Decision ’08: Barack Hussein Obama

TAYLOR HAIGLER '08

Bio
Barack Obama is currently a United States Senator from Illinois. He was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Throughout his early years, Barack’s friends and family called him “Barry.” When Barack was two years old, his parents separated and a few years later divorced. His mother re-married an Indonesian Oil manager and the family moved to Jakarta in 1967. Barack returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents when he was ten. After graduating high school, Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations. Right after college, Obama moved to Chicago and took a job as a community organizer with a church-based group. He worked with low-income neighborhoods to improve living conditions. Wanting to create change in a bigger way, Barack attended Harvard Law School and completed his J.D. degree magna cum laude in 1991. He returned to Chicago and practiced civil rights law, served eight years in the Illinois State Senate and in 2004 was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Caucus/Primary Results
Obama currently has the support of 1,319 delegates, 69 more than Hillary Clinton.
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Political Views
Iraq: Obama opposed the war from the beginning and will immediately bring troops home, removing up to two combat brigades each month, and all combat brigades out in 16 months. No permanent bases will be built. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats. As troops are removed, Obama will engage representatives from all levels of Iraqi society to seek a new accord on Iraq’s Constitution and governance. Will launch an aggressive diplomatic effort to stabilize the Middle East (ie. secure borders, isolate al Qaeda, financial support for Iraq’s reconstruction). Will provide at least $2 billion to aid Iraq’s humanitarian crisis.

Education: Obama calls for the expansion of Early Head Start and Head Start programs. Will make affordable and high-quality child care available to working families. His "Zero to Five" plan emphasizes early care for infants to ensure that all children are ready to begin their education when they reach kindergarten. Obama's plan will reform No Child Left Behind to support schools that need improvement rather than punish them. Obama has developed a "recruit, prepare, retain, and reward" program to ensure the presence of quality teachers in every classroom. Obama will simplify the application process for financial aid, and create a universal and fully refundable tax credit, which will go toward the first $4,000 of college education.

Energy & Environment: Obama will reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2050. He will invest $150 billion over 10 years towards the advancement of renewable energy (ie. plug in hybrids) and double the current funding for research and development. His plan includes reducing oil consumption by at least 35% by 2030 by increasing America’s fuel economy standards. Obama wants to improve energy efficiency 50% by 2030 by setting national goals and offering grants to those states and corporations that implement the goals. Essentially, Obama wants to make the U.S. a leader by creating Global Energy Forums and re-engaging the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Poverty: Obama will expand access to jobs by investing $1 billion over five years in transitional jobs, creating a green jobs corps, improving public transportation and working to ensure that ex-offenders have employment opportunities. He plans to provide tax relief, increase tax benefits and raise minimum wage. He will increase the supply of affordable housing by creating trusts and funding community development programs to increase resources to the highest-need Americans. Obama will invest in rural small business, improve rural schools and ensure community-based resources to address community needs.

Sources:
http://www.barackobama.com/
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