MOHAMED NAME: RAJANI COURSE: US NATIONAL POLITICS (PSC 100-B) INSTRUCTOR: PROF. ODONNELL SUBMISSION DATE: SEPTEMBER 26 2008 INFORMATION OF 2008 US ELECTIONS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES Barack Hussein Obama II Democratic Party Presidential Nominee BIOGRAPHY[1][2] Barack Hussein Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu Hawaii to a Kenyan father, Barack Obama Sr., and an American mother, Ann Dunham. At the time of his birth, Obamas parents were University students in Hawaii, where his father had won a scholarship according him a leave from Kenya. At the age of two, Obamas parents officially separated and were divorced later. While Obamas father pursued his PhD studies at Harvard, he moved to Jakarta with his newly-wedded mother and Indonesian stepfather, Lolo Soetoro. Obama attended schools in Jakarta which used the Indonesian language as the medium of instruction. However, he moved back to Hawaii at age ten to live with his maternal grandparents. He was later joined by his mother (she died of ovarian cancer in 1995). After attending the prestigious high school Punahou Academy in Hawaii, and upon graduating with honors in 1979, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for a couple of years and subsequently moved to New Yorks Columbia University where he graduated with a political science degree. Obama then worked for a year with Business International Corporation as a junior editor and later for the New York Public Interest Research group before moving to Chicago to serve as Director of the Developing Communities Project, a Christian faith community organization. During his three years in Chicago, Obama worked on job training and college preparatory tutoring programs. In 1988, Obama joined Harvard Law School where, in his second year, served as President of the Harvard Law Review. After graduating from Harvard with a Juris Doctor, he moved to Chicago where he pioneered a successful voter registration initiative. He also practiced as a civil rights lawyer and taught constitutional law. He is married to Michelle Obama with two kids, Sasha and Malia. POLITICAL CAREER [1] A lot of criticism on Barack Obama in his presidential campaign has concentrated around his limited political experience. This certainly holds true when compared to Senator John McCain, the presidential nominee for the Republican Party. However, Obamas role as a civil rights lawyer in Chicago was instrumental in his rise through the political ranks in the state. His ardent advocacy for civil rights and
liberties won him a seat in the Illinois State Senate in 1996, where he served for eight years. In January of 2003, Obama officially announced his candidacy to run for the United States Senate. Backed by the well-respected political Strategist David Axelrod [3], in November 2004, after a long and controversy-filled campaign, Obama was elected to the United States Senate defeating Republican candidate Alan Keyes. [4] NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS [1] In the Illinois State Senate, Obama worked across party lines to assist working families through tax reforms. The Earned Income Tax Credit program, which Obama was influential in enforcing, helped families across the state with tax cuts of over $100 million over three years. He was also instrumental in the expansion of early childhood education. Obama also worked with various law-enforcement officials to bring into regulation compulsory videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases after numerous prisoners on death row were found not guilty. Obama rose to further prominence in his role as a United States Senator for Illinois. He focused on issues that required serious rectifications that would rebuild the trust in government. He was influential in overhauling the governments online presence through a law passed with Republican Tom Coburn whereby every taxpayer would be able to view the manner in which their tax dollars were being spent. Hes also widely advocated ethics reform in Washington that would root out Jack Abramoffstyle corruption. As part of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Obama had worked to enhance the lives of war veterans through timely disbursements of disability pay and is also currently working on the very issue for veterans requiring care returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama acknowledged the serious threat of weapons of mass destruction and has worked with various countries to begin a new generation of non-proliferation efforts. Americas addiction of oil is also seen as a serious problem by Obama. Hes already working to gather industry stakeholders and government to encourage the use of substitute fuels. In August 2008, he received the Democratic Partys nomination for US presidency in the 2008 general elections. JOHN SIDNEY McCAIN III Republican Party Presidential Nominee BIOGRAPHY [5] John Sidney McCain was born on August 29, 1936, at Coco Solo Naval Air Station in the Panama Canal Zone to John S. McCain Jr. and wife, Roberta. The McCain family was stationed in the Panama Canal Zone, under the control of the United States.
Born in a military family, McCains upbringing involved moving between various naval bases in America and beyond. In 1954, McCain graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia. In line with his family history, McCain graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis in 1958 and a couple of years later, graduated a from flight school. In 1954, he married Carol Shepp, a model from Philadelphia. McCain served in the Vietnam War as a flight aviator operating carrier-based attack planes on low-altitude bombing runs against the communist North Vietnamese. McCain almost lost his life in a missile accident in which over 134 military personnel were killed when a plane was unintentionally shot by a USS Forrestal on-board missile. McCain was captured as a prisoner of war when, in his 23rd mission, his plane was shot down over Hanoi, the North Vietnamese capital. Excessively injured, he was imprisoned at the Hoa Loa prison. Despite various offers of early release as a result of the appointment of his father as the commander of all US forces in Vietnam McCain refused to oblige figuring his release was a ploy by the Vietnamese to appear merciful for propaganda purposes. He was constantly tortured for information and seldom heeded to their demands. He was subsequently released in 1973 after five and a half years of imprisonment in various prison camps in North Vietnam. For his extraordinary service, McCain earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross. Injuries related to the ominous torture led to a life time of physical disabilities. Despite his commitment to continue serving as a naval aviator, his disabilities extensively impaired his ability to advance in the Navy. POLITICAL CAREER [5] [6] John McCain was introduced to politics in 1976 when he was appointed the Navys liaison to the US Senate. His marriage broke down during this period due to his extramarital affairs. He retired from the Navy in 1981 after marrying his second wife, Cindy Hensley, and they moved to Phoenix, Arizona where he worked in public relations at his father-in-laws beer distribution business. It was during this time that he began setting up political affiliations. In November of 1982, McCain won a seat in the House of Representatives using his war record to overcome apprehensions of the voters. He was re-elected in 1984. With good political connections, he was seen favorably in the Reagan administration. Following the retirement of longtime Republican Arizona senator Barry Goldwater in 1986, McCain won the election to the US Senate where he gained a standing as a politician not willing to bow to the status quo of his own partys policies. He has since served as the Senator for Arizona. McCain announced his candidacy for presidency on the Republican ticket in 2000. He ran against George W. bush, who had wide support throughout the party and subsequently received the party nomination to run for US President. McCain, however, won the presidential nomination for the 2008 Elections.
NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENTS [5] [6] John McCain embodies the spirit of service. He has various accomplishments, both as a naval aviator and a politician. Since elected to the US House of Representative for Arizona in 1982, he has pioneered to reform Washington, fighting to eradicate extravagances and calling for the reinforcement of the military forces in his capacity as a member of the Armed Services Committee. Furthermore, John McCain has widely voiced his concerns on the high federal spending and has continuously called for reduction in taxes. McCain was also an ardent supporter of the Gramm-Rudman legislation that imposed automatic spending cuts in cases of budget deficits. In 1994, he partnered Democratic Senator Russ Feingold from Wisconsin to work on the McCain-Feingold bill in an effort to limit soft money, funds spent by organizations that are not contributed directly to candidate campaigns or political parties, and which do not expressly advocate the election or defeat of a candidate. However, the law found strong opposition and never came to a vote. [7] However, their efforts bore fruit when in 2001; the Senate debated and ultimately passed a massive overhaul of the campaign finance system. The new law was sustained by the US Supreme court in 2003, albeit only just. He was also instrumental in the normalization of ties between the United States and Vietnam in 1995. Senator McCain has also been vociferous against pork barrel spending and supported the legislation that gave the President Veto power against individual spending. However, this legislation was deemed unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 1998. REFERENCES 1. Meet the Candidate barackobama.com. 23 September 2008 <http://www.barackobama.com/learn/meet_barack.php> 2. Barack Obama aka Barack Hussein Obama, Jr. biography.com. 23 September 2008 <http://www.biography.com/featured-biography/barack-obama/bio2.jsp> 3. Helman, Scott. Early defeat launched a rapid political climb boston.com. 23 September 2008 <http://www.boston.com> Path: news; nation; articles; 2007; October; Early defeat launched a rapid political climb 4. US Senate / Illinois cnn.com. 23 September 2008 <http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/states/IL/S/01/index.html> 5. John McCain aka John Sydney McCain III biography.com. 25 September 2008 <http://www.biography.com/featured-biography/john-mccain/bio3.jsp>
6. Ready from Day One johnmccain.com. 25 September 2008 <http://www.johnmccain.com/About/> 7. Nowicki, D., Muller, B. Prisoner of War azcentral.com. 25 September 2008 <http://www.azcentral.com/news/specials/mccain/articles/0301mccainbiochapter9.html>