By Erica Schwanke © 2008

Now that caucuses and primaries are in full swing and we have entered the year of the next presidential election, names of candidates are popping up nearly everywhere you turn. This article is the first of a series that will serve as an overview of individuals running for the Democratic Party and Republican Party presidential nominations. Each of these articles will include a brief biography and a review of the candidate’s stance on a set of issues that especially concern young adults and families. This article is on Barack Obama.

Barack Obama is a first-term United States Senator for the state of Illinois. Born in Hawaii in 1961, Obama was raised mostly in Hawaii, but also spent a few years in Indonesia until he moved to New York City to attend Columbia University. After graduating, he moved to Chicago, where he was a community organizer and worked to improve conditions in some of Chicago’s worst neighborhoods. Obama eventually returned to the East Coast, graduating from Harvard Law School in 1991, and then went back to Chicago to work as a civil rights lawyer until running for Illinois State Senate, where he served for eight years. In 2004, Obama was elected to represent Illinois in the U.S. Senate, where he is the fifth black U.S. senator in the nation’s history, and the only black person currently serving in the Senate.

The Issues

Health Care: Starting in the Illinois State Senate, and later in the U.S. Senate, Obama has continuously worked to promote affordable, quality health care. At the state level, Obama has sponsored legislation that expanded coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. At the national level, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 to create health care coverage for American kids. In addition to the millions of American who are uninsured or underinsured, Obama is also concerned about the cost of health care, which he believes is too high, and the amount of money spent on preventative care and public health, stating that too little is spent on these issues. Obama is currently promoting affordable coverage for all and has a detailed plan of how he will insure quality health care for all Americans if elected. Obama’s program stresses affordable premiums, guaranteed eligibility, simplified paperwork, and mandatory coverage for children.

Education: Obama’s principle concerns with education are the 6 million middle and high school students reading below their grade level, the 30 percent dropout rate in U.S. high schools, and the rising costs of college. To solve these problems, Obama’s plans include reforming No Child Left Behind by ensuring it receives the appropriate funding and improves the methods used to track student progress that measure high school students’ level or preparedness for college and the workplace. Obama’s plans also include legislation for funding of intervention strategies, including personal academic plans, mentoring, and teaching teams. To combat rising college costs, Obama plans to create a new American Opportunity Tax Credit, which will ensure that the first $4,000 of college tuition and all of community college tuition are completely free for most students, as well as simplifying the application for financial aid.

Civil Rights: A former civil rights lawyer and community organizer, Obama has a strong background in promoting civil rights. Obama has cosponsored legislation expanding federal hate crime laws to include crimes against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Obama has also made strong efforts to register marginalized voters. Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes it should be expanded to cover gender and sexuality discrimination. Obama also supports the Fair Pay Act, which works to ensure that equal pay is received for equal work.

Marriage Laws: Although Obama admits that his personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman, he acknowledged in a speech he gave on June 5, 2006, that same-sex couples deserve to be treated with the same dignity and allowed the same privacy as married couples currently receive. In that same speech, Obama stated that he believes that marriage laws should be left up to the states, as they have always been. Obama also believes that same-sex couples should be able to share health care benefits, and the adoption process should be the same as it is with heterosexuals.

Minimum Wage: Obama believes that the minimum wage needs to be raised in context with inflation to ensure that the minimum wage is a living wage. He also believes that all employees should receive a minimum of seven paid sick days each year.

Environment: Obama is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 80 percent by the year 2050. Obama cosponsored the Great Lakes Environmental Restoration Act, which focused on issues such as wetland restoration, improvement of water quality, and sustainable use of the Great Lakes. Obama also passed legislation to give gas stations a tax credit for installing E85 refueling pumps.

The Iraq War: While campaigning for U.S. Senate in 2003 and 2004, Obama spoke out against the Iraq war. After being elected to the Senate, Obama has repeatedly called for a full removal of troops from Iraq. In September 2007, Obama presented a detailed plan of how he will remove troops from Iraq if elected president.

For more information on Obama, visit his website at www.barackobama.com >>