President Barack Obama
As the 44th president
of the United States, Barack Obama, aged 51, passed a revamp of the national
healthcare system and authorised the raid that killed Osama bin Laden but
struggled to revive the economy and create jobs.Ahead of the US presidential
election on Tuesday, here are key facts about Obama, the nation's first black
president.Barack Obama has a personal background like no other president in US
history. His mother, Ann Dunham, was a white woman from Kansas and his father, Barack
Obama Snr, was a black Kenyan who saw little of his son after a divorce when
the boy was a toddler. Obama spent much of his childhood in Indonesia and then
Hawaii, where he lived with his maternal grandparents.Obama struggled with his
mixed racial background while growing up, writing in a memoir that he wondered
"if something was wrong with me". He also was troubled by the absence
of his father, who he considered a "myth", and said that may have
contributed to him using marijuana and cocaine in his youth.Obama graduated
from New York's Columbia University in 1983 and then worked in the business sector in New York and for a Chicago community group. In
1988 he went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the prestigious Harvard
Law Review.Obama's relationship with Congress is not great. Even when Democrats
controlled the House of Representatives and the Senate, Republicans often
stymied his initiatives. The situation became more difficult when tax-averse
Republicans took over in the House in 2010.In the early 1990s Obama worked in a
voter registration campaign in Chicago, taught
constitutional law at the University of Chicago and joined a law firm
that specialised in civil rights and neighbourhood development. He married
Michelle Robinson, who he met at a law firm when he was an intern and she was
assigned to be his adviser.In his rare spare moments, the lanky Obama pursues
his lifelong love of basketball with semi-regular games at an FBI gym. He also
makes time for school functions and sports events of daughters Sasha and Malia
and tries to get out for an occasional "date night" with his wife.Obama's
political career began with election to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 and
soared in 2004 when he gave a rousing keynote address at the Democratic
National Convention. In November of that year he was elected to the US Senate.Obama won the
2008 Democratic presidential nomination by defeating Hilary Clinton, the former
first lady and New York senator, and then took the presidency by beating Republican Senator
John McCain. His energetic campaign was built on a theme of "hope and
change" fuelled by powerful oratory.A mood of national optimism prevailed
at Obama's 20 January 2009, inauguration, which
drew an estimated 1.8 million people to the National Mall in Washington despite bitter cold.
He began his presidency with a 68% approval rating.Obama simultaneously oversaw
wars in Iraq, which he ended in 2011, and Afghanistan, as well as the US
military involvement in Libya that helped oust Muammar Gaddafi. In May 2011 he
authorised the raid in which US Navy Seals killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin
Laden in Pakistan - a triumph he points to as indicative of a strong national
security policy.Obama inherited an economic crisis so persistent that it
remains a threat to his re-election. Almost 800 000 jobs were lost the month he
took over. In the early days of his administration, he pushed through an $831bn
economic stimulus package and renewed loans to automakers, even making the
government a temporary part-owner of General Motors.The centrepiece of his
domestic agenda was the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform law better
known as Obamacare. Its purpose is to give all Americans affordable insurance
and more protections but critics say it is expensive federal interference. A
key aspect of the reform requiring most Americans to get insurance or pay a
penalty survived a 2012 US Supreme Court challenge.Obama has a reputation as
a charming communicator but he also is criticised for being aloof and not
building better relationships with congressional leaders. Some have questioned
his preparation skills, especially after a sub-par performance in a
presidential debate with Republican opponent Mitt Romney.
Romney, Obama power into final weekend
President Barack Obama
and Republican foe Mitt Romney on Saturday power into a final weekend of
campaigning before handing their fates to voters after a bitter, gruelling
White House race.The rivals will chase one another through the battleground
states that will decide Tuesday's election, with Obama seeking to solidify his
midwestern line of defence, while Romney seeks an eleventh hour
breakthrough.Obama will campaign in Ohio, the possible tipping point state,
before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa, his trio of "firewall"
battlegrounds ahead of a late night rally in Virginia, where he still hopes for
an insurance win.Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which
drew around 18 000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, on Friday will
travel to New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado.In a show of close combat on the
last weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town
of Dubuque, within hours of one another.Romney warmed up for the frenzied last
weekend with a huge rally in Ohio, bringing together his former primary rivals
Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, along with Obama's 2008 rival John McCain.In all,
45 lawmakers and relatives of the candidate and running mate Paul Ryan wearing
Romney jackets attended the rally near the Republican stronghold of
Cincinnati."We're almost home. One final push will get us there,"
Romney said before a crowd police estimated to be at least 18 000 strong.
"We are so very, very close. The door to a brighter future is there, it's
open, it's waiting for us."Obama had earlier evaded a last-minute time
bomb as the economy pumped out more jobs than expected in October, delivering a
boost to his re-election hopes as the final weekend of campaigning
begins.Romney, however, seized on an uptick in the jobless rate by a tenth of a
point to 7.9% to bemoan an economy at a "virtual standstill".After
several weeks of polls suggesting a neck-and-neck race, there were new signs
that Obama's position, as he seeks a second term, may be solidifying.National polls
of the popular vote now mostly show a tied race or with either man up one point
but with time running out Obama's position in key battleground states seems to
be holding.The candidate that wins the White House will need to mass 270
electoral votes on the state-by-state map.Obama is asking voters for a second
term, despite the sluggish economic recovery, while Romney is seeking a quick
comeback for Republicans after George W Bush left office in 2009 with the party
in disarray.All Obama's polling leads were within the margin of error, however,
and both campaigns, though expressing confidence, will face a nervous night as
results roll in on Tuesday and test their assumptions about the race.Obama,
perhaps mindful of millions of Americans suffering from the lingering impact of
the worst recession since the 1930s, avoided a triumphal tone on the jobs data
that sent relief rippling through his campaign team."We have made real
progress," Obama said, in Hilliard, on the first stop of a day-long swing
through small towns in Ohio, which could be a tipping point state in a tied-up
election.Romney highlighted the fact that, although the economy is creating
jobs at a moderate pace, unemployment remains at historically high
levels."For four years, President Obama's policies have crushed America's middle class," Romney said in a statement."When I'm
president, I'm going to make real changes that lead to a real recovery, so that
the next four years are better than the last," said Romney, who started
his day in Wisconsin and ended it in Ohio.The release of the final major
economic data before the election had worried Obama aides who feared that a
leap in the rate above the psychological 8% mark could have sent late-deciding
voters to Romney.But although the data was far from spectacular - with 171 000
jobs created last month - there was enough in the report, including upward
revisions of previous monthly figures, for Obama to argue the economy was
improving.Obama, campaigning in Ohio on Friday repudiated Romney's claim to
being an agent of change, accusing him instead of trying to "massage the
facts", highlighting a Romney ad that claims that Chrysler plans to
outsource jobs to China to produce its Jeep vehicles."I know we are close
to an election, but this isn't a game. These are people's jobs. These are
people's lives," Obama said, noting that auto bosses had directly
contradicted Romney on the attack.The president repeatedly touts his decision
to bail out indebted US automakers in a politically unpopular 2009 move that
helped restore the industry to health.One in eight jobs in Ohio are linked to
the sector, and Romney's opposition to the bailout has emerged as a liability
for the Republican.A CNN/Opinion Research poll showed Obama up three points in
Ohio, raising his average in the RealClearPolitics aggregate of opinion surveys
in the state to 2.4 points.The president also leads Romney in enough of the
eight or so swing states to assure himself of the 270 electoral votes needed
for re-election, if polling data is confirmed by voting.
Romney hits Obama on 'revenge' vow
Republican nominee
Mitt Romney chided President Barack Obama on Saturday for calling on Americans
to vote for "revenge" as the battle for the White House raced to an
ill-tempered climax.Three days before voters chose between giving Obama a
second term or sending him packing back to Chicago, the rivals chased one
another through a handful of states that will decide Tuesday's
too-close-to-call election.Romney was up early in New Hampshire, which has only
four of the 270 electoral votes needed to claim the White House but could punch
above its weight in a tight finish, accusing Obama of "demonising"
political foes."I won't represent just one party, I'll represent one
nation," Romney told a crowd at an airport rally outside Portsmouth, and
warned Obama would find it impossible to work with congressional Republicans if
he wins re-election.Romney also debuted a new political ad on Saturday, seizing
on Obama's comment in Ohio on Friday when he told supporters angry at the
Republicans not to boo but to vote, saying "voting's the best
revenge".The ad featured Romney telling his biggest crowd of the campaign
in Ohio also Friday that Obama "asked his supporters to vote for revenge -
for revenge"."Instead, I ask the American people to vote for love of
country," Romney said.While Romney was campaigning, Obama was back in
Washington visiting the headquarters of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) as New York and New Jersey struggle to deal with the aftermath of
murderous superstorm Sandy."We still have a long way to go," said
Obama, stressing he had no time for government "red tape" which could
hold up the relief effort, after discussing the crisis with the governors of
New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.The Obama campaign enjoys the comparison
between Obama doing his job managing the government while Romney campaigns as
polls show a majority of Americans approve of the president's handling of
Sandy.With time running down until the election, Obama soon headed back to the
campaign trail, with a long day of campaign stops planned in Ohio, the possible
tipping point state before heading to Wisconsin and Iowa.He will wrap up his
day with a late night rally in Virginia, a state where he and Romney are locked
in a tight race.Romney, fresh from the biggest rally of his campaign, which
drew at least 18 000 people on a cold night in West Chester, Ohio, left New
Hampshire for trips to Colorado and Iowa.In a show of close combat on the last
weekend of the campaign, both candidates will be in the eastern Iowa town of
Dubuque, within hours of one another.Latest polls show Obama and Romney tied
nationally, but Obama appears to be solidifying his position in enough of the
eight or so swing states that will decide the election to support his hopes of
a second term.New surveys by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News Saturday
showed the president up by 47-49% in Florida and leading Romney by 51-45 % n
Ohio, double the margin in the current RealClearPolitics average.A Mason Dixon
poll for the Miami Herald, however, had Romney up by six points in Florida,
which the Republican, who also needs Ohio, cannot afford to lose if he is to be
elected America's 45th president.The Obama and Romney campaigns have sharply
differing views of the race.The president's team believe that early voting and
polling data, plus the president's grass roots turnout machine, mean that Obama
will prevail in a close race.But Romney's camp believes opinion polls are
overstating the proportion of Democrats in the electorate and that their
candidate is poised to ride the support of independent voters to victory on
Tuesday.On Friday, Obama earlier evaded a last-minute time bomb as the economy
pumped out more jobs than expected in October.Romney, however, seized on an
uptick in the jobless rate by a tenth of a point to 7.9% to bemoan an economy
at a "virtual standstill".Obama, campaigning in Ohio Friday
repudiated Romney's claim to being an agent of change, accusing him instead of
trying to "massage the facts", highlighting a Romney ad that claims
that Chrysler plans to outsource jobs to China to produce its Jeep vehicles."I
know we are close to an election, but this isn't a game. These are people's
jobs. These are people's lives," Obama said, noting that auto bosses had
directly contradicted Romney on the attack.The president repeatedly touts his
decision to bail out indebted US automakers in a politically unpopular 2009
move that helped restore the industry to health.One in eight jobs in Ohio are
linked to the sector, and Romney's opposition to the bailout has emerged as a
liability for the Republican.
