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Slide 2: The Early Years • Barack Obama’s parents met at the University of Hawaii. His mother was raised mostly in Kansas but moved to Hawaii when her parents got involved with WW2. • His father who lived in Kenya as a boy moved to Hawaii after he got a scholarship to the University of Hawaii. • Barack Obama was born in Honolulu Hawaii on August 4, 1961.
Slide 3: Life is tough Shortly after Obama turned two his parents got a divorce. His father moved back to Kenya. Both his mother and father remarried and had other children resulting in a large number of half-bothers and sisters for Obama. After living in Jakarta for many years with his mother and new dad he decided to go back and live with his grandparents in Hawaii.
Slide 4: • Later Barack Obama moved to New York and graduated from Columbia University in 1983. • Later, Barack would go to Harvard Law School in order to gain a law degree. • He would become the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review.
Slide 5: Obama falls in love • Barack got married on October 18, 1992 in Chicago Illinois. • He now has a family of his own which consists of his wife Michelle Obama and his two daughters Malia and Sasha
Slide 6: • He served in the Illinois State Senate for eight years. • In 2004, he was the third African-American to be elected to the US senate since Reconstruction. • Obama is also an author who has published several novels. One example is his autobiography Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance in 2004. • He also wrote The Audacity of Hope was published in 2006
Slide 7: Experience?? • Although Obama has had experience in Illinois as well as in the US Senate many people claim he is too young and too inexperienced. • One reason Obama may be inexperienced is because he has not served in the US military.
Slide 8: Barack is a Christian and United Church of Christ in Chicago Illinois. It is a protestant Christian denomination.
Slide 9: His view of Iraq • Problem : the original goal to create a space for Iraq's political leaders, end Iraq’s civil war, and to reduce violence did not prevail. • His Plan: bring troops home immediately by removing brigades one by one. He still wants to keep some troops stationed in Iraq in order to protect our embassy and diplomats against Al Qaeda. • He states that the expenses of the War are too heavy for our economy to bear. He believes we as Americans should focus more on our enconomy.
Slide 10: It’s Taxin’ time. • Obama wants higher taxes for EVERYONE in order to pay for more social programs. • Supports extending child tax credits. • He also supports eliminating marriage penalties • He wants to re-examine tax benefits for the top one percent of the income bracket.
Slide 11: More taxing • More of Barack Obama ideas…. • To have a new $500 income tax credit for everyone that works and pays the payroll taxes. • Eliminate all the income tax for seniors that make a yearly income under $50,000. • Create a new program in which the IRS sends pre-filled tax returns to people with simple taxes • Create a mortgage interest tax credit for homeowners that cannot take advantage of the existing mortgage tax deduction.
Slide 12: • Obama wants to make a national health care plan for all Americans including the selfemployed and small business owners. He wants to allow people to buy an affordable plan for health coverage, similar to the members of Congress. He wants to devise lower cost by modernizing the U.S. Health Care System. NO American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or preexisting conditions. Health Care • • •
Slide 13: IMMIGRATION • Create borders that are more secure by adding personnel, more infrastructure, and also increasing the technology on the border. Improve our immigration system by increasing the number of legal families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot fulfill. He wants to reduce incentives to enter illegally, by cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers. He always believes we should work with Mexico to develop and promote more economic development to decrease illegal immigration. • “The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America… Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should” — Barack Obama, Statement on U.S. Senate Floor, May 23, 2007 • •
Slide 14: ABORTION • • Obama stated his abortion position as: "Abortions should be legally available in accordance with Roe v. Wade.” He feels that abortion should be legalized because he cannot determine when life begins. He wants that decision to be left to the mother. Obama stated, that he is not in favor of abortion personally. However, he feels that he cannot determine such a personal matter for everyone. He also wants to enact family planning services. Barack wants any abortion to be covered by health care. • • •
Slide 15: Same sex relationships… • Feels that same-sex relationship laws should be carried out by the states. • Obama stated, “ I do not fee that homosexuality is immoral..!” • He feels and believes that civil unions are the fairest means for everyone. • He is for gay rights. • He also stated that we as a nation should strive to become more tolerant of other lifestyles.
Slide 16: Environment • He is very active on matters of energy and environment • Obama introduced or co-signed nearly 100 eco-related bills on issues ranging from auto fuel economy to lead poisoning to bio-fuels promotion. • He wants to introduced or co-signed nearly 100 eco-related bills on issues ranging from auto fuel economy to lead poisoning to bio-fuels promotion. • He is ready to take the first steps in creating less green-house emissions. • He is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act and he introduced the Healthy Places Act to assess and support improvements to the built environment He even drives a Hybrid
Slide 17: Social Security • Stop any efforts to privatize Social Security. • 2000 tax credit for Working Families Savings Accounts • He Voted NO on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security in March of 2007
Slide 18: Crime and Death • Barack Obama battles legislatively against the death penalty because he believes alternate sentencing and rehabilitation could be used instead. He plans on Videotaping all capital punishment interrogations. He strongly believes that lack of enforcement sets the tone for more hate crimes. Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks with firearms. • • • • “I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manufacturer's lobby. But I also believe that when a gangbanger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels someone disrespected him, we have a problem of morality. Not only do we need to punish that man for his crime, but we need to acknowledge that there's a hole in his heart, one that government programs alone may not be able to repair.”
Slide 19: Education • Barack has constructed a nationwide program to reconstruct crumbling school buildings • He wants to pay teachers more money & treat them like professionals • Supports charter schools and private investment in schools. • Free public college for any student with B or above average.
Slide 20: Economy • “Effective federal programs are necessary to protect the rural economy.” Barack says. • He plans to implement a 21st century economic agenda to help ensure that America can compete in a global economy, and ensure the middle class is thriving and growing • He wants to strengthen America’s workforce by expanding childhood education and producing more math and science graduates • He also wants to strengthen and enforce international trade agreements by promoting American business abroad. • Obama wants to fix reduce the self-employment tax and support small business.
Slide 21: • • • • • • Oprah Winfrey, one of the powerful and successful women in our world today, has convinced thousands of men and women to cast their vote for Obama. “I think that my value to him, my support of him, is probably worth more than any check.”-Oprah on Obama He also is getting a lot of support from women, African Americans, and Independents. He was also supported by George Clooney. Obama also has gained support from major companies and universities…Such as: Harvard, UCA, JP Morgan Throughout Barack’s campaign, he has taken in around $80,456,089. Supporters
Slide 22: Will he make it to the White House? • • • According to USA Today Barack and Hilary are essentially tied for the Democratic presidential nomination Among Democrats alone, Clinton leads Obama by 5 points, 34%-29%, which is very slim. Barack has enjoyed both a lead in the Iowa caucus and in New Hampshire.
Slide 23: Ending Quote • “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and Latino America and Asian America - there's the United States of America.”
Slide 24: Does Obama Have Our Vote Nicole- I feel that Barack Obama would make a very good president. He is a well-rounded man that connects well with people from all backgrounds. I agree with all of his opinions on social and economic views. Obama, I feel could make a great difference in our nation. Laura – I do not think that I would vote for Obama because of his views on abortion and same sex marriage. However, I do admire his views on the environment and his congenial personality.