Born: August 4, 1961, Honolulu, HI

Education: Columbia University, B.A., 1983; Harvard Law School, J.D. magna cum laude, 1986

The forty-fourth and first black US president, Obama triumphed in 2008, mirroring results of the Voting Rights Act; black, minority, and liberal coalitions; and a more diverse electorate.

The election astonished his opponents. An Illinois Democrat, he was elected to the Illinois State Senate (1996) and US Senate (2004) soon after addressing the Democratic National Convention. Labeled a “political talent with enormous potential,” he opposed the Iraq War and invoked change. In the primaries, Obama's advisers adeptly presented his biracial identity, education, experience, and vision. Early on, he polled third of ten candidates and most blacks favored Hillary Clinton. But Obama placed first in the Iowa caucus, John Edwards second, and Clinton third, situating him to lionize blacks, nonwhite minorities, youths, and liberals to win the nomination. The Great Recession, two wars, and race shadowed his and Joe Biden's campaign against Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin, among others, but he and Biden prevailed. Obama claimed every region by double digits except the South, which McCain took by 9 percent. McCain won whites 55–43 percent, while Obama won African Americans 96–4, Hispanics 67–31, Asians 62–35, and 18–29 age voters 66–32. The elderly backed McCain 53–43. Obama received 365 electoral votes and McCain 173.