Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961 in Hawaii as a son of a Kenyan father and an American Caucasian mother who divorced when he was two years old. In 1983, Obama received his B.A. degree from Columbia University in New York City where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relation. In 1988, he entered Harvard Law School, became the Harvard Law Review’s first black president in 1990 and got his J.D. degree in 1991. In 1996, Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate and was reelected to the Illinois State Senate in 1998 and 2002. In 2004, he became the U.S. Senate. On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his president candidacy with a speech in which he pledged to “build a more hopeful America.”
Besides his relatively young age, what makes Obama stand out of other candidates also include his unique skin color, his novel small donors tactics and his excellent information analyzing ability shown in treating Iraq War.
As one of 2008 president candidates, Obama is the youngest one, but politically mature and experienced. Since getting his B.A. degree from Columbia University, he has been taking an active role in community organization, legislation, and foreign relation issues. Similar to his candidate peers, he also has a number of good records in improving the nation’s health care, child care, welfare reform, tax reform and safety defend policy.
Contrary to the white skin color of the other candidates, African-American candidate Obama probably has a different and deeper perception on the nation’s race issue. His memoir Dreams from my father, published in 1995, describes his struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perception in his multiracial heritage, which proves that race issue has been implanted into his mind since he was young, and has been deeply and systematically thought for a long time. When he was a state legislator of Illinois, Obama worked as a chief sponsor and voted for racial profiling law to require police to record the race of drivers they stopped, demonstrating his effort in pushing racial justice.
During the first half of 2007, Obama’s campaign raised $58.4 million, donations of less than $200 accounting for $16.4 million, more than any other Democratic candidates. He did not disregard small donors, building a unique roster of small donors who may give again and volunteer as the race continues. Obama’s small donor tactics has enrolled a great number of black and young voters who have become interested in president election for the first time. Therefore, to some extent, Obama’s small donors tactics has not only helped to raised campaign money, but also encourage more U.S. citizens to care about their nation’s future, take part in its political decision-making activities, express their own opinions, and show their supports to the country.
The other thing that protrudes him from his candidate counterparts is his constant and correct observation and analysis ability in facing Iraq War. Obama is one the few candidates who has been opposing Iraq War from its beginning till now. Before March 20, 2003, majorities of the U.S. citizens were misled by the multiple media. They were fooled by the pain of September 11th, rashly and unreasonably associated the disaster to Saddam Hussein, and emotionally believed Saddam Hussein should be destroyed immediately. After almost five years’ Iraq War, no massive destructive weapon is found in Iraq, lots of Iraqi people lose home, thousands of U.S. soldiers die or wounded, and hundreds of billions of dollars flow away. Now, majorities of American think U.S. force should leave Iraq and stop the war. Facts tell that Iraq War is unwise. But Obama has sensed the result before its beginning and made effort to inhibit it. On October 2, 2002, he addressed an anti-war rally in Chicago, saying “I don’t oppose all war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.”
When evaluate a president candidate, one might be easily leaded by his or her heart that is encouraged by the candidate’s promise or political advocacy. However, it should be known that president’s decision is nanosecond changeable. And so are the national and international situations. So when we choose a president, try to use our heads to find one who has a thorough perception on the country’s acute issue, who is able to group his or her people together for a common goal, and who can do analysis calmly and clearly and make judgments wisely. Compared to other candidates, Obama is closer to such a standard.
Useful Links
Obama on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama#_note-16
Obama’s Early Career
http://www.barackobama.com/about/
Obama’s Announcement for President
http://www.barackobama.com/2007/02/10/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_11.php
Racial Profiling Law
http://factcheck.barackobama.com/factcheck/2008/01/14/obamas_strong_record_of_accomp.php
Small Donors
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/us/politics/17obama.html?scp=1&sq=small+donors+obama
Obama’s Antiwar Announcement
http://www.barackobama.com/2002/10/02/remarks_of_illinois_state_sen.php
Cost of Iraq War
http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home
No comments:
Post a Comment