Barack Obamas Political Aspirations - Essay Example

This paper investigates the significant contributions made by Barack Obama before he became the United s President. The introduction section examines his background and gives an overview of the significant contributions that Barack Obama made before becoming the US President. Finally, the introduction section gives the thesis statement of the paper, which goes like 'Barack Hussein Obama made significant contributions before becoming the US President.' The main body is divided into smaller sub titles in order to cover the topic easily and exhaustively. It covers it covers many aspects of his life, starting from his birth in Hawaii to his relocation to Indonesia and back to Hawaii. It carries on with his life at Occidental College in Los Angeles, then at Columbia University in New York and finally at Harvard. It also examines Obama's life as a community organizer in Chicago. It then gives an account of Obama's political life from the days he served as an Illinois State Senator through to his days as a United States Senator and finally his decision to vie for the United States Presidency. The conclusion section highlights the main items of the paper and gives inferences where appropriate. It confirms the thesis of the paper. Introduction Barack Hussein Obama, the 44th President of the US, was born on the 4th August 1961. Obama happens to the first ever African American president. Before the presidency, Obama served as a junior Senator in the United States Senate from the state of Illinois between January 2005 and November 2008. He later resigned after he was elected president. Obama graduated from both Harvard and Columbia Universities. While at Harvard Law School, Obama was the Harvard Law Review president, the first ever African American to hold the position. Before he earned his law degree, while in Chicago, Obama served as a community organizer. Between 1992 and 2004, Obama became an attorney of civil rights in Chicago. During the same period, he served as a constitutional law teacher at the University of Chicago's Law School. Obama served in the Illinois Senate for three terms between 1997 and 2004. In 2000, he bid for the House of Representatives seat but was unsuccessful. Later in 2004, Obama successfully ran for a senate seat in the Unites States Senate. Obama's victory amid a crowded field in 2004, together with his keynote speech at a Democratic National Convention made him a rising national figure. Obama's election to the US Senate in 2004 had the biggest margin in the history of Illinois. Obama began his race for the US presidency in February 2007. He won the primaries against Hillary Clinton in 2008 and won the party's nomination to become the first ever African American presidential candidate of a major party. Obama went ahead to beat the Republican Party flag bearer John McCain in the 2008 elections. His inauguration as president was held on the 20th January 2009. Background Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in the United States to Barack Obama Senior and Stanley Ann Dunham. Dunham was an English decent American from Wichita in Kansas. Barack Obama Senior was a Luo who came from Nyang'oma Kogelo village in Nyanza Province of Kenya. Obama Senior and Dunham first met at the University of Hawaii in Manoa during a Russian language class. Obama Senior, a foreign student, attended the university on scholarship. They married in February 1961, with Barack being born later the same year. Barack Obama's birth was announced in the Honolulu Star Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser. At the age of two years, Barack's parents separated and later divorced in 1964. Obama Senior returned to his home country, Kenya and only saw his son once before he met his death in a road accident in 1982. Dunham joined the University of Washington while living at Seattle in Capitol Hill with her son as a single mother (Ripley, 2008). She left Seattle together with her son in the 1962's summer and rejoined the University of Hawaii. After Dunham's separation with Obama Senior, she moved in with her parents and her son in a one-story house in Manoa (Ripley, 2008). Obama Senior graduated from Harvard University with an economics Masters degree. Before his death, Obama Senior had served in the finance ministry in Kenya (Obama, 2004). In Obama's early years, he was known both at school and at home as Barry. He attended Noelani Elementary School next to his home for his kindergarten education. While still residing at Manoa, Dunham met and later married Lolo Soetoro (Ripley, 2008). Soetoro was at that time a student at the University of Hawaii. However, when Suharto took over the leadership of Indonesia in 1967, he recalled all Indonesians studying abroad to return to the country. Consequently, Dunham and Soetoro moved to Indonesia together with Obama. Barack Obama's places of residence Indonesia Between the age of six and ten Obama joined various schools in Jakarta. In these schools, the teachers used the Indonesian language as the language of instruction. He first joined a Catholic school known as St Francis Asisi for about three years. His family then relocated to another neighborhood known as Menteng. Here, Obama joined SDN Menteng School, a government run, secular school, where he did his fourth year. While in Indonesia, Obama became a Cub Scout. Obama's step-father, Lolo Soetoro, was not a religious man and only attended prayer services during big communal events. During his third grade, Obama wrote an essay where he expressed his ambition to be a president. However, he did not specify the country where he wished to be president. He was sure about one thing though; that he wanted to ensure that everybody was happy. While in Indonesia, Dunham and Soetoro were blessed with a baby, whom they named Maya Soetoro. Maya therefore grew up with Obama in Indonesia before he returned to the United States. Hawaii In 1971, at the age of ten Obama went back to Honolulu where he lived at an apartment on South Beretina Street with Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, his maternal grandparents. Here, Obama joined Punahou School, a privately-owned college preparatory school in fifth grade and stayed on to his graduation in 1979. In 1972, Ann Dunham, Obama's mother went back to Hawaii where he remained until 1977. In 1777, she went back to Indonesia where she was an anthropological field worker. In 1994, Dunham returned to Hawaii where she lived for about a year. Ann Dunham died of uterine cancer and ovarian cancer in 1995, shortly after Obama published his 1995 memoir titled 'Dreams from my father.' In Hawaii, as a young adult, Obama struggled in reconciling social perceptions about his multiracial heritage. He also got the opportunity to experience various cultures in an environment of mutual respect. He admits that this became an essential part of his view of the world and a base for the values he holds most dear. In his teenage, Obama admits having used cocaine, marijuana and alcohol in order to find his identity (Obama, 2004). In Obama's memoir, he describes what he experienced as he grew up in his grandparents middle class family. His knowledge of his Kenyan father mainly came from photographs and stories since he returned briefly only once for a visit Colleges attended Occidental College, Los Angeles, California After high school, Obama went to Los Angeles and enrolled at Occidental College for only two years. At Occidental College, Obama was known to dress in casual Hawaiian style. He made a lot of friends who referred to him by the name 'Barry. Among them are Marcus and Reggie who were also his room mates. The college offered Obama the first ever opportunity to give a speech before an audience (Obama, 2004). This is widely believed to have been the foundation of Obama's political career. Columbia University, New York After two years at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Obama moved to New York City and enrolled at Columbia College. Obama was quite new in New York City. He however met a number of his old friends from Los Angeles such as one known as Sadik. Sadik was employed at some bar in New York City. At Columbia, Obama became a political science major with a bias towards international relations. In 1982, Barack Obama Senior died in a road accident in 1982. The following year, Obama graduated from the Columbia College with a BA. He then had a short stint as an employee of a New York Research Group and Business International Corporation. While in New York, Obama kept moving from one residence to another, especially after his college. Chicago After living in New York for four years, Obama relocated Chicago. In Chicago, he was employed as a director of Developing Communities Project. DCP, a Christian-based community development organization, comprises of eight Catholic parishes in Riverdale, West Pullman and Roseland on the southern end of Chicago. Obama worked with DCP between June 1985 and May 1988 as community organizer. During his three year stint as DCP director saw the organization's staff grow to thirteen from only one. Moreover, the organization's yearly budget also grew to 400,000 dollars from 70,000 dollars when he joined the organization. In Chicago, Obama closely worked with Marty Krause, especially in the Chicago Roseland Area and Altgeld Garden Project. In Atgeld Gardens, Obama helped in the establishment of an organization to fight for the rights of tenants. He also helped in setting up a tutoring program for college preparatory as well as a job training program. He also served as an instructor and a consultant for Gamaliel Foundation, an institute that whose mission was community organizing. Obama also helped in the establishment a number of programs including Roseland Unity Coalition and Mayor's training and employment office. In 1988, Obama went on a three-week tour of Europe and then on a five-week tour of Kenya. In Kenya he met many paternal relatives for the very first time. Harvard Law School Barack Obama joined the Harvard Law School in 1988. Obama was of the view that pursuing a law degree would help him in better facilitating community activism and organization. He also wanted to learn how the various tax structures affect the kind of housing that is built in a particular place. Based on a writing competition and his grades, Obama was chosen as an editor of Harvard Law Review at the close of his first year in college. In 1990, Obama was elected the president of Harvard Law Review; he was a second year student then. This position is a full time voluntary one where the holder functions as the supervisor of an eighty-member review staff and editor-in-chief. Obama victory as the first ever black president of the team was extensively followed and covered by numerous, detailed profiles. He attributed his victory to his approach where he convinced an essential swing bloc comprising of conservatives. He promised to ensure that their self-interests are protected if they elected him. To build up this trust, Obama made use of long-listening sessions, the same approach he used in South Side's poor neighborhoods of Chicago (Obama, 1988). Many of Obama's supporters in his quest for the review team presidency hoped that he would not only protect their interests, but also offer them a fairer shake. While Obama was in Harvard, he was also an associate at Sidley and Austin in the year 1989. This is where he met Michel, whom he later married; Newton Minow was the firm's managing partner. Obama was later introduced to top business leaders in Chicago. In 1990, he was employed at Hopkins and Sutter, a leading law firm. During his years at Harvard, Obama toured Los Angeles, where he spent eight days where he took a training course on Alinsky's organizing methods. In 1991, Obama graduated from Harvard with J D magma cum laude and immediately returned to Chicago. In Chicago Obama enjoyed a lot of publicity following his election as the first ever Harvard Law Review black president. Upon his return to Chicago, he was contracted to author a book on race relations. The Law School of the University of Chicago offered him a fellowship and an office to enable him write the book. His original plan was to finish writing the book in a year. However, it took over a year because the book developed into his personal memoir. To enable him work without any interruptions, Obama traveled to Bali together with his wife where he did his writing for some months. Finally, the book's manuscript was published in 1995 under a title 'Dreams from my father.' In 1992, Obama married Michelle Robinson and they settled in Hyde Park. This is an integrated, liberal and middle-class neighborhood in Chicago. The area has a history of voting in reform-minded politicians with little regard to Daley political machine. The couple had their first daughter in 1998 and named her Malia Ann. Their second child, Sasha or Natasha, came in the year 2001. Marriage played a big role in bringing Obama closer to his fellow politically-influential Chicagoans. Among Michelle's best friends was Santita, a daughter to Jesse Jackson. Santita later became the godmother of Malia, the couple's first child. Michelle had herself worked as Mayor Richard Daley's aide. Obama became friends with Marty Nesbitt, a young African-American businessman, who had played basketball with Craig Robinson, Michel's brother. Nesbitt introduced Obama to other black business people. Before marrying Michelle, Obama had talked of his political ambitions and even said he might run for the presidency someday. Project Vote Between April and October 1992, Obama helped in directing the Illinois Project Vote. This was a nonpartisan voter registration campaign that went a long way in making Carol Moseley Braun the first ever African American woman Senator. Obama was in charge of ten staff members and a team of 700 volunteers. Under Obama, Project Vote realized its goal of having 400,000 African-American registered voters in the Illinois State. Consequently, Obama was named among the 'forty under forty' future powers in the Craig's Chicago Business. Even though fundraising was not a requirement for the position Project Vote director, he initiated an active campaign aimed at raising money for this project. According to the Project Vote founder Sandy Newman, Obama was able to raise more money than any other director in the state. He endeavored to enlist a wide spectrum of people and organizations, including those who found it hard to get along with one another. The Project Vote fundraising gave Obama an opportunity to interact with the liberal and wealthy elite of Chicago. Some of these elite greatly supported Obama in his political career. Thorough one of the elite, Obama met his future head of his presidential campaign team, David Axelrod. Obama also made contacts with a number of Chicago African-American political leadership even though he did not always get along with older politicians. Friction sometimes developed over Obama's unwillingness to spend money and instead insisting on results. Obama joined the University of Chicago as a constitutional law teacher for twelve years. He first served as a lecturer from 1992 to 1996, then as Senior Lecturer from between 1996 and 2004. He mainly taught courses in law, racism, voting rights, and equal protection and due process. He however did not publish any legal scholarships and tuned down offers of tenured positions. In the course of his twelve years at the University, Obama was able to serve in the Illinois State Senate for eight years. In 1993, Obama joined a law firm known as Davis, Miner, Barnhill and Galland. The law firm comprised of twelve attorneys and specialized in neighborhood economic development and civil rights litigation. Obama was an associate at the firm between 1993 and 1996, and then counsel between 1996 and 2004. His law license however became inactive in 2002. The law firm was well known among African American community leaders and influential liberals in Chicago. Obama had clearly stated that he joined the firm with the intention of learning about the politics of Chicago and not practicing law. During his stint at the firm, Obama accrued 3723 billable hours and handled thirty cases. In 1992, Obama was a founder member of Public Allies but later resigned. In 1993, his wife Michelle became the executive director of the Chicagoan chapter of Public Allies. Obama was a board member of Woods Fund in Chicago; the fund was among the first foundations to fund his DCP between 1993 and 2002. He also served on the Joyce Foundation between 1993 and 2002. Serving on the two boards enabled Obama to make contacts with influential liberal groups. This enabled him to develop a large community activists' network, who later offered great support for his political ambitions. Between 1995 and 2002, Obama served on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge board as chairman and founding president. He also served on the boards of many other organizations including Lugenia Burns Hope and Neighborhood Technology Center. Political Aspirations Illinois Senate In 1996, Obama contested and won a seat to the Senate of Illinois, taking over from Alice Palmer of the 13th District. The 13th District then covered the neighborhoods of Chicago South Side, which cover from Chicago Lawn to South Shore and to Hyde Park Kenwood. After his election, Obama gained a wide-ranging support for his sponsoring of legislation that went a long way in reforming healthcare and ethics laws. Moreover, promoted increased childcare subsidies, negotiated welfare reform, and sponsored a law that increased tax credits for those with a low income. In 2001, Obama co-chaired the administrative rules joint committee where he oversaw a lot of reforms especially with regard to mortgage lending and payday loan regulations, which went a long way in averting home foreclosures. In 1998 general election, Obama got a reelection the Senate of Illinois after he defeated the Republican candidate Yesse Yehudah. He was again reelected in 2002 for a third term in the Illinois Senate. In 2000, Obama had run for US House of Representatives but lost to Bobby Rush, who had served in the position for four consecutive terms. When the Democrats gained a majority in the Illinois Senate, Obama chaired the committee on human services and health. He sponsored legislation aimed at monitoring racial profiling; the legislation was unanimously passed by both the Democrats and the Republicans. This legislation requires the police to include the race of detained drivers in their documentation. Obama also sponsored legislation that requires that all homicide interrogations be videotaped. Obama was highly credited by the police representatives for being actively engaged with police organizations to enact death penalty reforms. The US Senate Obama became a US Senator in January 2005, thereby becoming the fifth black Senator in the history of the United States. He was also the third African-American Senator to have been elected popularly. He happened to have been the only Senator in Congressional Black Caucus. Obama was a loyal Democrat if his voting pattern between 2005 and 2007 is anything to go by. Obama emerged as the most popular member of the US Senate, having enjoyed over 70 per cent support in his Illinois state. Obama voted for the 2005's Energy Policy Act, and was a co-sponsor of the famous 'Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act. He also supported another bill related to this in September 2006-Secure Fence Act. Obama introduced the Transparency Act, which helped in the establishment of a web-based search engine, USAspending.gov to promote transparency and accountability in the US federal government spending. He also initiated the Lugar-Obama Act to expand the concept of the existing bill with regard to conventional weapons. In June 2008, Obama teamed up with Senators John McCain, Tom Coburn and Thomas Carper to introduce a follow-up legislation to the Accountability and Transparency Act. Obama sponsored a bill requiring the owners of nuclear plants to notify local authorities as well as the state in case of any radioactive leaks. However, this bill did not pass because of heavy modification at the committee stage. In 2006, he sponsored the DR Congo Act which was aimed at promoting democracy and security and providing relief for the citizens of the country. This bill was signed into law by President Bush in December the same year. As a senator, Obama served on various committees such as Veterans' Affairs, Public Works and Environment and Foreign Relations. He later abandoned the Public Works and Environment Committee to serve in the Health, Education, Pensions and Labor Committee, and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Obama later chaired the European Affairs Senate sub-committee. As a Foreign Relations Committee member, he toured Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In the course of these trips, he met and had a talk with Mahmoud Abbas prior to his becoming the Palestinian Authority President. He also gave a keynote speech at the Nairobi University where he condemned corruption in the government of Kenya. Conclusion Barack Obama rose from a humble background to become a star in community organizing as well as advocacy for the rights of the less fortunate in the society. Moreover, Obama was involved in a number of ventures for the community, such as Project Vote, and helped raise funds for a worthy cause. Obama made great contributions in both the Illinois State Senate and the US Senate. He particularly made a lot of contributions while in the US Senate where he served on various Committees and also sponsored a number of bills, some of which became law. From all this achievements, there is absolutely no doubt that Barack Hussein Obama made significant contributions before becoming the US President. References Obama, B (1988) Why organize Problems and promise in the inner city, Illinois Issues Obama, B (2004) Dreams from My Father-A Story of Race and Inheritance, Three Rivers Press Ripley, A (2008, April 9) The Story of Barack Obama's Mother, Time. Read More