When
Barack Obama was elected as the Democratic nominee in the 2008 primaries, he became
the first African-American presidential nominee for a major political party. Barack
Obama has dedicated his life to public service, working as a community organizer
and civil rights attorney before being elected to the Illinois Senate in 1997.
He served until 2004 when he was elected as US Senator by a landslide. That year
he delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. As US
Senator he cosponsored legislation on controlling conventional weapons, lobbying
and electoral reform, global climate change, care for military personnel, and
nuclear terrorism. As a Presidential candidate, Obama has focused his campaign
on ending the war in Iraq, decreasing American dependence on oil, promoting universal
healthcare and reducing the influence of lobbyists in politics. Born to a Kenyan-father
and Kansas-born White woman, Barack Obama's multicultural heritage, life of service,
and empathetic worldview, for many, symbolizes the hope we need for a more peaceful,
just and sustainable world.
