How many languages ​​does Obama Barack know? Retired in search

Barack Obama is a person you can talk about for hours. Having become the first black president in the history of the United States of America, this outstanding politician acquired the status of a legend during his lifetime.

Today, the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, is called one of the most popular figures in world politics, because he is one of the few people who managed to maintain a human appearance even after reaching the very top of world politics.

Barack Obama's childhood. Education

Barack Hussein Obama II was born in the warm and sunny city of Honolulu, the only metropolis of the Hawaiian Islands. His father, a native of the Kenyan village of Kanyadyang, entered the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1959 to study economics. While studying, he met an anthropology student, a white American named Stanley Ann Dunham, the mother of the future president. It is noteworthy that the acquaintance took place at an elective course in the Russian language.

No less interesting is the fact that before his marriage to Denham, he was already married to Kenyan Keise Aoko, with whom he had two children - son Malik and daughter Aumu. In 1959, he left his family and flew to the States.

Barack Hussein Obama Jr. was born in August 1961. The new mother decided to quit school, while the father, on the contrary, took up his studies, graduated from the University of Hawaii and, when the youngest Obama was not even three years old, left the family to continue his studies at Harvard. For some time, Barack Obama's parents still maintained relations, but some time later, Obama Sr. completely left the United States of America in order to take a high position in the administrative apparatus of Kenya.

Subsequently, the president recalled that he had very few memories of his real father - he spent only one month with him at the age of 10. Then Barack Obama Sr., who visited the States briefly, gave his son the first basketball in his life and took him to his first jazz concert. Both became an integral part of the boy’s hobbies, which carried over into adulthood. Many years later, Barack Obama recounted his childhood memories in his biographical book “Dreams from My Father.”

Unfortunately, the life of Barack Obama's father was tragically cut short at the age of 47. Back in the early 70s, he got into an accident, did not die, but lost both legs, and then his job. This knocked the man down; he began to drink and fell into poverty. In 1982, he married again, the couple had a son, and life for Obama Sr. began to improve. But six months after the birth of baby George, he again had an accident - this time ending fatally.

Well, Anne Dunham, three years after breaking up with Obama, met a new love - Lolo Sutoro, a student from Indonesia. He replaced Baraka's father. As a result of this union, the future president’s younger sister, Maya, was born. Some time later, the whole family moved to their stepfather’s historical homeland - Jakarta (Indonesia), where the future leader of America spent most of his childhood.

In the Indonesian capital, Obama Jr. attended one of the secondary schools until the fourth grade. After that, he moved again to the Hawaiian Islands, to his mother’s parents, who sent him to the prestigious private school “Panehou”. IN school years he was the star of the youth basketball team and an excellent student. He received a certificate with the highest score in 1979. In 2008, the president publicly admitted that he abused marijuana at school and tried cocaine and alcohol.

During those years, he, like two other black students at school, suffered from constant racist comments directed at him. “One day I suddenly realized that everything in this world was created for whites. Even Santa is white! I stood in front of the mirror for a long time and wondered what was wrong with me,” Obama shared in his memoirs.

Barack Obama's Kenyan family

After graduating from school, Barack entered Occidental College in Los Angeles, and two years later transferred to Columbia University, from which he graduated in 1983 with a degree in political science. He worked in the business sector until 1985, then moved to Chicago, where he began his career as an attorney. For several years in a row he worked with cases of residents of disadvantaged areas. In 1989, he went to work for one of the largest law firms in the United States, Sidley Austin.

In 1988, Barack Obama took up his studies again and decided to get a second degree at Harvard University. Here he studied law while heading the university newspaper, the Harvard Law Review. It is quite remarkable that no African American has ever held this position before.

Barack Obama's political career

Already during this period, Barack Obama established himself as a notorious fighter for equality. With these ideals, he went into politics. In the early nineties, he joined the ranks of the Democratic Party, and in 1997 he was elected senator of the state of Illinois. After 9/11, Barack Obama was one of the most vocal opponents of George W. Bush and his decision to send troops to Iraq. He also opposed the creation of the North American Free Trade Area. Concerning social sphere, one of the main themes in Obama’s political doctrine was support for low-income families and universal health insurance for the population.

In 2005, ambassador unsuccessful attempt in 2000, Barack Obama took office in the US federal Senate. From that moment on, he became one of the leading figures in political structure United States of America. In February 2007, Barack Obama announced his intention to run for president of the United States. His main competitor for the title of the main Democratic candidate was Hillary Clinton.

As a result, she conceded to Obama and provided him with whatever support she could throughout his campaign. The ordinary population supported Obama with dollars - about $58 million in donations was collected as part of the presidential campaign. Most of the money belonged to middle-class Americans.

The new “people's president” moved forward with the slogan “Yes We Can” and with enormous support from the common population. It is quite remarkable that his main opponent, John McCain, relied primarily on Americans with high incomes.

In the presidential election on November 4, 2008, Obama defeated Republican candidate John McCain, receiving 52.9% of the popular vote to McCain's 45.7%. 338 of 538 electors voted for Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, a democrat, liberal and the first African-American president in US history occupied the Oval Hall of the White House. His like-minded person, Senator Joe Biden from Delaware, became vice president.

44th President of the United States Barack Obama

During the first hundred days of his presidency, Obama and his team managed to enact a number of important innovations. Obama persuaded Congress to expand children's health insurance and address pay discrimination against women. $787 billion was invested in the short-term US economy, primarily in the banking market and the auto industry. Obama proposed tax cuts for unions, small businesses and first-time home buyers. The President not only lifted the ban on stem cell development, but also allocated $3.5 trillion for further research.

It was at Obama's instigation that the Senate adopted an anti-crisis bill aimed at supporting the American economy, as well as the fateful decision to withdraw troops from Iraq. In addition, Obama carried out health care reform Obamacare, which provided for compulsory health insurance for every US citizen. He ordered the closure of the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison and signed an executive order banning crippling interrogation techniques.

Obama tried to improve US foreign policy relations with European countries, China, Russia, and attempted dialogue with Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. The warming of relations with Cuba occurred even before the death of Fidel Castro, to the displeasure of Republicans, who considered the rapprochement premature. For all his peacekeeping efforts, Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

By the way, Russia became the 14th country that Obama visited in the first year of his presidency. And, apparently, he developed a good relationship with his Russian “colleague” Dmitry Medvedev.

Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama eat hamburgers

In the spring of 2011, Obama announced his desire to be re-elected as leader of the United States of America. This time, the African-American president faced Mitt Romney and again secured his place in the Oval Office for the next 4 years. According to the results of the popular vote, he received 51.1% of the vote, 332 electors gave their votes to Obama.

Barack Obama considers the invasion of Libya to be the biggest mistake of his 8 years as president. His greatest merit was saving America from a protracted economic crisis, which could have resulted in a new Great Depression.

Personal life of Barack Obama

He met his charming wife Michelle Obama (nee LaVaughn Robinson) during an internship at the Sidley Austin law agency in the late 80s. It is noteworthy that at first Michelle, a lively lawyer, was not at all interested in him from a love point of view, although she was never bored with him and always had something to talk about. For several months, Barack wooed her. Bouquets, sweets, romantic confessions - everything was in vain. But when Michelle heard his fiery speech to black teenagers from the Chicago slums, she realized that she could no longer deny her feelings.

The wedding of Barack and Michelle Obama took place on October 3, 1992. After the ceremony, the newlyweds traveled to Kenya to visit the groom's relatives. For the next five years, the life of the young couple was cloudless, until their birth in 1998. eldest daughter Malia. As soon as Michelle went on maternity leave, it turned out that Barack’s social and political activities did not allow him to support his family at a decent level. “We were as poor as church mice,” Michelle recalled these years. Barack refused to work in his specialty, although it would bring enormous income to the family, claiming that he did not see himself anywhere except in politics.

Barack Obama, whose biography is closely connected with politics, is the first black president in US history. Having broken a huge number of different conventions, this man became a real legend during his lifetime.

An outstanding politician has a cool mind and a warm heart. He is the forty-fourth President of the United States. Barack Obama became a senator in 2009. Before his election as president, he served as a senator from the US state of Illinois. Barack Obama went through a difficult path of development in his life. short biography outstanding politician will be of interest to many readers.

Childhood

A well-known contemporary politician was born in 1961 in Honolulu. This sunny and warm city is the only metropolitan area in the Hawaiian Islands. Barack Obama's birthday is August 4th.

The meeting of the boy's parents took place at the University of Hawaii. Barack's father, Barack Hussein Obama Sr., was a black Kenyan who came to the United States to receive higher education at the University of Hawaii. The current president's mother is Stanley Any Dunham. This white American woman studied anthropology at the same institution.

When his son was still an infant, Obama Sr. went to Harvard to continue his studies. Due to financial difficulties, his family did not accompany him. For some time, Barack's parents maintained a relationship. However, when his son reached the age of two, Obama Sr. left the United States alone. He moved to live in Kenya, where he was offered a position as an economist in the government apparatus. He filed for divorce from his wife.

New family

Barack Obama spent almost his entire life without a father. His only support was his mother. When her son was six years old, Anie Dunham remarried. A foreign student again became her new chosen one. The birthplace of her second husband, Lolo Sutoro, was Indonesia. Soon Barack's half-sister, Maya, was born. After some time, the whole family went to their stepfather’s homeland - Indonesia. There the future president of America spent his childhood odes.

Elementary education

While in Jakarta, where the family lived, the boy attended secondary school. He studied there until the fourth grade. Obama Jr. then returned to Hawaii. There he lived with his mother's parents. In the Hawaiian Islands, the future president continued his education at a private school. It was the prestigious Panejou establishment. is still proud of its graduates, including famous actors and athletes. Not least on this list is Barack Obama.
While studying at school, the boy was fond of basketball. The team he was on won the state championship in 1979.

Many years later, childhood memories were reflected in a book written by Barack Obama. A brief biography and the main stages of the development of the current president were outlined in a work entitled “Dreams of My Father.”

Higher education

After graduating from school in 1979, the future president moved from Hawaii to Los Angeles. Here he continued his education, entering Western College. However, his studies were short-lived. Obama soon swapped Los Angeles for New York. In the largest metropolis in the United States, the future politician decided to continue his education at Columbia University.

It was here that the career of an outstanding politician, who is now Barack Obama, began. His biography public figure, who later became president, traces his origins to his period of work in an international business corporation. Here he received the position of editor in the department dealing with financial information.

Carier start

After receiving a diploma from Columbia University and a bachelor's degree, Barack moved to Chicago. In this metropolis, he served as a community organizer in the most disadvantaged areas. It was at this job that Barak realized the need for changes in politics and legislation, which, in his opinion, should improve the lives of ordinary people.

Obtaining a legal education

In 1988, the future politician decided to continue his studies. He attended the School of Law. As a student, Obama worked as an editor for the university newspaper. He was the first African American to be entrusted with this post. In 1990, the New York Times newspaper mentioned him. She spoke in her news about the first black president at the Harvard Lawyers Club. This was the first time an African American had held this position in the one hundred and four years of the Club's existence.

Further career

After graduation, the future politician returned to Chicago. Here Barack Obama, whose biography continued in the legal field, defended victims of discrimination in court. In addition, the future president taught classes at the University of Chicago Law School and worked at the headquarters of the Democratic Party.

He took up voting rights issues and worked with a small law firm.

Barack Obama is best known as a man who fought against racial discrimination, as a liberal, and as a supporter of a system that would provide universal health insurance.

Senator position

Already in the early 90s, the future president was a member of the Democratic Party. In 1996, Barack Obama became a senator in Illinois. His biography as a major political figure began with the unification of the work of the Republican and Democratic parties, which were in constant confrontation. How many years was Barack Obama destined to remain in this position? The future president served as a senator for eight years. This was the period from 1997 to 2004. It was during these years that Obama advocated the withdrawal of troops from Iraq and was opposed to the creation of a North American zone in which it was planned to allow free trade. One of the main directions in the politician’s political doctrine is support for low-income families.

US Senate seat

In 2004 political career Barack Obama received further development. He began running for a seat in the US Senate from Illinois. His chances of success increased significantly after his Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, withdrew his candidacy due to scandalous allegations made after his

On July 29, 2004, while participating in the election race, the outstanding politician gave a speech in which he addressed the National Convention of the Democratic Party. Barack Obama's speech was broadcast on television. It was this speech that brought the future president wide popularity in the country. In his address, Obama called the entire nation to the origins of American society. He expressed hope for giving the United States the status of a country of great opportunities, which he illustrated using examples from the life of his father and his own biography.

The performance played an important role. The victory in the Senate elections was won by a significant margin. Obama beat Republican Alan Keyes. He began his duties in the Senate in January 2005. It is worth saying that in US history, Barack Obama became the fifth black senator. The future president was included in several committees that dealt with problems environment, public works, veterans' affairs and international relations.

As before, Obama involved Republicans in resolving a number of issues. Together with them, he worked on legislation to make government activities more transparent. During this period, the future US president visited Russia for the first time. The purpose of his trip was to discuss issues of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Obama's vote in the Senate was generally consistent with the liberal Democratic Party's position. During this period, the politician paid great attention to the development direction alternative sources obtaining energy.

Presidential elections

How many years did it take Barack Obama to become one of the most prominent politicians Washington? Already by the fall of 2006, observers highly assessed his chances of winning in the By the beginning of 2007, Obama was already second on the list of favorites of the Democratic Party after Hillary Clinton. In January he created an evaluation committee. This became the initial stage of participation in the presidential elections. In February 2007, fifteen percent of Democrats were ready to vote for Barack Obama, and forty-three percent were ready to vote for Hillary Clinton. In early June of that year, the gap had narrowed significantly. Clinton was able to collect only three percent more votes.

Future President Barack Obama emphasized political and economic issues in his election speeches. He, as before, promoted the idea of ​​withdrawing troops from Iraq. Obama's speeches also contained various proposals that were supposed to support the existence of the least affluent sections of the American population.
These ideas of the presidential candidate soon received a response from the people of the country.

A special fund was created for the election campaign, which received fifty-eight million dollars. Moreover, almost a third of this amount came from donations from ordinary Americans. Such support from ordinary people allowed Obama to completely abandon budget funding for his participation in the company. The result of the US presidential elections was the victory of an outstanding black politician.

High post

On January 20, 2007, a liberal, democrat and the first African-American president in US history occupied the Oval Hall in the White House. Barack Obama's age at that time was forty-five years old.

As President outstanding figure carried out a number of global reforms that affected the economic and political sphere of life in the United States. It was with his participation that the Senate adopted an anti-crisis bill. The main provisions of this document contained a number of measures to support the country's economy. In addition, a decision was made to withdraw American troops from Iraq. Obama carried out health care reform and adopted a whole series of important laws.

New election

Barack Obama's first term as president ended in 2011. Before it ended, he announced his decision to take part in a new campaign for a place in the White House.
Americans elected Obama for a second term. At the same time, he was head and shoulders above his competitors.

The majority of the population of all states of the country voted for the first black president of America. In his campaign speeches, Obama expressed regret about the economic situation that has developed in the United States. However, he assured his constituents that the bulk of the work had not yet been done.

The poor economic situation in the country was the main trump card of his rival, Romney. He urged voters to vote for real change. Observers believed the candidates' results would be close, and lawyers on both sides were already preparing for legal proceedings. However, this did not happen. determined Obama's victory. It was its population that gave the number of votes necessary for Barack to win. The election results were also recognized by Romney supporters, which is important.

Personal life

The current president of America is married. Barack Obama's wife is practicing lawyer Michelle Obama (before her marriage - Robinson). Their marriage took place in 1992. In America, the family of Michelle and Barack is considered exemplary. The impeccability of the wife plays a positive role in the reputation of the head of state.

Michelle is an exceptional woman. She fully supports her husband and has a subtle sense of style. Michelle helps her husband in every possible way and walks through life next to him. She became Obama's top adviser. Barack himself does not hide this. He openly says that he certainly discusses most important political matters with his wife. Michelle is engaged in the image of her husband and is directly involved in writing it political speeches. In 2010, according to Forbes magazine, she was recognized as the most influential woman on our planet.

The Obama family has two daughters. The eldest, Malia Ann, was born in 1998. Three years later she had a younger sister, Natasha.

Barack Obama doesn't have long to live...
Death, according to Vanga, Nostradamus, Ragno Nero and the red-skinned leader Tenskwatawa, will overtake the 44th President of the United States in the midst of his reign. See for yourself. Living in different centuries The prophets, without saying a word, surprisingly accurately describe the appearance of Obama on the political horizon and the associated death of the American empire. The Devil from Africa The famous soothsayer Nostradamus, who lived in France, wrote two quatrains, which researchers of his heritage unconditionally consider relevant to current events.

Black devils in quiet Africa,

Who now live gloomily in oblivion,

They will ascend to the throne in this faceless world,

In 500 years there will be the first fireworks.

If we assume that Nostradamus was born at the beginning of the 16th century, according to some sources, in 1503, according to others, in 1504, then the fireworks in honor of Obama’s inauguration will actually sound in about 500 years. As for the black devil, Barack’s father, African Barack Hussein Obama, came to the United States to study economics from Kenya, where after graduating from university he returned, leaving his one-year-old son and his student wife. Isn't this a diabolical act? Barack Obama Jr. himself, despite his white mother, calls himself an African-American and believes that his dad did the right thing. Nostradamus scholars define the “faceless world” as general globalization and a feature of the US electoral system.

The second quatrain of Nostradamus, dedicated to current events, sounds much more tragic:

The world is close to the last period.

Saturn is slowly returning.

The Empire is moved to the Black Nation.

An eye has been torn out by a hawk.

A slight rapprochement between the Earth and Saturn began at the end of the twentieth century, which, like “500 years” in the first quatrain, confirms the chronological accuracy of the prediction. The victory of the black candidate Obama in the elections is just an iceberg of global processes taking place in American society, where de facto the African-American population already has significantly greater rights compared to whites. They started talking about black racism in the USA about 20 years ago.

What kind of hawk and whose eye was torn out will become clear if you look at the American dollar. One of the symbols of the USA - a white eagle stretched out its paw to another symbol located nearby - the all-seeing eye. The explanation leads us to the economic crisis, when America the Eagle itself destroyed one of the foundations of its financial system - the mortgage pyramid.

According to another interpretation, Obama himself can be called a hawk, who betrayed his faith during the elections and pointedly stopped attending church, saying that this was interfering with his election campaign. Thus, the hawkish president did not allow the “eye of God” to watch over him. The spirits of the ancestors will take revenge In 1814, the legendary Indian leader Tecumze died in a battle with settlers. Obsessed with a thirst for revenge, his brother shaman Tenskwatawa cursed all American leaders - presidents and predicted death in office for every fourth one. Presidential Death Row was opened by William Harrison, who was elected in 1840. He died a month after the inauguration. After him, every fourth president died in office: Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. The only exception was Ronald Reagan. They shot at him, but only wounded him. Guess who's fourth after Reagan? That's right - Barack Obama. Two curses of Tenskwatawa converge on it at once. The shaman predicted that the power of the invaders would not last more than two solar planetary days. One such day is equal to 99 years. Two days - 198 years. Then simple arithmetic: 1814 (year of prediction) + 198 (two solar planetary days) = 2012. This year could be the last for both America and Obama

The 44th will be the last

In 1972, the so-called Eternal Book, an oracle book, was found in one of the monasteries in Bologna. Scientists believe that the author of the manuscript is a Franciscan monk, astrologer and predictor Federico Martelli, nicknamed Ragno Nero (Black Spider).

Radioisotope analysis showed that Nero's manuscript was written no later than the 15th century, that is, about a century before the birth of Nostradamus. The Eternal Book gives a forecast for the development of our civilization until 6323. One of the paragraphs concerns the fate of Obama: “The power on the shores of two oceans will be the strongest on Earth. They will celebrate the holiday on Thursday. The rulers will rule it for four years, the 44th of which will be the last.” Considering that the United States considers itself the strongest power, and the Americans elect a president, the 44th of whom was Barack Obama, for four years, everything points to the imminent collapse of the superpower.

America will freeze

After Obama's victory in the presidential election, Vanga's prophecy came into focus. During her life, the Bulgarian clairvoyant said a lot of things. Some have already come true, some have not. So, back in 1978, she predicted: “When the black man wins, America will freeze and fall into the abyss of a major crisis. Perhaps it will even break up into southern and northern states.”

Vanga understood perfectly what America is, and it is impossible to interpret her words in any other way than the connection between the economic crisis and Obama’s election victory. All that remains is to wait for the collapse of the United States into several states, which, by the way, has long been predicted by many modern political scientists.

Political suicide bomber

Former deputy chief Economic Administration Russian President Mikhail KHAZIN, in an interview with our publishing house, “predicted” the fate of OBAMA from the position of an economist:

The United States will face a crisis on the scale of the Great Depression. They will start looking for the last one. This is where Obama comes in handy. Don't you find it suspicious at all that the appearance of such a strange character for the entire previous history of the United States? It's not even strange that he's a black man. The strange thing about Obama is that he is not at all rooted in the American establishment. Him weird mother, father... Obama is, in a sense, a made character. Someone pulled it out and is moving it. The American elite understands perfectly well that the Obama administration will most likely not survive until the end of its term. After all, she will have to make very unpopular decisions in the economy. Plant in The White house a smart president from his own circle is pointless. He still can't really do anything. You need a character whom you don’t feel sorry for, so that you can then blame everything on him. Charismatic Obama will do some terrible things for the elite. Then he will be swept away by the indignant masses. And politicians will blame everything on him. In short, this is a political suicide bomber who must close the embrasure.

Childhood, education, early career

Obama Sr.'s father and Dunham's parents were against the marriage, but they got married on February 2, 1961. Two years later, after Barack was born, his father went to continue his studies at Harvard, but Dunham and Obama Jr. soon returned to Hawaii. Barack's parents divorced in January 1964.

While studying at Harvard University, Obama Sr. met the American teacher Ruth Nidesand, with whom, after completing his studies in the United States, he went to Kenya. This was his third marriage, which produced two children. Upon returning to Kenya, he worked for an oil company and then received a position as an economist in the government apparatus. The only time he saw his son was when he was 10 years old. In Kenya, Obama Sr. was involved in a car accident, resulting in him losing both legs and later dying in another car accident.

Soon after the divorce, the mother met another foreign student, Indonesian Lolo Sutoro, married him and in 1967 left with him and little Barak for Jakarta. From this marriage, Barack had a half-sister, Maya. Barack's mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995.

In Jakarta, Obama Jr. studied in one of the public schools from 6 to 10 years old. After that, he returned to Honolulu, where he lived with his mother's parents until he graduated from the prestigious private school Panahou in 1979.

He described his childhood memories in his book “Dreams of My Father.” As an adult, he admitted that at school he smoked marijuana, took cocaine and alcohol, which he told voters about at the Civil Forum of the presidential campaign on August 16, 2008 and described this as his lowest moral failure.

After high school, he studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years, and then transferred to Columbia University, where he specialized in international relations. By the time he received his bachelor's degree in 1983, Obama was already working at the International Business Corporation and the New York Research Center.

At the end of August 2005, as part of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program, he flew to Russia to inspect Russian nuclear facilities together with Republican Senator Richard Lugar; During the trip, on August 28, upon departure at Perm Bolshoye Savino airport, an incident occurred: the senators were detained for three hours due to their refusal to “comply with the demands of the border guards” to inspect the plane, which had diplomatic immunity. Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed regret “in connection with the misunderstanding that arose and the inconvenience caused to the senators.” In his book, Obama regarded the incident as one of the moments during his trip "that recalled the days of the Cold War."

While a senator, he visited the White House several times at the invitation of President George W. Bush.

Non-partisan publication Congressional Quarterly characterized him as a "loyal Democrat" based on an analysis of all Senate votes from 2005-2007; National Journal recommended him as the "most liberal" senator based on an assessment elected votes during 2007

In 2008 Congress.org ranked him as the 11th most powerful senator.

Presidential race

On February 10, 2007, in front of the old Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Obama announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States. The location was symbolic because it was there that Abraham Lincoln gave his historic “House Divided” speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama advocated for a quick end to the Iraq War, energy independence, and universal health care. His campaign slogans are "Change We Can Believe in" and "Yes We Can!" (The song Yes We Can, recorded by a number of famous artists using words from Obama's campaign speech, received great fame and a Webby Award).

Obama with his wife and daughters on the dais in Springfield before a presidential campaign announcement.

During the first half of 2007, the Obama campaign raised $58 million. Small donations (less than $200) accounted for 16.4 million of that amount. The number set a record for presidential campaign fundraising in the first six months of the calendar year before an election. The size of the small portion of the donation was also extraordinary. In January 2008, the campaign set another record with $36.8 million, the most ever raised by a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary.

Obama is the first (and only) presidential candidate to refuse public funding of his election campaign.

Progress of the election campaign

Barack Obama became the unified Democratic candidate after Hillary Clinton officially announced her withdrawal from the race on June 7, 2008 and supported Obama's candidacy. On June 25, 2008, the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, supported Obama for the first time, through official representative, Matt McKenna, declaring that he would do everything in his power to ensure that Barack Obama won the US presidential election in November 2008.

Primary elections

Obama won comfortably in states with high urbanization and education levels; Obama's most challenging states were those with predominantly poor, white, rural populations, such as West Virginia. Obama also won victories in traditionally Republican states (for example, Alaska, which has traditionally supported Republicans since 1980).

On November 4, Obama secured the support of 338 of 538 electors with the required 270 votes, meaning he would take office on January 20, 2009. At the same time, voter turnout reached a record of 64%.

Resonance in the USA and other countries

Obama received the fewest votes in the US South; in Alabama, where 60.4% of voters voted for McCain, only one in ten white voters, according to exit polls, voted for Obama.

Obama's victory caused euphoria in a number of countries around the world - a phenomenon called "Obamamania", the symptoms of which began to appear during the election campaign. Kenya and some other countries in Africa and the Middle East were especially susceptible to it.

Activity as President-Elect

November 17, 2008 met with Republican Senator John McCain; Together with the latter, he issued a statement proclaiming his intention to “begin a new era of reform” in Washington and “return prosperity” to American families.

Presidency

Inauguration

Barack Obama takes the presidential oath of office

In his speech he called for " new era responsibility."

The next day, late in the evening, on the advice of constitutional lawyers, the White House, as a precaution, re-took the oath of the head of state, due to the fact that the day before there was an error in reading the text of the oath established by the US Constitution: Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court Roberts mistakenly put the word “honestly” ( English faithfully) after the words "to act as President of the United States."

Activities as President

On January 29, the US Congress supported the plan to stimulate the American economy proposed by the US President. The plan involves an injection of $819 billion. On February 10, the US Senate approved Obama's emergency anti-crisis plan at a cost of $838 billion. When implementing the plan, up to 4 million new jobs should be created in 2 years. The plan also contains provisions for direct investment in the healthcare, energy, and education sectors.

On July 6-8, Barack Obama made an official working visit to Moscow. During the visit, bilateral agreements were signed, including on the transit of American military cargo to Afghanistan through Russian territory.

Iraq and Afghanistan

As a presidential candidate, Obama stated that the Iraq War was a mistake by the Bush administration and that Afghanistan should become a central front in the fight against terrorism. In mid-2008, he advocated that there should be no American combat units left in Iraq by the summer of 2009. He also stated that on the first day after his inauguration he would give the order to end the war in Iraq. Immediately after coming to power, he revised his views on the timing of the end of the war, saying in February 2009 that military operations there would be completed in 18 months.

During 2009, Obama twice strengthened the American contingent in Afghanistan. In February, 17 thousand military personnel were sent there. In December, Obama announced the deployment of another 30 thousand troops, while emphasizing that the United States is not interested in occupying Afghanistan. Currently, the American contingent in Afghanistan already numbers about 70 thousand military personnel, and after the arrival of reinforcements it will reach 100 thousand, which is comparable to the number of the Soviet contingent at the peak of the USSR war in Afghanistan (about 109 thousand people).

The escalation of US participation in hostilities in Afghanistan, as well as the stabilization of the situation in Iraq, led to the fact that if in 2008 American losses in Afghanistan were half as many as those in Iraq, then in 2009 the situation changed in a mirror image - in a year, twice as many people died in Afghanistan more soldiers than in Iraq. Overall, 2009 was the deadliest year for American forces in Afghanistan since the start of the counterterrorism operation. However, US casualties remain far below the annual Soviet casualties at the height of the 1979–1989 war.

Political views and statements

Barack Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush's Iraq policy.

Obama has spoken out in favor of allowing induced abortion, including late-term abortions. During the discussion in the United States about the law prohibiting abortion using the so-called method. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act wrote that if elected, he would tirelessly defend this method of abortion as a legitimate medical procedure. He also helped develop programs to prevent teenage pregnancy, including through the distribution of contraceptives and sex education programs for teenagers.

Barack Obama in Leesburg, Virginia.

Immediately after Obama’s inauguration, political scientist Nikolai Zlobin noted: “The closer the day of transfer of powers from Bush to the new president of the country got, the more favorable and positive Barack Obama spoke about his predecessor. This is a stark change from Obama's highly critical anti-Bush rhetoric during the election campaign.<…>It seems that this change in the new president’s public attitude towards his predecessor is largely due to the fact that as Obama delves into matters, becomes familiar with the real situation in which George Bush had to act and in which Obama himself will now have to act, the latter is increasingly began to understand that his predecessor pursued a fairly rational policy, taking into account all possible factors and restrictions.”

“If all families and all businesses in America cut their expenses at the same time, then no one will spend money, the number of consumers will fall, which in turn will lead to new layoffs and the situation in the economy will deteriorate even more. That's why the government had to step in and temporarily increase spending to stimulate demand. This is exactly what we are doing now,” said the American president.

List of works

In English

• Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. - Three Rivers Press, 1995. - ISBN 0307383415
• The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream. - Crown Publishing Group / Three Rivers Press, October 17, 2006. - ISBN 0307237699
• Barack Obama in His Own Words. - PublicAffairs, March 27, 2007. - ISBN 0786720573
• National Urban League. The State of Black America 2007: Portrait of the Black Male / Foreword by Barack Obama. - Beckham Publications Group, April 17, 2007. - ISBN 0931761859
• Renewing American Leadership. - Foreign Affairs 86 (4), July-August 2007.
• Barack Obama: What He Believes In - From His Own Works. - Arc Manor, March 1, 2008. - ISBN 1604501170
• Barack Obama, John McCain. Barack Obama vs. John McCain - Side by Side Senate Voting Record for Easy Comparison. - Arc Manor, June 13, 2008. - ISBN 1604502495
• Change We Can Believe In: Barack Obama's Plan to Renew America's Promise / Foreword by Barack Obama. - Three Rivers Press, September 9, 2008. - ISBN 0307460452

In Russian

• Obama, Barack. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream = The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream / Trans. T. Kamyshnikova. - St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2008. - 416 p. - 25,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-395-00209-9

Obama's image in TV series

• Barack Obama was portrayed in episode 12 of season 12 of the animated series South Park, which aired on Comedy Central on November 5, 2008, and in episode 3 of season 13.
• Barack Obama is a possible prototype for Senator Gary Wright, the fictional character of the 17th episode of the 1st season of the TV series "House" played by Joe Morton (episode title "Role Model", English. "Role Model"). The terminally ill senator hides until the last moment that he suffered from epilepsy as a child; this prevents Gregory House from making a correct diagnosis and justifies his motto "All (patients) lie." In the same episode, the senator, with his characteristic power of persuasion, makes the doctor believe that he does not have AIDS.
• Barack Obama's speech on TV was in one of the episodes of the series Life on Mars

Family and personal life

Since 1992, Barack Obama has been married to Michelle Robinson Obama (born January 17), a practicing lawyer. They have two daughters - Malia Ann (born 1998), Natasha (“Sasha”; born 2001). In the spring of 2010, the American Globe magazine published information that six years ago Obama had an affair with 29-year-old Vera Baker, who worked as an assistant on his campaign headquarters, during his run for the Senate from Illinois.

Notes

1. First African American Nominated as Presidential Candidate of US Major Party. Voice of America (August 28, 2008).
2. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama. Lenta.ru (October 9, 2009). Retrieved October 9, 2009-10-09.
3. Merida, Kevin. “The Ghost of a Father,” Washington Post, December 14, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
4. Punahou
5. Lenta
6. About Barack Obama. Barack Obama U.S. Senate Office. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
7. Breaking New Ground: African American Senators. U.S. Senate Historical Office.
8. Konstantin Sterledev Senator Lugar was held overboard. "Kommersant" (August 30, 2005). - “Senator Richard Lugar: “Unfortunately, this story is a clear illustration of a broken government machine when right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, and officials act on their own momentary whims, regardless of the outside world.” Retrieved November 17, 2008.
9. Daughter Natasha and three hours in Perm: Obama’s implicit connections with Russia RIA Novosti November 7, 2008
10. According to a closed friend Kommersant No. 203 (4020) dated November 8, 2008 (photo of senators raising glasses of vodka)
11. American senators did not pass inspection gazeta.ru August 29, 2005.
12. Barack Obama. The audacity of hope. St. Petersburg, 2008, p. 349.
13. Barack Obama. The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reviving the American Dream. St. Petersburg, 2008, pp. 53-56.
14. Nather, David. The Space Between Clinton and Obama, CQ Weekly.
15. Curry, Tom. What Obama's Senate Votes Reveal, MSNBC.
16. Obama: Most Liberal Senator In 2007, National Journal.
17. KnowLegis Power Rankings: Senate.
18. Obama resigns Senate seat, thanks to Illinois Washington Post November 16, 2008
19. Pearson, Rick; Long, Ray. “Obama: I’m running for president,” Chicago Tribune, February 10, 2007. Retrieved September 20, 2008.
20. Presidential Campaign Announcement (video), Obama for America, Brightcove.TV, February 10, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
21. Barack Obama on the Issues: What Would Be Your Top Three Overall Priorities If Elected? , Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
22. Biography of Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, US State Department.
23. Shitov, Andrey. He will change Washington, Rossiyskaya Gazeta June 5, 2008.
24. Artemyev, Alexander. Obama won with cries of “Newspaper. Ru» 28 August 08
25. Malone, Jim. Obama Fundraising Suggests Close Race for Party Nomination, Voice of America, July 2, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
26. Cummings, Gene. Small Donors Rewrite Fundraising Handbook, Politico, September 26, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
27. Kadey, Emily. Obama Outshines Other Candidates in January Fundraising, "CQ Politics", February 21, 2008. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
28. As Barack Obama's aides reported, during the September election campaign they managed to collect a record $150 million from their supporters.
29. German companies donated about $1.6 million to the US elections
30. Hillary Clinton announced her resignation from the presidential race, supporting Obama's candidacy - CNN (English)
31. Bill Clinton supported Obama for the first time - RosBusinessConsulting
32. Barack Obama won the US presidential election // Kommersant-Online, 05.11.2008
33. For the Southern states, a waning grip on the U.S. politics (English) International Herald Tribune (November 11, 2008). - “Less than a third of Southern whites voted for Obama, compared with 43 percent of whites nationally.” Retrieved November 26, 2008.
34. The surge of racism in the USA after Obama's victory - hundreds of incidents NEWSru November 16, 2008.
35. “Obamamania” has begun in Europe. The tour of the US presidential candidate was recognized as successful NEWSru July 26, 2008.
36. Hundreds of Barack Obamas are born in Kenya: the excitement from the victory of “their” candidate does not subside NEWSru November 6, 2008.
37. The Times: Israeli Bedouins claim Barack Obama is their relative NEWSru November 13, 2008.
38. Nikolay Zlobin USA - Russia: Six Barriers. Vedomosti (January 28, 2009). Retrieved January 29, 2009.
39. Ko.ru
40. Profile.ru
41. Obama takes to the world stage. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (November 10, 2008). “Behind the back of the elected US President, a struggle has unfolded over his priorities.” Retrieved November 22, 2008.
42. Obama visits White House as transfer of power begins. International Herald Tribune (November 11, 2008 (paper version)). - “For the nation, it was an obvious first as an African-American came to tour the White House as president-elect.” Retrieved November 20, 2008.
43. Obama and McCain issued a joint statement NEWSru on November 18, 2008.
44. Obama promises action on climate change. International Herald Tribune (November 19, 2008 (paper version)). - “President-elect Barack Obama pointedly confirmed on Tuesday that he planned to stick to the aggressive targets he had set earlier for fighting climate change and for spurring the development of clean-energy technology, saying, “Delay is no longer an option.” " Retrieved November 19, 2008.
45. Obama selects ministers. Nezavisimaya Gazeta (November 20, 2008). - "President-elect relies on Clinton personnel." Retrieved November 22, 2008.
46. Obama introduced the people who, together with him, will pull the United States out of the crisis NEWSru November 24, 2008.
47. Obama's team has been replenished with former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker - he will become NEWSru's chief economic adviser on November 26, 2008.
48. Robert Gates will retain the post of head of the Pentagon, Hillary Clinton will head the State Department NEWSru December 1, 2008.
49. Obama's former classmates celebrated his inauguration at school. RIA News(January 20, 2009).
50. National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation. Official White House website (January 20, 2009). Retrieved January 22, 2009.
51. President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address (English). Official White House website (January 21, 2009). Retrieved January 22, 2009.
52. Barack Obama's inauguration is the most expensive in US history. RIA News(January 21, 2009).
53. Oath flub merits a do-over, scholars say. San Francisco Chronicle (January 21, 2009). Retrieved January 22, 2009.
54. Obama was re-sworn in as President of the United States - White House, RIA News(January 22, 2009).
55. Obama signs order to close Guantanamo Bay prison BBC (2009-01-22).
56. The US Congress approved the “Obama plan” to inject $819 billion into the economy
57. The Senate approved Obama's $838 billion emergency response plan. NEWSru (2009-02-10).
58. The new US president would like to be friends with Russia, Radio Mayak (2009-02-10).
59. The United States is sharply increasing its contingent in Afghanistan, BBC (2009-02-17).
60. US President Barack Obama signed the $787 billion anti-crisis plan adopted by the US Congress in Denver. , Echo of Moscow (2009-02-17).
61. Obama in Russia - the beginning of a new relationship
62. Brzezinski warned Obama against repeating the Soviet mistake in Afghanistan
63. Barack Obama promised to end the war in Iraq and focus on Afghanistan
64. Obama sets firm Iraq withdrawal

Barack Obama's father, Barack Obama Sr., was born in Kenya on April 4, 1936, married at the age of 18, but then left his wife and young son to go to study at the University of Hawaii, where he met student Stanley Ann Dunham (b. 29 November 1942), with whom he soon marries.

Barack Obama Sr.

In this marriage, on August 4, 1961, the future US President Barack Hussein Obama was born. In January 1964, Obama's parents divorced. Obama's father returns to his Kenyan family after completing his studies. In Kenya, Barack Obama Sr. becomes a major official, but after he published an article in which Obama criticized the national plan for building African socialism in Kenya, his career was destroyed. In 1982, Barack Obama Sr. died in a car accident. It should be noted that after him there were 8 children left from 4 marriages.

Anne Dunham, the mother of Barack Obama Jr., after divorcing his father, married an Indonesian student and Barack Obama spent several years in Indonesia, then returning to Hawaii to live with his grandmother.

In 1972, Anne Dunham separated from her Indonesian husband and devoted herself to raising her son and continuing her education. In 1992, Ann completed her doctorate in anthropology at the University of Hawaii. On November 7, 1995, Barack Obama's mother died of cancer.

After the divorce, Barack Obama saw his father only once (at the age of ten), so the personality of the future US president was formed mainly under the influence of his mother. In his book “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reviving the American Dream” (2006), Barack Obama, talking about his path to God, recalls that considerable credit for this belongs to his mother, even though she was not a believer:

“In our house, the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita stood on the shelf next to books on ancient Greek, Scandinavian and African mythologies. At Easter or Christmas, my mother would take me to church, just as she took me to Buddhist temple, on the Chinese New Year holiday, to the Shinto temple and to the ancient burial places of the Hawaiians. But I was given to understand that all these attempts at religion do not require strong adherence from me - no effort to dig inside myself or self-flagellation. Religion is an expression of human culture, she explained, not its source, but only one of many ways - and not necessarily the best - in which man attempts to master the unknown and understand life's deep mysteries.
In short, my mother looked at religion through the eyes of the ethnologist she later became; This is a phenomenon that must be treated with all respect, but at the same time with appropriate detachment.”
“Yet, despite all her learned worldliness, my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person I have ever known. She had an unshakable natural capacity for kindness, mercy and love and very often acted under the influence of this capacity, sometimes To her own detriment. Without the help of religious texts or outside authority, she succeeded admirably in instilling in me the values ​​that many Americans are taught in Sunday school: honesty, empathy, discipline, giving up immediate gratification to achieve goals, and hard work. She resented poverty and injustice, and she despised those who were indifferent to this.
First of all, she acutely felt the miracle, was in awe of life, its preciousness and fleetingness. This sense of wonder and reverence for life could rightly be called pious. She would see a picture, read a line of a poem, or hear music, and I would see tears welling up in her eyes. Sometimes, when I was growing up, she would wake me up in the middle of the night to look at a particularly beautiful moon, or make me close my eyes as we walked together in the twilight and listened to the rustling of leaves. She loved to take children - any children - and sit them on her lap and tickle them, or play games with them, or look at their palms, explore the wonder of bones and tendons and skin and rejoice in the truths that could be discovered in them. She saw secrets everywhere and rejoiced in the very strangeness of life.
Only in hindsight, of course, do I fully understand how deeply that spirit of hers influenced me - how it supported me despite the absence of my father in the house, how it helped me navigate the underwater reefs of adolescence and how it invisibly guided me on the path that I would eventually take. finally gone."

Anne Dunham, mother of Barack Obama

After college, Barack Obama took up social work for a group of churches in Chicago:

"Working with pastors and lay people has strengthened my resolve to lead social life, strengthened my racial consciousness and deepened my faith in the ability of ordinary people to do amazing things. But the experience in Chicago also presented me with a dilemma that my mother never solved in her entire life: I did not belong to any group, did not adhere to common traditions in which my deepest feelings could find support. beliefs. The Christians I worked with recognized themselves in me; they saw that I knew their Scripture, shared their values ​​and sang their songs. But they felt that part of me remained on the sidelines, remaining an observer. I realized that without a vessel for my faith, without committing myself uniquely to any particular religious community, on some level I would always remain on the outside, free just like my mother, but just as alone as She was endlessly lonely."

Barack Obama began to study the African American spiritual tradition:

"Faith was not just a consolation for the despondent or a barrier from death, faith became active, noticeable acting force in the world. In the daily work of the men and women I saw every day in church, in their ability to find a way out of a hopeless situation and maintain hope and dignity in the most difficult situations I saw the Word incarnate.
And probably, precisely thanks to the deep knowledge of suffering, the justification of faith in the struggle, the “black” church gave me a second insight: faith does not mean that you have no doubts or that you renounce everything worldly. Long before it became fashionable among television preachers, mainstream Negro preaching freely acknowledged that all Christians (including pastors) can experience the same greed, resentment, lust and anger as everyone else. Gospel songs, dancing, tears and screams all spoke of releasing, acknowledging and ultimately channeling those emotions. In the black community the line between sinner and saved was more fluid; the sins of those who entered the Church were not so different from the sins of those who did not enter, and were as likely to be spoken of with humor as with condemnation. You had to enter the Church precisely because you are from this world, not apart from it; rich, poor, sinner, saved, you had to accept Christ precisely because you have sins that need to be washed away - because you are human and need an ally in your the hard way, in order to level mountains and valleys, and make crooked paths straight.
It was because of these new discoveries—that religious faith did not require me to stop thinking critically, give up the fight for economic and social justice, or otherwise withdraw from the world I knew and love—that I was finally able to walk through the United Church one day Christ and be baptized. This was the result of a conscious choice, not a sudden revelation; the questions I had didn't magically disappear. But as I knelt under that cross on Chicago's South Side, I felt the spirit of God calling me. I submitted to His will and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."

In the 2008 US presidential election, 53% of religious Americans voted for Obama.

Wife and family

Having found an ally in God, Obama soon received new spiritual support in the person of Michelle Robinson, who became his wife and First Lady of the United States. Michelle was born on January 17, 1964 in Chicago. Michelle, unlike Barack Obama, is a descendant of American slaves. Obama adores his wife and writes about her in his book The Audacity of Hope:

"Most people who meet my wife quickly come to the conclusion that she is wonderful. They are right about that - she is smart, funny and simply charming. She is also beautiful, but her beauty is not the kind that intimidates men and repels women ; This natural beauty a mother and a busy professional, and not a photoshopped image that we see on the covers of glossy magazines. Often, after hearing her speak at an event, or after working with her on a project, people will come up to me and say something like, “You know, I have a very good opinion of you, Barack. but your wife... is just super!” I nod, realizing that if she were my competitor in the election, she would win without much difficulty."

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle

It is worth noting that Barack Obama and his wife are probably the tallest couple among the first couples: Barack Obama is 187 cm tall, and Michelle Obama is 182 cm tall.

Barack Obama with his wife and Dmitry Medvedev with his wife

Obama met his future wife in the summer of 1988, when they both worked at the large law firm Sidley Austin. Although Michelle was younger than Barack, she was already a practicing lawyer, while Obama was then a student intern. Michelle was appointed head of Obama's practice. Obama was captivated by his mentor, but she refused a real date for a long time, because... the romance between a mentor and a subordinate did not fit in with work ethics. In the end, Obama persuaded Michelle: their first date took place at Baskin-Robbins cafe while eating ice cream. Then Obama kissed his first future wife, feeling the taste of chocolate on her lips.
In October 1992, Michelle and Barack got married, and in 1998, on US Independence Day (July 4), their daughter Malia was born. On June 10, 2001, a second daughter, Natasha, appeared in the family.

Barack Obama with family

To summarize the above, it can be noted that Barack Obama’s personality was influenced by good heredity, an intelligent and sensitive mother, the feeling of God as his ally, the support of his wife and family, but the main thing that shaped Barack Obama’s personality and made him what he is now is the audacity of hope. The phrase “the audacity of hope,” once heard by Obama in a sermon, was included in the title of his book:

"The audacity of hope.
This is the best of the American spirit, I thought, to have the audacity to believe, against all odds, that we can bring back togetherness a nation torn by conflict; It is the folly of believing that, despite personal setbacks, job loss, illness of a family member, or a childhood spent in poverty, we can control our destiny—and are therefore responsible for it.
It was precisely this insolence, I thought, that united us into one people. It is this pervasive spirit of hope that has connected my family's story to the story of America, and my own story to the story of the voters I seek to represent."