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[[Image:Barackobama.jpg|thumb|100px|right|Barack Obama, President of the United States, was formerly the jr. senator for the state of Illinois]]
'''Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.''', a [[United States Democratic Party| Democrat]], is President of the United States. He was elected President of the United States on November 4, 2008, becoming the first African American President of the U.S. and the 44th U.S. President.
'''This article has been tagged for review, verification, and update.  It is not currently up to date.'''

==2012 Presidential Race==
The ''New York Times'' reported in May 2012 that Obama's top advisers is limited to a group of 10 individuals which offer "a revealing look at the pecking order of the hierarchy in the Obama campaign." The attendance roster at these regular meetings "reveals a mix of White House staff, including: [[David Plouffe]], a senior adviser and campaign manager from 2008; [[Jack Lew]], the chief of staff; [[Valerie Jarrett]] and [[Pete Rouse]], senior advisers; [[Dan Pfeiffer]], the communications director; and [[Alyssa Mastromonaco]], a deputy chief of staff who has worked for Mr. Obama since his days in the United States Senate. The campaign team includes: [[Jim Messina]], the campaign manager, who sets the agenda for the meeting; [[David Axelrod]], a senior strategist; [[Stephanie Cutter]], a deputy campaign manager; and [[Larry Grisolano]], a top political adviser." <ref>Jeff Zeleny, “[http://mobile.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/us/politics/at-sunday-meetings-team-obama-prepares-for-a-tough-fight.xml On Sundays, Tight Obama Circle Sizes Up Election]”, NYT, May 5, 2012.</ref>

===Campaign Contributions===
Opensecrets reports that Barack Obama's largest campaign contributors are as follows.
{| class="wikitable"
!width="120"| Donor!! width="120" | Amount Reported
|-
|[[University of California]] ||align="right" |$1,212,245
|-
| [[Microsoft]] Corp||align="right" |$814,645
|-
| [[Google]] Inc ||align="right" |$801,770
|-
| US Government ||align="right" |$728,647 
|-
| [[Harvard University]]||align="right" |$668,368 
|-
|}

[http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/]

==Record, positions and controversies==

===Biography===
Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama studied for two years at Occidental College,<ref>Gordon, Larry (January 29, 2007). "Occidental recalls 'Barry' Obama". Los Angeles Times: p. B1. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/29/local/me-oxy29. Retrieved May 12, 2010.</ref> before transferring to Columbia University.<ref>Boss-Bicak, Shira (January 2005). "Barack Obama '83". Columbia College Today. http://www.college.columbia.edu/cct_archive/jan05/cover.php. Retrieved June 9, 2008.</ref> There he majored in political science, with a specialization in international relations. Upon graduation, he worked for a year at newsletter publisher Business International (now part of [[w:The Economist Group|The Economist Group]]), and moved to Chicago, where he was a community organizer in the [[w:Altgeld Gardens|Altgeld Gardens]] housing project on the city's South Side. It was during his time spent here that Obama joined the Trinity United Church of Christ. <ref>Barb Powell, [http://news.ucc.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=601&Itemid=54 "Exclusive: UCC member Sen. Barack Obama discusses faith and politics,"] ''United Church of Christ News'', June 29, 2006.</ref>

He left Chicago to study law at Harvard University, where he was elected the first black president of the ''[[Harvard Law Review|Harvard Law Review]]''.<ref>Butterfield, Fox (February 6, 1990). "First black elected to head Harvard's Law Review". The New York Times: p. A20. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DC1631F935A35751C0A966958260. Retrieved June 15, 2008.</ref> He graduated ''magna cum laude''.  After law school, he returned to  Chicago and organized an aggressive voter registration effort that registered over 100,000 voters and aided in the election of President [[Bill Clinton]] and Senator [[Carol Moseley Braun]], the first African-American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate. Soon after, he joined a local civil rights law firm, and he became a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

===Political career===
====1996-2000, Illinois State Senate====
In 1996, Obama was elected to the [[Illinois State Senate|Illinois State Senate]] from the south side neighborhood of Hyde Park, in Chicago's 13th District. An element of controversy surrounded the election, due to Obama's legal challenges to the petition signatures of all 4 opponents in the race, resulting in their subsequent disqualification.<ref>[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/obama/chi-070403obama-ballot-archive,0,5297304,full.story "Barack Obama Knows His Way Around a Ballot,"] ''Chicago Tribune'', April, 2007.</ref> Incumbent, Alice Palmer, following an unsuccessful bid at Congress, chose to defend her Illinois Senate seat despite having less than 2 days to gather the required petition signatures to run.  Her campaign asked Obama, who she had previously supported, to step down.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/us/politics/30obama.html?pagewanted=print "In Illinois, Obama Proved Pragmatic and Shrewd,"] ''New York Times'', July 30, 2007.</ref>  Not only did he not do so, he challenged the petition signatures of her and the other 3 candidates in the race, managing to disqualify enough to ensure he could run unopposed on the ballot.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/29/obamas.first.campaign/index.html "Transcript of Barack Obama Revealed,"] ''CNN'', August 20, 2008.</ref>  Grounds for dismissal of signatures included signatures printed but not signed, valid but collected by someone underage, and valid for the 1995 polling sheets but not the more recent 1996 ones.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/05/29/obamas.first.campaign/index.html "Obama played hardball in first Chicago campaign,"] ''CNN Election Center 2008'', May 30, 2008.</ref>

Following his election win, Obama served as chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee when the Democrats regained control of the chamber. Regarded as a staunch liberal, but also "respected ... as a bipartisan dealmaker," during his tenure in the legislature, he helped to author a state [[w:Earned Income Tax Credit|Earned Income Tax Credit]] that provided benefits to the working poor. He also worked for legislation that would cover residents who could not afford health insurance. He successfully helped pass bills to increase funding for [[w:AIDS|AIDS]] prevention and care programs. 

====2000 Congressional Race====
In 2000, he ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for Illinois' 1st Congressional district against incumbent [[Bobby Rush]]. Rush had suggested during the campaign that Obama "wasn't black enough" for the position, and stated, "He went to Harvard and became an educated fool. We’re not impressed with these folks with these Eastern elite degrees."  In the primarily black district, Obama struggled for support from the black community since, as the New York Times noted, he was viewed as a Harvard professor living in Hyde park.<ref>Janny Scott, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09obama.html?pagewanted=3 "In 2000, a Streetwise Veteran Schooled a Bold Young Obama,"] ''New York Times'', September 9, 2007.</ref> Rush received 61% of the vote, while Obama received 30%.<ref>[http://www.fec.gov/pubrec/fe2000/ilh.htm Election results for U.S. House seats from Illinois,] ''Federal Elections Commission''.</ref>

====2000-2003, Illinois State Senate====
Obama during this time passed a bill to put limits on racial profiling and place cameras in police interrogation rooms. <ref>Benjamin Wallace-Wells, [http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0411.wallace-wells.html "The Great Black Hope,"] ''The Washington Monthly'', November, 2004.</ref> These bills, including the racial profiling bill originally worked on by Senator Rickey Hendon, had been previously the efforts of other Senators.  Nonetheless, Obama struck a deal with then-head of the Illinois Senate, Emil Jones, in a well-recorded conversation asking Jones to make him a U.S. Senator, following which, Jones appointed him head of prominent, headline-grabbing legislation worked on by other Senators to raise his political profile, and had him craft legislation to meet major tragedies in the news.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/31/politics/main3983147.shtml "Obama's Political 'Godfather' in Illinois," ''Associated Press'', March, 2008.</ref>  

As Houston Press reporter Todd Spivak would note: 

:"But what's interesting, and almost never discussed, is that he built his entire legislative record in Illinois in a single year...  Jones appointed Obama sponsor of virtually every high-profile piece of legislation, angering many rank-and-file state legislators who had more seniority than Obama and had spent years championing the bills...  During his seventh and final year in the state Senate, Obama's stats soared. He sponsored a whopping 26 bills passed into law — including many he now cites in his presidential campaign when attacked as inexperienced.  It was a stunning achievement that started him on the path of national politics — and he couldn't have done it without Jones. Before Obama ran for U.S. Senate in 2004, he was virtually unknown even in his own state. Polls showed fewer than 20 percent of Illinois voters had ever heard of Barack Obama. Jones further helped raise Obama's profile by having him craft legislation addressing the day-to-day tragedies that dominated local news headlines."<ref>Todd Spivak, [http://www.houstonpress.com/content/printVersion/730783 "Barack Obama and Me," ''Houston Press'', February, 2008.</ref>" 

Spivak quotes another Illinois Senator, Rickey Hendon, as saying, 

:"I took all the beatings and insults and endured all the racist comments over the years from nasty Republican committee chairmen, Barack didn't have to endure any of it, yet, in the end, he got all the credit. I don't consider it bill jacking, but no one wants to carry the ball 99 yards all the way to the one-yard line, and then give it to the halfback who gets all the credit and the stats in the record book."

====2000-2004, U.S. Senate====
In 2004, Obama ran for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Sen. [[w:Peter Fitzgerald|Peter Fitzgerald]]. Despite opposition in the Primary Election from tough challenger [[Blair Hull]], Hull would collapse after pressure from journalists unsealed his divorce files, with Obama taking 54% of the vote.<ref>[http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-03-17/news/0403170332_1_blair-hull-gery-chico-blacks-and-liberal-whites "Obama routs Democratic foes," ''Chicago Tribune'', March, 2004.</ref><ref>[http://www.claremont.org/publications/pubid.339/pub_detail.asp "The Rise and Fall of Blair Hull,"] ''The Claremont Institute'', March, 2004.</ref> Following his victory, Obama squared off against Republican [[w:Jack Ryan (Senate candidate)|Jack Ryan]], who ultimately had to drop out of the race due to a lawsuit from the Chicago Tribune that forced the unsealing of his divorce records.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/state/2004-06-25-ryan_x.htm "Jack Ryan Abandons Senate Bid," ''USA Today'', June, 2004.</ref> [[Alan Keyes]] was chosen as the new GOP candidate. Keyes had gained much attention as a conservative firebrand in his unsuccessful presidential campaigns in 1996 and 2000.  A Marylander, Keyes had established legal residency in Illinois with the nomination, the only requirement to run for office. The ''Chicago Tribune'' sarcastically greeted Keyes by editorializing: "Mr. Keyes may have noticed a large body of water as he flew into O'Hare. That is called Lake Michigan."

After a campaign in which Keyes called Obama's position on abortion, "the slave-holder's position"<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ "Keyes assails Obama's abortion views," ''Associated Press'', August 9, 2004.</ref>, accused gays and lesbians of being "selfish hedonists"<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5654128/ "Keyes: Cheney's gay daughter a sinner," ''Associated Press'', September 2, 2004.</ref>, and claimed that Jesus would not vote for his opponent<ref>Jill Stanek, [http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=51121 "Why Jesus would not vote for Barack Obama," ''World Net Daily'', July 19, 2006.</ref>, Obama won handily in the general election, receiving 70% of the popular vote to Keyes's 27%.<ref>[http://cnn.hu/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html "Election Results, U.S. Senate/Illinois," ''CNN''.</ref>

Obama was chosen to deliver a keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19751-2004Jul27.html "Transcript: Illinois Senate Candidate Barack Obama," ''Washington Post'', July 27, 2004.</ref>

The April 18 2005 issue of ''TIME'' magazine listed the 100 most influential people in the world. Obama was included on the list under the section of 'Leaders and Revolutionaries' for his high-profile entrance to federal politics and his popularity within the Democratic Party.<ref>Perry Bacon, Jr., [http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/2005/time100/leaders/100obama.html "Barack Obama: The Future of the Democratic Party?"] ''Time'', 2005.</ref> British journal the ''New Statesman'' listed Obama as one of 10 people who will change the world in its October 2005 edition.<ref>Andrew Stephen, [http://www.newstatesman.com/200510170011 "10 people - Andrew Stephen on America's fastest-rising political star"] ''New Statesman'', October 17, 2005.</ref>

====First moves as a senator====
Obama was sworn in on January 4, 2005. He ranked 99th out of 100 Senators in terms of official seniority (greater seniority brings greater privileges in the Senate). 

Obama's first action in the Senate was to decline to be the Senate co-sponsor of a move to question Ohio's Electoral College votes following the 2004 presidential election. He then voted against the resolution. <ref>Lynn Sweet, [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0107-02.htm " Lawmakers Launch Historic Protest of Electoral Vote,"] ''Chicago Sun Times'', January 7, 2005.</ref>

Obama came to the Senate with a plan that resembled the career of another high-profile Senator's first term, [[Hillary Clinton]]. Obama's "Plan" called for him to focus his energies on his home state, and in spite of overtures from more liberal activists, to stay out of the spotlight. In the first few months Obama held 39 town hall meetings. However, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the picture of class and race that it exposed caused Obama to step into the national spotlight sooner than he expected. He said of his first year, "I could have been much more quiet this year than I have been and gotten away with it ... People would have explained it as, 'He is taking the Hillary model.'"<ref>Lynn Sweet, [http://www.suntimes.com/output/sweet/cst-nws-obama22.html "Obama Opens New Chapter] ''Chicago Sun-Times'', January 22, 2006.</ref> 

====2008 presidential race====

Obama announced on January 16, 2007 that he would "create a presidential exploratory committee" as the first step towards his potential candidacy for the [[U.S. presidential election, 2008|2008 presidential election]] <ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/01/16/obama.papers/index.html "Obama to form panel to explore presidential bid,"] ''CNN'', January 16, 2007.</ref>

On February 10, 2007, he announced in Springfield, Illinois that he would indeed [[Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008|seek the presidency in 2008]]. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/10/AR2007021000579.html]  

Also in February 2007, [[Dan Shapiro]] announced that he would become Obama's political advisor/strategist. <ref>Shmuel Rosner, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=826921 "Obama will soon make the case that he'll be as strong on Israel as anyone,"] ''Haaretz'', July 3, 2007.</ref> Shapiro was a long-time political operative on Capitol Hill, and was previously an advisor to Sen. [[Bill Nelson]] (D-Fla.). The appointment of Shapiro coincided with Obama's desire to deliver several speeches (including at the March 2007 [[AIPAC]] annual conference) to stress his devotion to Israel. 

Shmuel Rosner described his view of the events in his Haaretz blog: "Oh, let's just say it: Jewish voters are major donors to the Democratic Party and its nominees." <ref>Shmuel Rosner, [http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/objects/pages/PrintArticleEn.jhtml?itemNo=826921 "Obama will soon make the case that he'll be as strong on Israel as anyone,"] ''Haaretz'', July 3, 2007.</ref>
Worth noting is that Lee Rosenberg, AIPAC's treasurer, is also "a backer, and a member of Obama's finance committee."<ref>Larry Cohler-Esses, [http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=13766&print=yes "Obama Pivots Away From Dovish Past,"] ''Jewish Week'', March 9, 2007.</ref>
On July 11, 2007, the Obama campaign appointed [[Eric Lynn]] as its "liaison to Jewish Community" and advisor on Middle East issues.<ref>[http://www.thebarackobamareport.com/the_barack_obama_report/2007/07/obama-names-lia.html "Obama names liaison to Jewish Community,"] ''Barack Obama Report'', July 20, 2007.</ref> Immediately after his appointment, Lynn beamed out an email that can be seen [[Eric Lynn email on Middle East|here]]. It's subject was "Barack Obama: A Strong Record of Supporting Israel."

===Resignation from Senate===
On November 16, 2008, President-Elect Obama resigned his seat in the United States Senate. Illinois Gov. [[Rod Blagojevich]], a Democrat, will appoint a replacement.<ref name="WaPo_11-17">[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111600753.html "Obama resigns Senate seat, thanks Illinois,"] ''The Washington Post'', November 16, 2008</ref>

===Affiliations===
* [[Center for Neighborhood and Technology]]
* Chicago Annenberg Challenge
* Cook County Bar
* Cook County Bar Association Community Law Project
* Board Member, [[Joyce Foundation]]
* Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law
* [[Leadership for Quality Education]]
* Former Member, Trinity United Church of Christ
* Former Board Member, [[Woods Fund of Chicago]]

==More Background Data==
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==Contact==

===Transition office contacts===
Website: http://www.change.gov/

===Twitter===

<div id="twitter" style="padding:0.5em 1em 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px solid #AAAAAA;">
'''Barack Obama posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/BarackObama/'''

'''Latest posts:'''
<small>
<rss>http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/813286.rss|title=none| max=3| short</rss>
</small>
See all the [[members of Congress who Twitter]]
</div>

==Articles and Resources==

===See also===

* [[Barack Obama/Economic Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Education Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Elections and Government Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Energy and Environment Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Food and Agriculture Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Health Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Infrastructure and Transportation Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Labor, Immigration and Retirement Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/National Security and Foreign Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Rights, Liberties and Courts Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Communications, Science and Intellectual Property]]
* [[Barack Obama/Social Policy]]
* [[Barack Obama/Controversies]]
* [[Barack Obama/Appointments and Nominations as President]]
* [[Barack Obama's 2013 Climate Action Plan and Coal]]

===Resources===

*[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=O000167 Bioguide: Barack Obama], Congress.gov.
*[http://obama.senate.gov/ Official Senate website], with [http://obama.senate.gov/podcast/ podcast]
*[http://www.chicagotribune.com/obama Chicago Tribune coverage of Obama]
*[http://www.obamapedia.org/ Obamapedia] A wiki devoted to Obama
*[http://www.barackobama.com/ Obama '08], Obama's presidential campaign website
*[http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/barack_obama Media Matters: Barack Obama] media watchdog
*[http://www.hopefundamerica.com/ Hopefund for America], Obama's PAC
*[http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=BS030017 Project Vote Smart: Barack Obama] nonpartisan voter information
*[http://www.technorati.com/search/%22Barack+Obama%22?authority=a7 Technorati Search: Barack Obama]
*[http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=%22Barack+Obama%22&btnG=Search+News Google News Search: Barack Obama]
*[http://news.search.yahoo.com/search/news?p=%22Barack+Obama%22&x=wrt Yahoo! News Search: Barack Obama]
*[http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?tab=stats&id=400629 GovTrack Statistics: Barack Obama]
*[http://www.whereIstand.com/BarackObama/wizard?ptr=861 Compare your opinions to Barack Obama's]
8[http://www.nypost.com/seven/09152008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/obama_tried_to_stall_gis_iraq_withdrawal_129150.htm?page=0 New York Post]Obama Tried To Stall Gis' Iraq Withdrawal.

===Articles about Barack Obama===
*Scott Turow, [http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2004/03/30/obama/index_np.html "The New Face of the Democratic Party - and America,"] ''Salon'', March 30, 2004.
*William Finnegan, [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040531fa_fact1 "The Candidate,"] ''The New Yorker'', May 31, 2004.
*E.J. Dionne, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4062-2004Jun24.html "In Illinois, A Star Prepares,"] ''Washington Post'', June 25, 2004.
*[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/15/1357247&mode=thread&tid=25 "Barack Obama: A Look at the 2004 DNC Keynote Speaker Who Could Become One of the Only Black Senators in U.S. History,"] ''Democracy Now!'', July 15, 2004.
*Salim Muwakkil, [http://progressive.org/media_677 "Barack Obama made smashing national debut,"] ''The Progressive'', July 28, 2004
*Mark Leibovich, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/02/24/AR2005040315140.html "The Senator's Humble Beginnings,"] ''Washington Post'', February 24, 2005.
*Jeff Zeleny, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0509120140sep12,1,6049955.story "Judicious Obama Turns Up Volume,"] ''Chicago Tribune'', September 12, 2005.
*Jeff Zeleny, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-0511200328nov20,1,1181326.story?coll=chi-site-nav "Obama's National Appeal Rallies Army of Backers,"] ''Chicago Tribune'', November 20, 2005.
*Ryan Lizza, [http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w051205&s=lizza120605 "Why Barack Obama Should Run for President in 2008,"] ''The New Republic'', December 6, 2005.
*Jonathan Alter, [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6732724/site/newsweek/ "The Audacity of Hope,"] ''Newsweek'', December 27, 2005.
*Lynn Sweet, [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=10828 "Great Expectations,"] ''The American Prospect'', February 5, 2006.
*Amy Sullivan, [http://www.slate.com/id/2144983/ "In Good Faith: The Real Meaning of Barack Obama's Speech on Religion and Politics,"] ''Slate'', July 3, 2006.
*Jacob Weisberg, [http://www.mensvogue.com/business/politics/feature/articles/2006/09/11/barack_obama "The Path to Power,"] ''Men's Vogue'', September-October 2006.
*Jennifer Senior, [http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/politics/21681/index.html "Dreaming of Obama,"] ''New York Magazine'', October 2, 2006.
*Joe Klein, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1546362,00.html "The Fresh Face,"] ''TIME'' Magazine, October 23, 2006.
*Yoda, [http://www.r8ny.com/blog/yoda/barack_obama_has_nothing_to_fear.html "Barack Obama Has Nothing to Fear,"] ''Room Eight'', November 23, 2006.
*Lynn Sweet, [http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/154692,CST-EDT-sweet30.article "Obama is going to go for it,"] ''Chicago Sun-Times'', November 30, 2006.
*JP, [http://www.r8ny.com/blog/jp/im_tired_of_the_obama_overload.html "I'm Tired Of the Obama Overload,"] ''Room Eight'', December 5, 2006.
*John Dickerson, [http://www.slate.com/id/2155501/?nav=tap3 "Barackwater. For now, Obama's scandal is too small to hurt,"] ''Slate'', December 14, 2006.
*Michael Roston, [http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/CNN_comments_on_Obama_gaffe_in_0101.html "CNN apologizes for Obama gaffe in Bin Laden graphic,"] ''The Raw Story'', January 2, 2007.
*Ted Glick, "[http://www.zmag.org/sustainers/content/2007-01/12glick.cfm Barack Obama: Progressives Beware]", ''Znet'', January 12, 2007.
*Andy Selepak, [http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/selepak011607.htm "The Media's Obama Love Affair,"] [[Accuracy in Media]] (Canada Free Press), January 16, 2007.
*John Nichols, [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/opinion/main2366346.shtml "Barack Obama's Challenge. 'Star Power' Can't Secure Victory, But Grassroots Support Can,"] ''The Nation'' (CBS News), January 17, 2007.
*[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/01/17/opinion/main2366786.shtml "Obama Must Be Taken Seriously. National Review: Conservatives Dismiss Candidacy At Their Own Peril,"] ''National Review Online'' (CBS News), January 17, 2007.
*David Mendell, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0701170092jan17,1,3362974.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed "Backers' mission is political, personal. Growing number of state Democrats vow to do whatever is needed to put Obama in the Oval Office,"] ''Chicago Tribune'', January 17, 2007.
*Ryan Keith, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/17/AR2007011701343.html "Obama's Past Offers Ammo for Critics,"] Associated Press (''Washington Post''), January 17, 2007.
*Christopher Hayes, [http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=158928 "Smearing Barack Obama,"] ''The Notion'' Blog/''The Nation'', January 19, 2007.
*[http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/19/fox-obama-madrassa/ "Obama Smeared As Former 'Madrassa' Student, Possible Covert Muslim Extremist,"] ''Think Progress'', January 19, 2007.
*Lynn Sweet, [http://www.suntimes.com/news/sweet/222679,CST-NWS-sweet22.article "Obama's campaign staff a work in progress,"] ''Chicago Sun-Times'', January 22, 2007.
*Chris Cillizza and Dan Balz, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/21/AR2007012101074.html "On the Electronic Campaign Trail. Politicians Realize the Potential of Web Video,"] ''Washington Post'', January 22, 2007.
*Dan Balz and Anne E. Kornblut, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/10/AR2007021000579.html "Obama Formally Launches Presidential Bid,"] ''Washington Post,'' February 10, 2007.
*[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/us/politics/12aussie.html?_r=2&ref=politics&oref=slogin&oref=slogin "Obama Plan Has a Critic in Australia,"] ''New York Times'', February 12, 2007.
*Roxana Tiron, [http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/022107/obama.html "Obama, McCaskill sponsor bill on care for veterans,"] ''The Hill'', February 21, 2007.
*Peter Hart, [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=72&ItemID=12687 "Obamamania: How loving Barack Obama helps pundits love themselves,"] ''Extra!'', March/April 2007.
*Mike McIntire and Christopher Drew, [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/07/us/politics/07obama.html?_r=2&ref=politics&oref=slogin&oref=slogin "In ’05 Investing, Obama Took Same Path as Donors"] ''New York Times'', March 7, 2007.
*David Jackson and Ray Long, [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0704030881apr04,1,7164072.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed "Showing his bare knuckles. In first campaign, Obama revealed hard-edged, uncompromising side in eliminating party rivals,"] ''Chicago Tribune'', April 4, 2007.
*Paul Street, [http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=72&ItemID=12687 "Sitting Out the Obama Dance in Iowa City,"] ''Z Net'', April 28, 2007.
*Taylor Marsh, [http://www.taylormarsh.com/archives_view.php?id=26755 "Obama Loved Ohio '04 and Backed the Class Action Fairness Act,"] TaylorMarsh.com, January 1, 2008.
*[http://hadeka.blogspot.com/2008/06/some-americans-are-worried-about-obama.html "Some Americans are worried about Obama!"] from the personal blog of Ahmed El Hadeka, June 24, 2008.

===By Barack Obama===
====Articles by Barack Obama====
*With [[Sam Brownback]], [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/26/AR2005122600547.html "Policy Adrift on Darfur,"] ''Washington Post'', December 27, 2005.
*[http://www.counterpunch.com/obama03052007.html "Obama: On Israel and AIPAC. 'We Must Preserve Our Total Commitment to Our Unique Defense Relationship with Israel'"] (Remarks as Prepared for Delivery, [[AIPAC]] Policy Forum, Chicago, Ill., March 2, 2007), ''CounterPunch'', March 5, 2007.

====Interviews and Speeches====

*[http://www.campusprogress.org/features/210/five-minutes-with-sen-barack-obama Campus Progress: Five Minutes With: Sen. Barack Obama], undated.
*[http://www2.oprah.com/omagazine/omag_ocut_flash.jhtml?issue=200411 Oprah's Interview with Senator Barack Obama], November 2004.
*[http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/07/28/1313225 "Rising Star: Senate Candidate Barack Obama Delivers Rousing Keynote at DNC,"] [[Democracy Now!]], July 28, 2004 (RealVideo, RealAudio, or MP3 format).
*[http://www.knox.edu/x9803.xml Commencement Speech: Knox College], June 4, 2005 (full transcript of Barack Obama's address).
*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4857237 Obama Discusses Poverty and Hurricane Katrina] [[NPR]], September 21, 2005.
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*[http://www.comedycentral.com/sitewide/media_player/play.jhtml?itemId=24860 Interview with Jon Stewart], ''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'', November 7, 2005. ([[Daily Show|Other Daily Show interviews with members of Congress.]])
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*[http://www.thinkprogress.org/obama-oil-speech/ Remarks by Senator Barack Obama: "The Coming Storm: Energy Independence and the Safety of Our Planet"] delivered at Chicago, IL, posted by ''Think Progress'', April 3, 2006.

====Published Works by Barack Obama====
*''The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream'', Crown, 2006, ISBN 0307237699; Audio CD: ISBN 0739334085. 
*''Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance'', New York: Times Books, 1995; 2004 reprint: ISBN 1400082773; Audio CD: ISBN 0739321005.

===Local blogs and discussion sites===
*[http://www.obamawasright.com/ Obama Was Right.com] brought to you by DraftObama.org.
*''[http://philosopheforum.blogspot.com/ Philosophe Forum'']
*[http://www.chicagotribune.com/obama "Swamp blog" on Obama]
*[http://www.barack-obama.tv The Spirit of Barack Obama] automated news aggregator, specialized search engine and multimedia collection

===Related Congresspedia/SourceWatch Resources===
*[[Barack Obama: U.S. presidential election, 2008]]
*[[Barack Obama/Appointments and nominations as President]]
*[[Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal]]

===Sources===
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[[Category:Obama PR]]