Barack Hussein Obama, Jr., is the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. He is the only African American currently in the U.S. Senate.
Obama was born in Honolulu to a Kenyan father and an American mother. He lived most of his early life in Hawaii. From ages 6-10, he lived in Jakarta, Indonesia.
A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, Obama worked as a community organizer, university lecturer, and civil rights lawyer before running for public office.
He served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Congress in 2000, he ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, winning in a landslide.
Obama delivered a key address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Barack Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
From 2005 on, Barack Obama has sponsored legislation on lobbying and electoral fraud, climate change, nuclear terrorism, and care for returned U.S. military personnel.
Since announcing his presidential campaign in February 2007, Barack Obama has emphasized ending the war in Iraq, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care as major priorities.
He has been married to Michelle Obama since 1992. Barack and Michelle Obama have two daughters, Malia (born 1999) and Sasha (born 2001). He has written two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth titled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics.
Running neck-and-neck with Hillary Clinton in the 2008 race for the Democratic nomination, Obama has generated record fundraising totals and sparked great debate among his supporters and critics alike.
Some have likened Barack Obama's extremely popular image in today's America to a cultural Rorschach test - a neutral persona upon which people can project their own personal histories, dreams and aspirations.
NATIONAL[NOTE: Figures above are averages of the 3-6 most recent surveys in each area. Updated June 17]
