|
Age: 47
Family: wife, Michelle; children, Sasha and Malia
Education: Columbia University, Harvard University
Profession: U.S. senator from Illinois
Personal history: Obama was raised by a single mother and his grandparents. His father was born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He served in the Illinois State Senate for eight years. He ran for a U.S. House seat in 2000 but lost the primary to former Black Panther Bobby Rush. In November 2004, he won the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois, defeating Alan Keyes.
Top issues: supported the $700-billion Wall Street bailout package, opposed use of military force in Iraq, supports the goal of the No Child Left Behind Act but says it has flaws, voted to authorize construction of a 700-mile fence along the U.S.-Mexican border.
| 
