this country to the cause of world-class
education. That means putting our kids on a pathway to success with
universal, quality, affordable early childhood education. That means
paying our teachers more, and making sure they're not just teaching to
the test - but teaching art and music and literature." —The Past Versus the Future (Denver, CO 02/30/08)
"In recent years, states have been able to enroll nearly one million four
year olds in pre-Kindergarten programs. That's a great success, but I
believe we can do better. We need to enroll more children and we need
to start at an even earlier age." —Our Kids, Our Future (Manchester, NH 11/20/07)
"The ideal of a public education has always been at the heart of the
American promise. It's why we are committed to fixing and improving our
public schools instead of abandoning them and passing out vouchers." —National Education Assn speech (Philadephia, PA 07/05/07)
"I don't want to send another generation of American children to
failing schools. I don't want that future for my daughters. I don't
want that future for your sons. I do not want that future for America." —Address at Jefferson-Jackson Dinner (Des Moines, Iowa 11/10/07)
Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i in 1961. He attended Occidental College and
Columbia University, and went on to Harvard Law School. After Harvard,
Obama moved to Chicago where in 1993 he became a lecturer at the
University of Chicago Law School. In 1996, Obama ran for the state
Senate and was unopposed in the decisive Democratic primary. He lost a
2000 challenge in the 1st District Democratic primary against Rep.
Bobby Rush. Incumbent Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald did not seek
re-election in 2004, and Obama entered a crowded primary. He won 53% of
the vote in an eight-candidate race and went on to win the general
election against Alan Keyes by 43 points, the widest victory margin in
Illinois history. Senator Obama currently serves on the Environment
& Public Works, Foreign Relations, and Veterans' Affairs Committees (2006 Almanac of American Politics).
