Barack Obama.(DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE)(Biography)

"The notion that somehow not talking to countries is punishment to them ... is rediculous."--B. Obama

Barack Obama has emerged as Hillary Clinton's most serious rival, though according to the polls he is a distant second. In a recent Gallup Poll taken October 12-14, Obama trails Clinton by nearly 30 percent, and most pundits consider the New York senator as the likely nominee. Obama, the photogenic freshman senator from Illinois, has made much of his "politics of hope" message, but on close inspection it is the same socialist message only repackaged with a new face.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, he spent four of his pre-teen years in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta. He is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School. Obama served in the Illinois Senate for eight years before launching a U.S. Senate campaign in 2003. He enjoyed a rather unremarkable stint as a state legislator, but with his delivery of the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention he was propelled to fame. The speech was moderate, hopeful, and spoke of national unity.

After defeating Alan Keyes in the general election for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, the junior senator went on to champion the usual liberal causes. He cosponsored along with Senator McCain the Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act which provided amnesty for illegals and gives federal monies for illegals' healthcare, and took an active role in the ill-advised Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, which would have given legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. In February 2007, he announced his candidacy for the presidency with a message of the "politics of hope." A staunch defender of Roosevelt New Dealism, Obama holds decidedly liberal positions.

Obama also supports the so-called constitutional right of a woman to procure an abortion as defined by Roe v. Wade. In 2004, his campaign website stated, "For almost a decade, Obama has been a leader in the Illinois legislature in the battle to protect a woman's right to choose." In his book The Audacity of Hope, Obama writes, "I have to side with Justice [Stephen] Breyer's view of the Constitution--that it is not a static but rather a living document and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world." Obama eschews the strict constructionism of Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, favoring an interpretation that takes into consideration "practical outcomes."

He is a strong supporter of comprehensive immigration reform." In June 2007, at a debate at New Hampshire's St. ...