Barack Obama

Barack Obama
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“In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope? ”
Full Name
Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
Desired Office
Party
Democrat
Family Members
Wife: Michelle; Children: Malia, Sasha
Birthdate
August 5, 1961
Birthplace
Honolulu, Hawaii
Religion
United Church of Christ
Education
JD, Harvard Law School, 1991; BA, Columbia University, 1993
Professional Experience
Attorney; Lecturer
Political Experience
United States Senator, 2005-present; Keynote Speaker, 2004 Democratic National Convention; Senator, Illinois State Senate, 1996-2004

Contact Information

Office Address
713 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC, Washington, D.C. 20510 United States
Office Website
Office Phone Number
202-224-1404
Office Contact Link
Campaign Offices
PO Box 8102
Chicago, IL 60680 United States
Campaign Website
Campaign Phone Number
312-819-2008
Campaign Contact Link

Campaign Feeds

Candidate Responses

Favors abortion rights

In a recent Democratic Presidential Debate, Obama said, "I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don't make them casually. And I trust the women to make these decisions in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy."

Obama supports civil unions but not gay marriage. He voted against the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

In a press release after the vote, he said, "I personally believe that marriage is between a man and a women. But I also agree with most Americans, including Vice President Cheney and over 2,000 religious leaders of all different beliefs, that decisions about marriage should be left to the states as they always have been."

Opposes same-sex marriage, but supports civil unions

"You know what I would do is immediately set up a civil union that is equal in federal rights so that all the states, all the rights that are conferred by the states are the same for gays and lesbians, same sex couples as for any other couple," he said on the Ellen Degeneres show. "In terms of marriage, what I would do is I would say each religious denomination can make their own decision."

Opposed use of military force in Iraq and voted for war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. forces by March 2008. Supports capping troop levels at 130,000.

During an interview with Larry King, Obama said "We're going to have to secure our borders ... I think all Americans think that we should be able to regulate who comes in and out of this country."

Your opinion

Yahoo! Politics

  • McCain vows to back changes to disabilities law (AP) Sat, 07/26/2008 - 4:36pm

    Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain speaks at a town hall meeting while on the campaign trail in the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts July 23, 2008 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. White House hopeful Barack Obama denied Saturday his adulation-soaked foreign tour amounted to a premature victory lap, but admitted it could see him take a short term dip in opinion polls back home.(AFP/Getty Images/File/William Thomas Cain)AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is pledging support for a proposal to expand protections for disabled people under an 18-year-old landmark civil rights law.


  • Anti-immigration groups go green (Politico) Sat, 07/26/2008 - 3:58pm
    Politico - Readers of the Nation and other left-leaning magazines may have noticed a new addition to the usual advertisements — full-page advocacy ads by an ad hoc coalition of anti-immigration organizations.
  • Obama defends tour, says McCain shifting on war (AP) Sat, 07/26/2008 - 3:27pm

    Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, waves to the media as he leaves 10 Downing Street after a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London, Saturday, July 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)AP - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama brushed aside Republican criticism of his overseas trip on Saturday and stood outside the famed 10 Downing Street to say that both President Bush and Sen. John McCain were moving his way on the key issues of Iraq and Afghanistan.


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