By this point, the basic details of the biography of Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, are well known (and examined here). With only two years of experience in the Senate, his record is just developing, though he has put forward a number of bills and resolutions and is proving himself an effective coalition builder, cosponsoring initiatives with Republicans. Obama, 45, seems to be acting on the ideas espoused in his bestselling book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.
The 1992 election of Carol Moseley Braun brought three more firsts: the first female African-American senator, the first female senator from Illinois, and the first black to be elected senator as a Democrat. "That last part is what surprises people the most," the former senator says, laughing, in a telephone conversation from Chicago, where she recently launched Ambassador Organics, a line of organic foods named in honor of her appointment, from 1999 to 2001, as ambassador to New Zealand, Samoa, and the Cook Islands.
When Edward William Brooke III ran for senator from Massachusetts in 1966, it was a first in more ways than one. He was the first elected black attorney general of a state, trying to become the first black senator elected by popular vote. And he succeeded in a state whose population was less than 3 percent black.
AP - Pentagon chief Robert Gates responded Sunday to Vladimir Putin's assault on U.S. foreign policy by saying "one Cold War is enough" and that he would go to Moscow to try to reduce tensions. Gates also sought more allied help in Afghanistan.
AP - This village in upstate New York's snowbelt gets a lot of snowfall during the winter, but last week's total — more than 11 feet, unofficially — might be an all-time record.
AP - U.S. military officials on Sunday accused the highest levels of the Iranian leadership of arming Shiite militants in Iraq with sophisticated armor-piercing roadside bombs that have killed more than 170 troops from the American-led coalition.
Former "American Idol" champion Carrie Underwood picked up the best new artist award at the 49th annual Grammy Awards. It was a big night for some other ladies. Mary J. Blige and the country group Dixie Chicks each picked up three awards. "For the first time in my life I'm speechless," laughed Natalie Maines who has taken some heat for remarks about President Bush.
The U.S. military today presented evidence it says shows an elite Iranian force under the command of Iran's supreme leader is behind bombings that have killed at least 170 U.S. troops in Iraq. The officials focused on EFPs, or explosively formed penetrators, as evidence that Iran is involved in arming Iraqi insurgents. EFPs can punch through heavily armored vehicles.
Australia's conservative Prime Minister John Howard said Sunday that victory for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama and his party in next year's presidential election would be a boon for terrorists.
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