Meet the Candidate: Barack Obama

Candidate: Barack Obama

Political Party: Democratic Party

Current Position/Job: President of the United States of America

Born: August 4, 1961 in Hawaii

Currently lives in: Washington, D.C.

Education: High School: Punahou School, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1979;  Columbia College, BA, 1983; Harvard Law School, JD,  1991

Past jobs, roles, or offices held: Community organizer, lawyer, law professor, Illinois state senator, and United States Senator

Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States. He is married to Michelle Obama and has two daughters, Sasha and Malia. After graduating from Columbia College in New York City, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago. While earning his law degree, Obama became president of the Harvard Law Review. Prior to becoming president, he held elected office as an Illinois state senator and then as a U.S. Senator. Key milestones of his presidency are the passage of health care reform and new financial regulations and the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces.

Did You Know?

President Obama is left-handed, won a Grammy, loves to play basketball, and really dislikes ice cream.

Obama on Education:

President Barack Obama promises to overhaul No Child Left Behind (NCLB) by reducing its emphasis on test scores as a measure of school performance. He has found ways to make NCLB more flexible by offering waivers to schools that have been unable to meet certain provisions. Race to the Top, Obama’s signature piece of education legislation, provides funding for public schools that are making changes to improve teacher quality and student achievement. Part of Obama’s approach includes linking teacher pay to student performance, which has been criticized by teachers’ unions across the country.

“A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our kids can compete for the best jobs but whether America can out-compete countries around the world. America’s business leaders understand that when it comes to education, we need to up our game. That’s why we’re working together to put an outstanding education within reach of every child.” –July 18, 2011

Web site: www.barackobama.com