Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the forty-fourth President of the United States, Barack Obama, and the first African-American First Lady of the United States.

She was born and grew up on the South Side of Chicago and graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. After completing her formal education, she returned to Chicago and accepted a position with the law firm Sidley Austin, and subsequently worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center. Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid. She also delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Michelle Robinson was born on January 17, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois to Fraser Robinson III, a city water plant employee and Democratic precinct captain, and Marian Shields Robinson, a secretary at Spiegel's catalog store. Michelle can trace her roots to pre-Civil War African Americans in the American South; her paternal great-great grandfather, Jim Robinson, was an American slave in the state of South Carolina, where some of her family still reside. She grew up on Euclid Avenue in the South Shore community area of Chicago, and was raised in a conventional two-parent home. The family ate meals together and also entertained together as a family by playing games such as Monopoly and by reading. She and her brother, Craig (who is 21 months older), skipped the second grade. By sixth grade, Michelle joined a gifted class at Bryn Mawr Elementary School (later renamed Bouchet Academy). She attended Whitney Young High School, Chicago's first magnet high school, where she was on the honor roll four years, took advanced placement classes, was a member of the National Honor Society and served as student council treasurer. The round trip commute from her South Side home to the Near West Side took three hours out of her day. She was a high school classmate of Santita Jackson, the daughter of Jesse Jackson and sister of Jesse Jackson, Jr. She graduated from high school in 1981 as salutatorian, and went on to major in sociology and minor in African American studies at Princeton University, where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in 1985.

At Princeton, she challenged the teaching methodology for French because she felt that it should be more conversational. As part of her requirements for graduation, she wrote a thesis entitled, "Princeton-Educated Blacks and the Black Community." "I remember being shocked," she says, "by college students who drove BMWs. I didn't even know parents who drove BMWs." She obtained her Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard Law School in 1988. While at Harvard, she participated in political demonstrations advocating the hiring of professors who are members of minorities. She is the third First Lady with a postgraduate degree, following Hillary Rodham Clinton and Laura Bush. In July 2008, Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of the 100-year-old black sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton when she attended.

She met Barack Obama when they were among very few African Americans at their law firm, Sidley Austin, (she has sometimes said only two, although others have pointed out there were others in different departments) and she was assigned to mentor him while he was a summer associate. Their relationship started with a business lunch and then a community organization meeting where he first impressed her. The couple's first date was to the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing. The couple married in October 1992, and they have two daughters, Malia Ann (born 1998) and Natasha (known as Sasha) (born 2001). After his election to the U.S. Senate, the Obama family continued to live on Chicago's South Side, choosing to remain there rather than moving to Washington, D.C. Throughout her husband's 2008 campaign for President of the United States, she made a "commitment to be away overnight only once a week—to campaign only two days a week and be home by the end of the second day" for their two children.

The marital relationship has had its ebbs and flows. The combination of an evolving family life and beginning political career led to many arguments about balancing work and family. Barack wrote in his second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, that "Tired and stressed, we had little time for conversation, much less romance". However, despite their family obligations and careers, they continue to attempt to schedule date nights.

She once requested that Barack, who was then her fiancé, meet her prospective boss, Valerie Jarrett, when considering her first career move. Now, Jarrett is one of her husband’s closest advisors.

The Obamas' daughters attended the University of Chicago Lab School, a private school, and now attend Sidwell Friends School in Washington after also considering Georgetown Day School. According to an Obama interview on the 2008 season premiere of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, the couple does not intend to have any more children. They have received advice from past first ladies Laura Bush, Rosalyn Carter and Hillary Rodham Clinton about raising children in the White House. Marian Robinson has moved into the White House to assist with child care.

Her assigned Secret Service codename is "Renaissance".

Michelle Obama is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. She is the first cousin, once removed, of Rabbi Capers C. Funnye Jr., one of the country’s most prominent black rabbis.

Following law school, she was an associate at the Chicago office of the law firm Sidley Austin, where she first met her husband. At the firm, she worked on marketing and intellectual property. Subsequently, she held public sector positions in the Chicago city government as an Assistant to the Mayor, and as Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Development. In 1993, she became Executive Director for the Chicago office of Public Allies, a non-profit organization encouraging young people to work on social issues in nonprofit groups and government agencies. She worked there nearly four years and set fundraising records for the organization that still stood a dozen years after she left.

In 1996, Obama served as the Associate Dean of Student Services at the University of Chicago, where she developed the University's Community Service Center. In 2002, she began working for the University of Chicago Hospitals, first as executive director for community affairs and, beginning May, 2005, as Vice President for Community and External Affairs.

She continued to hold the University of Chicago Hospitals position during the primary campaign, but cut back to part time in order to spend time with her daughters as well as work for her husband's election; she subsequently took a leave of absence from her job.

She served as a salaried board member of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. (NYSE: THS), a major Wal-Mart supplier with whom she cut ties immediately after her husband made comments critical of Wal-Mart at an AFL-CIO forum in Trenton, New Jersey, on May 14, 2007. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

According to the couple’s 2006 income tax return, Michelle's salary was $273,618 from the University of Chicago Hospitals, while he had a salary of $157,082 from the United States Senate. The total Obama income, however, was $991,296 including $51,200 she earned as a member of the board of directors of TreeHouse Foods, plus investments and royalties from his books.

Although Michelle Obama has campaigned on her husband's behalf since early in his political career by handshaking and fund-raising, she did not relish the activity at first. When she campaigned during her husband's 2000 run for U.S. House of Representatives, her boss at the University of Chicago asked if there was any single thing about campaigning that she enjoyed; after some thought, she replied visiting so many living rooms had given her some new decorating ideas.

In May 2007, three months after her husband declared his presidential candidacy, she reduced her professional responsibilities by eighty percent to support his presidential campaign. Early in the campaign, she had limited involvement in which she traveled to political events only two days a week and traveled overnight only if their daughters could come along. In early February 2008, she attended thirty-three events in eight days. She has made at least two campaign appearances with Oprah Winfrey. Obama writes her own speeches and speaks without notes.

In 2007, Michelle gave stump speeches for her husband's presidential campaign at various locations in the United States. Jennifer Hunter of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote about one speech of hers in Iowa, "Michelle was a firebrand, expressing a determined passion for her husband's campaign, talking straight from the heart with eloquence and intelligence." She employs an all-female staff of aides for her political role. She says that she negotiated an agreement in which her husband gave up smoking in exchange for her support of his decision to run. About her role in her husband's presidential campaign she has said: "My job is not a senior adviser." During the campaign, she has discussed race and education by using motherhood as a framework.

I wince a bit when Michelle Obama chides her husband as a mere mortal—comic routine that rests on the presumption that we see him as a god ... But it may not be smart politics to mock him in a way that turns him from the glam JFK into the mundane Gerald Ford, toasting his own English muffin. If all Senator Obama is peddling is the Camelot mystique, why debunk this mystique?

On October 6, 2008 Larry King Live Obama was asked if the American electorate is past the Bradley effect. She stated that Barack's achievement of the nomination was a fairly strong indicator that it is. The same night she also was interviewed by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show where she deflected criticism of her husband and his campaign. Her first Daily Show appearance came after her husband had made three such appearances.

Obama was involved in two of a trio of references to Barack Obama by Fox News that were controversial. On June 11, 2008 during an interview with conservative columnist Michelle Malkin about whether Michelle Obama had been the target of unfair criticism, the network flashed a chyron that showed the message "Outraged liberals: Stop picking on Obama’s baby mama," which implied that Michelle Obama was not married to the father of her children. Because Barack and Michelle Obama are lawfully married to each other, the network recognized the poor judgment of its own producer in an official statement made to The Politico. Earlier on E. D. Hill's Fox News show America's Pulse, Hill referred to the affectionate fist bump shared by the Obamas on the night that he clinched the Democratic presidential nomination as a "terrorist fist jab." In June 2008, Hill was removed from her duties on the specific show, which was then canceled.

Throughout the campaign, the media often labeled Obama as an "angry black woman," and some websites attempted to propagate this perception, causing her to respond: "Barack and I have been in the public eye for many years now, and we've developed a thick skin along the way. When you’re out campaigning, there will always be criticism. I just take it in stride, and at the end of the day, I know that it comes with the territory." By the time of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in August, media outlets observed Obama's presence on the campaign trail had grown softer than at the start of the race, focusing on soliciting concerns and empathizing with the audience rather than throwing down challenges to them, and giving interviews to shows like The View and publications like Ladies' Home Journal rather than appearing on news programs. The change was even reflected in her fashion choices, with Obama wearing more and more sundresses in place of her previous designer pieces. The View appearance was partly intended to help soften the perception of her, and it was widely-covered in the press.

Michelle Obama was regarded as a charismatic public speaker from the very beginning of the campaign. She delivered the keynote address on the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 25, during which she sought to portray herself and her family as the embodiment of the American Dream. Other speakers that night included Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Edward Kennedy, who some expected to steal the limelight. She described Barack as a family man and herself as no different from many women; she also spoke about the backgrounds that she and her husband came from. Obama said both she and her husband believed "that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond, and you do what you say you're going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them." She also emphasized her love of country, in response to criticism for her previous statements about feeling proud of her country for the first time. Her daughters joined her on the stage after the speech and greeted their father, who appeared on the overhead video screen.

Obama's speech was largely well received and drew mostly positive reviews. A Rasmussen Reports poll found that her favorability among Americans reached 55%. Political commentator Andrew Sullivan described the speech as "one of the best, most moving, intimate, rousing, humble, and beautiful speeches I've heard from a convention platform." Ezra Klein of The American Prospect, described it as a "beautifully delivered, and smartly crafted, speech" and described Obama as "coming off as wholesome and, frankly, familiar." One U.S.News & World Report commentator described her speech as one that embraced the crowd and that put Obama in her element. Meanwhile, another noted that the speech presented a formidable case for the Obamas as an All-American first family. Arianna Huffington and Howard Wolfson both lauded the speech. The speech made Juan Williams tear up over the thought of the significance of her presentation as a representative of Black America. Slate's Dahlia Lithwick described the speech as fearless for bringing family issues to the forefront. Chris Cillizza wrote at The Fix, a political blog from The Washington Post, that the speech helped America relate to the Obamas.

The speech had its detractors. Katherine Marsh of The New Republic, however, said she missed "the old Michelle ... not the Stepford wife fist-bumping Elisabeth Hasselbeck, but the sassy better half who reminded us that while Barack was the answer, he was also stinky in the morning and forgot to put the butter away. She both affirmed his promise and humanized him." Jason Zengerle, also of The New Republic, said Obama should have emphasized her professional and educational achievements as well as her mother, daughter and sister qualities; Zengerle wrote, "It almost makes you long for the days when politicians' wives were seen but not heard. After all, if they're not permitted to really say anything, what's the point of having them speak." National Review also had a host of articles that pointed out negative aspects of the speech while noting praiseworthy points. One derided "Isn't She Lovely", the musical selection used following the speech as she walked off the stage with her daughters, even though it praised her speech and wardrobe. Another by Amy Holmes led with the fact that Karl Rove felt the speech was impersonal, although it compared favorably to speeches by Karenna Gore and Teresa Heinz-Kerry at previous DNCs. A pair of articles, including one by Byron York, noted that although the speech presented America as the land of opportunity, it conflicted with her campaign trail speeches that described dark aspects of the country. Despite all these articles, National Review editor Rich Lowry summarized why he felt the speech was a success.

With the ascent of her husband as a prominent national politician, she has become a part of pop culture. In May 2006, Essence magazine listed her among "25 of the World's Most Inspiring Women." In July 2007, Vanity Fair magazine listed her among "10 of the World's Best Dressed People." She was an honorary guest at Oprah Winfrey's Legends Ball as an "young'un" paying tribute to the 'Legends,' which helped pave the way for African American Women. In September 2007, 02138 magazine listed her 58th of "The Harvard 100," a list of the prior year's most influential Harvard alumni. Her husband was ranked fourth. In July 2008, she made a repeat appearance on the Vanity Fair international best dressed list. She also appeared on the 2008 People list of best-dressed women and was praised by the magazine for her "classic and confident" look. As a high-profile darker-complected woman in a stable marriage, it is anticipated that she will be a positive role model who will influence the view the world has of African Americans, seen as "right for the 21st century".

She has been compared to Jacqueline Kennedy due to her sleek but not overdone style, and also to Barbara Bush for her discipline and decorum. Her white, one-shoulder Jason Wu 2009 inaugural gown was said to be "an unlikely combination of Nancy Reagan and Jackie Kennedy." Some consider personal style comparisons meaningless despite their respect for the styles of Obama and some of her peers. While Kennedy's style had been seen as unattainable, Obama's style is described as populist. Her fashion sense generally out-polled those of Cindy McCain and Sarah Palin during the 2008 presidential campaign. She often wears clothes by designers Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Isabel Toledo, Narciso Rodriguez, Donna Ricco and Maria Pinto, and has become a fashion trendsetter despite the country's economic woes. Despite attempts by designers to outfit her, Obama wears her own clothes at some photo shoots, even when being photographed by renowned photographers like Matthew Rolston.

Many hope that the media will focus more on Obama's serious contributions than her fashion sense. However, U.S.News & World Report blogger, PBS host and Scripps Howard columnist Bonnie Erbe has pointed out that Obama's own publicists seem to be feeding the emphasis on style over substance. Erbe has noted on several occasions that Obama is miscasting herself by overemphasizing style. The trend of three consecutive educated professional First Ladies has sparked debate about whether the role of First Lady should be a paid position to compensate for the lost earnings surrendered to fulfill the role.

Obama has stated that she would like to focus attention as First Lady on issues of concern to military families and working families.

She appears on the cover and in a photo spread in the March 2009 issue of Vogue. Every First Lady since Lou Hoover (except Bess Truman) has been in Vogue, but only Hillary Clinton had previously appeared on the cover, in December 1998. According to Vogue editor Andre Leon Talley, Obama chose her own selections from her own wardrobe for the photo shoot; the cover shot features a Jason Wu silk magenta sheath dress. Photographer Annie Leibovitz took the cover shot and some of the photographs inside the issue.

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Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008

On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama, then junior United States Senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States in Springfield, Illinois. On June 3, 2008, he secured enough delegates to become the presumptive nominee of the Democratic Party for the 2008 presidential election. He is the first African-American in American History to be nominated by a major party. On November 4, 2008, Obama won the presidential election and currently serves as the 44th President of the United States, succeeding George W. Bush.

Obama announced his candidacy at the Old State Capitol building where Abraham Lincoln delivered his "House Divided" speech in 1858. Obama was the main challenger, along with John Edwards, to Democratic Party frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton for much of 2007. His initial victory in the Iowa caucus helped bring him to national prominence out of the crowded field of Democratic challengers, and his campaign began to trade a series of hard-fought state wins with expected frontunner Clinton in January, a trend which continued through Super Tuesday, where Obama had great success in large rural states, and Clinton was nearly as dominant in high-population coastal areas. Obama continued to have remarkable fundraising and electoral success in February, winning all 11 state and territorial-level contests following Super Tuesday, and "chipping away" at Clinton's core supporters in key states. Obama won the Vermont primary, however ended up losing Ohio and Rhode Island thus losing six delegates of his lead. Obama then won the Wyoming caucus and Mississippi primary, and later lost the Pennsylvania primary.

After Obama won the North Carolina primary and narrowly lost the Indiana primary, superdelegates began to endorse Obama in greater numbers. Despite losing West Virginia and Kentucky by wide margins, Obama's win in Oregon gave him an absolute majority of the pledged delegates, and he maintained that majority after the full delegations of Florida and Michigan were seated at half voting strength by a May 31st Democratic National Committee ruling. After a rush of support for Obama from superdelegates on June 3rd, the day of the final primary contests of Montana and South Dakota, Obama was estimated to surpass the 2,118 delegates required for the Democratic nomination. On June 7, Clinton formally ended her candidacy and endorsed Obama, making him the party's presumptive nominee. On 27 August, the Democratic Party of the United States nominated Barack Obama to run for the office of the President of the United States of America.

However, in an October 2006 interview on the television program Meet the Press, Obama appeared to open the possibility of a 2008 presidential bid. Illinois Senator Richard Durbin and Illinois State Comptroller Daniel Hynes were early advocates for a 2008 Obama presidential run. Many people in the entertainment community have also expressed readiness to campaign for an Obama presidency, including celebrity television show host Oprah Winfrey, singer Macy Gray, rap artist Common, and film actors George Clooney, Halle Berry, and Will Smith.

In September 2006, Obama was the featured speaker at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry, a political event traditionally attended by presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses. In December 2006, Obama spoke at a New Hampshire event celebrating Democratic Party midterm election victories in the first-in-the-nation U.S. presidential primary state, drawing 1500 people.

On January 14, 2007, the Chicago Tribune reported that Obama had begun assembling his 2008 presidential campaign team, to be headquartered in Chicago. His team includes campaign manager David Plouffe and media consultant David Axelrod, who are partners at Chicago-based political consulting firm AKP&D Message and Media. Communications director Robert Gibbs was previously press secretary for John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. Penny Pritzker heads the campaign finance team.

Other members of the campaign staff include Deputy National Campaign Director Steve Hildebrand, New Media Director Joe Rospars, speechwriter Jon Favreau, national press secretary Bill Burton, traveling press secretary Dan Pfeiffer, policy development Cassandra Butts, finance director Julianna Smoot, research director Devorah Adler, and pollsters Paul Harstad and Cornell Belcher.

A number of Obama's top aides have backgrounds with former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, who left the Senate due to re-election defeat at the same time Obama was entering it.

Obama's economic advisors include chief Austan Goolsbee, who has worked with him since his U.S. Senate campaign, Paul Volcker, Warren Buffett, health economist David Cutler and Jeffrey Leibman. His foreign policy advisors included a core of nine people: Greg Craig, Richard Danzig, Scott Gration, Anthony Lake, Denis McDonough, Samantha Power, Ben Rhodes, Susan Rice and Daniel Shapiro until March, 2008 when Samantha Power stepped down. A larger group of 250 advisers is divided into subgroups of about 20 people, each focusing on a specific area or topic. His legal affairs advisors include Martha Minow, Ronald Sullivan, Christopher Edley Jr., Eric Holder and Cassandra Butts.

Among his field staff, Paul Tewes and Mitch Stewart led Obama's winning Iowa caucus campaign and one or the other of them directed field operations in many other crucial states, including Nevada, Minnesota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.

Obama's campaign was notable for extensive use of a logo consisting of the letter O, with the center suggesting a sun rising over fields in the colors of the American flag. It was designed by a team at Chicago design firm Sender LLC.

In March 2007, the Obama campaign posted a question on Yahoo! Answers, entitled: "How can we engage more people in the democratic process?" which ultimately drew in over 17,000 responses.

On May 3, 2007, citing no specific threat but motivated by the large volume of hate mail directed at the Senator, Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff announced that the United States Secret Service would provide protection for the campaign, including bodyguards for Obama and other services/resources similar to those employed for the safety of the President of the United States, albeit on a proportionally smaller level. Normally, presidential candidates are not offered Secret Service protection until early February of election year; this was the earliest protection had ever been granted.

After weeks of discourse surrounding the policy, Obama said there was "misreporting" of his comments, stating that, "I never called for an invasion of Pakistan or Afghanistan." He clarified that rather than a surge in the number of troops in Iraq, there needs to be a "diplomatic surge" and that if there were "actionable intelligence reports" showing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the U.S. troops as a last resort should enter and try to capture terrorists. That would happen, he added, only if "the Pakistani government was unable or unwilling" to go after the terrorists.

In mid-late October 2007, Obama came under fire from the Human Rights Campaign and others for a South Carolina gospel music campaign tour that featured singer Donnie McClurkin, who states that he is "ex-gay" and that homosexuality is a "curse the intention of God." Obama said in response that, "I strongly believe that African Americans and the LGBT community must stand together in the fight for equal rights. And so I strongly disagree with Reverend McClurkin's views." While not replacing McClurkin, the campaign added a gay minister to the tour.

As fall 2007 continued, Obama fell further behind Clinton in national polls. In late October 2007, two months before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, Obama began directly charging his top rival with failing to clearly state her political positions. This shift in approach attracted much media commentary; The New York Times' Adam Nagourney wrote that, "Obama has appeared to struggle from the start of this campaign with how to marry what he has promised to be a new approach to politics — free of the partisan bitterness that has marked presidential campaigns for so long — with what it takes to actually win a presidential race." In an early-anticipated October 30 Democratic debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia, Clinton suffered a poor debate performance under cross-examination from her Democratic rivals and the moderator. Obama's campaign was reinvigorated and he began to climb again in the polls.

Campaigning in November 2007, Obama told the Washington Post that as the Democratic nominee he would draw more support from independent and Republican voters in the general election than Clinton. At Iowa's Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner Obama expanded the theme, saying that his presidency would "bring the country together in a new majority" to seek solutions to long-standing problems.

On November 21, Obama announced that Oprah Winfrey would be campaigning for him in the early primary states, setting off speculation that, although celebrity endorsements typically have little effect on voter opinions, Oprah's participation would supply Obama with a large, receptive audience. As word spread that Oprah's first appearance would be in Iowa, polls released in early December revealed Obama taking the lead in that decisive state.Then, on December 8, Oprah kicked-off a three-state tour supporting Obama's campaign, where she drew record-setting crowds in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina, and was described as "more cogent, more effective, more convincing" than anyone on the campaign trail.. The Oprah-Obama tour dominated political news headlines and cast doubts over Clinton's ability to recover her recently-lost lead in Iowa caucus polls.

When the close proximity of the first contests to the holidays prompted many candidates to release Christmas videos — allowing them to continue presenting their messages, but in more seasonal settings — Obama chose one that gave speaking parts to his wife and daughters and emphasized a message of thanks and unity.

Polling showed a tight race in the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary. All of the candidates barnstormed in New Hampshire during the four days after the Iowa caucuses, targeting undecided and independent voters in the state. The day before the election, polls conducted by CNN/WMUR, Rasmussen Reports and USA Today/Gallup showed Obama jumping ahead by 9, 10 and 13 points respectively. Despite the apparent surge of momentum, Clinton defeated Obama by a margin of 39.1 percent to 36.5 percent in the New Hampshire primary on January 8, 2008. Obama told supporters that he was "still fired up and ready to go," echoing a theme of his campaign.

In what has been deemed the "Yes We Can" speech, Obama acknowledged that he faced a fight for the nomination and that "nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change." The lyrics to the song in Yes We Can, an eponymous music video created by celebrity supporters of Obama, was entirely made up of pieces of this particular speech.

Meanwhile, Internet theories sprung up about how the vote counting itself had been suspect, due to discrepancies between machine-counted votes (which supported Clinton overall) and hand-counted votes (which supported Obama overall). Fifth-place finisher Dennis Kucinich's campaign paid $25,000 to have a recount done of all Democratic ballots cast in the primary, saying "It is imperative that these questions be addressed in the interest of public confidence in the integrity of the election process and the election machinery." On January 16 the New Hampshire Secretary of State’s office began the recount. After recounting 23 percent of the state's democratic primary votes, the Secretary of State announced that no significant difference was found in any candidate's total, and that the oft-discussed discrepancy between hand-counted and machine-counted ballots was solely due to demographic factors.

The Nevada Caucus took place on January 19. Obama received the endorsement of two very important unions in the state: the Culinary Workers Union (whose 60,000 members staff the casinos and resorts of Las Vegas and elsewhere) and the Nevada chapter of the SEIU. Clinton countered by appealing to the Hispanic vote in the state, emphasizing that they were at special risk from the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis.

One day after the Culinary Workers Union endorsed Obama, the Nevada State Education Association—a teachers' union that while not officially endorsing Clinton, had top officials who did—filed a lawsuit seeking to eliminate at-large caucus sites that had been setup in nine Las Vegas resorts saying they violated equal protection and one-person-one-vote requirements. The suit was viewed as a proxy legal battle between Clinton and Obama, as the caucus sites within the casinos would be primarily used by members of the CWU, who are more likely to vote for Obama. This led Obama to allege that the suit was filed in order to hurt his chances at the caucuses. "Some of the people who set up the rules apparently didn't think we'd be as competitive as we were and trying to change them last minute," he said.

On January 17, a federal judge ruled that the casino at-large caucus plan could go ahead. This was seen as a win for Obama because of the Culinary Workers Union endorsement. To further complicate matters, the major news and polling organizations decided to not do any polls before the Nevada caucuses, fearing the newness of the caucus, the transient nature of Nevada's population, and more fallout from their bad experience in New Hampshire.

Clinton finished first in the state delegate count on January 19, winning 51% of delegates to the state convention. However, Obama was projected to win the Nevada national delegate count with 13 delegates to Clinton's 12, because the apportionment of some delegates are determined by Congressional District. Delegates to the national convention were determined officially at the April 19 state convention. At the convention, one of Clinton's pledged delegates defected to Obama, giving Obama 14 delegates to Clinton's 11.

On January 23, the Obama campaign filed an official letter of complaint with the Nevada Democratic Party charging the Clinton campaign with many violations of party rules during the caucuses, based upon 1,600 complaints they had received. The Clinton camp said the Obama operation was "grasping at straws" and that they had their own complaints about Obama campaign actions during the caucuses.

Rasmussen Reports released a poll January 7 showing that Obama led by 12 points, at 42% to Hillary Clinton's 30%. This was a substantial jump from December when the two were tied at 33%, and from November when Clinton led Obama by 10 points.

Issues of race came to the forefront as campaigning began for the South Carolina primary, the first to feature a large African American portion in the Democratic electorate. First, Bill Clinton referred to Obama's claim that he has been a staunch opponent of the Iraq War from the beginning as a "fairy tale," which some thought was a characterization of Obama's entire campaign. The former President called in to Al Sharpton's radio show to personally clarify that he respected and believed in Obama's viability.

The January 21 CNN/Congressional Black Caucus debate in Myrtle Beach was the most heated face-to-face meeting yet between the candidates, reflecting apparent personal animosity. Clinton criticized Obama for voting "present" on many occasions while in the Illinois legislature. "It's hard to have a straight up debate with you because you never take responsibility for any vote," she said. Obama explained that Illinois had a different system than Congress and that 'present' votes had a different function and use in the Illinois Senate. Obama said that he was working to help unemployed workers in Chicago while Clinton was "a corporate lawyer sitting on the board at Wal-Mart." He also took issue with statements made on the campaign trail by Bill Clinton, saying "I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes." The confrontation was the most-watched primary season debate in cable television news history.

On May 31, 2008 the Democratic National Committee Rules and Bylaws Commission met to resolve questions surrounding the contentious Florida and Michigan primaries. In the case of Florida, it was decided that the delegate distribution would be based on the primary results as they stood and the delegation would be seated in full, but with each delegate receiving half a vote. In the case of Michigan, the delegate distribution was based on an estimate that took into consideration factors such as the actual primary results, exiting polling, and surveys of voter preference among those who did not participate in the Michigan primary. The end result rewarded Senator Clinton with 69 delegates and Senator Obama 59. As with Florida, each delegate would be given a half vote.

Following his win in South Carolina, Obama received the endorsement of Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy, as well as Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, the former President's brother. Ted Kennedy's endorsement was considered "the biggest Democratic endorsement Obama could possibly get short of Bill Clinton or Al Gore." In particular, it gave the possibility of improving Obama's support among unions, Hispanics, and traditional base Democrats, all demographics that Clinton had been stronger in to this point. Obama won 13 of 22 states on Super Tuesday (February 5, 2008): Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, and Utah. His campaign claimed to have won more delegates.

On February 9, Obama won the Louisiana primary, as well as caucuses in Nebraska and Washington State. He garnered 57% of the available delegates in Louisiana, and 68% in both Nebraska and Washington. On the same day, he won caucuses in Virgin Islands with 92% of the popular vote. The next day, Obama took the Maine caucuses amid what one senior Maine Democratic official called an "incredible" turnout.

The "Potomac primary" took place on February 12. It included the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. There were 168 delegates up for grabs in the three primaries. Obama won all three, taking 75% of the popular vote in the District of Columbia, 60% in Maryland and 64% in Virginia. "Today, the change we seek swept through Chesapeake and over the Potomac," Obama said at a rally in Madison.

Two more primaries followed on February 19: Wisconsin and Hawaii. Obama won both decisively, taking 58% of the vote in Wisconsin and 14 of the 20 available national delegates in Hawaii. On February 21, Obama was announced as the winner of the week-long Democrats Abroad contest. The Democratic presidential candidate defended himself and his wife February 24 against suggestions that they are insufficiently patriotic. Barack Obama’s campaign accused Hillary Clinton’s team February 25 of circulating a photo of the Illinois senator donning traditional attire – clothing worn by area Muslims – as a goodwill gesture during an overseas trip. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton argued with each other over negative campaigning, health care and free trade February 26. Obama and John McCain engaged in a pointed exchange over Al-Qaeda in Iraq on February 27.

In Ohio, as part of the campaign's self proclaimed goal to knock on a million doors the weekend immediately before the primary, Governor Deval Patrick (D-Massachusetts) and Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kansas) spoke to Obama volunteers at volunteer rallies across the state on March 1 and 2, 2008. Obama, who had won the eleven contests in February following Super Tuesday, claimed victory in the Vermont primary and the Texas Democratic caucuses, on March 4, 2008 but lost the primaries in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

On March 8, 2008, Barack Obama won the Wyoming caucus by nineteen points. The Clinton camp continued to suggest that Obama would make a good Vice Presidential candidate for Clinton, and former President Bill Clinton made known his support of this as a "dream ticket" which would be an "almost unstoppable force." On March 10, he flatly rejected such suggestions. Obama noted that he, not Senator Clinton, held the lead in pledged delegates and that he had won more of the popular vote than Clinton. "I don't know how somebody who is in second place is offering the vice presidency to somebody who is in first place," he said. He told supporters in Columbus, Mississippi, that Clinton's VP suggestion was an example of what he called "the old okey-doke," further stating that the Clinton camp was trying to "bamboozle" or "hoodwink" voters. Obama wondered aloud why the Clinton campaign believed him competent for the Vice Presidency, but said he was "not ready" to be President.

On March 11, 2008, Obama won the Mississippi primary. There, Obama won approximately 90% of the black vote, compared to Clinton's 70% majority of white voters. On March 11, 2008, David Axelrod demanded that Sen. Clinton sever ties with Geraldine Ferraro, a top Clinton fundraiser and 1984 Democratic vice-presidential nominee, who said publicly that Obama was a major presidential contender only because he is a black man. Sen. Barack Obama widened his lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton in the overall delegate count when he was declared the winner of the March 4 Texas caucuses on March 12, 2008.Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton would both statistically tie Republican John McCain in a general election matchup, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released March 18, 2008.The National Archives on March 19, 2008 released more than 11,000 pages of Sen. Hillary Clinton's schedule when she was first lady. Sen. Barack Obama's campaign had pushed for the documents' release, arguing that their review is necessary to make a full evaluation of Clinton's experience as first lady. Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama released their tax returns from 2000 to 2006 on his campaign Web site March 26, 2008, and he challenged Sen. Hillary Clinton to release hers.

After Obama's win in Mississippi on March 11, 2008, the campaign turned its attention to Pennsylvania. Mid March polls by Rasmussen Reports, Franklin & Marshall College, Quinnipiac University and Public Policy Polling had Obama trailing Senator Clinton in Pennsylvania by 12 to 16 points.

You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton Administration, and the Bush Administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Hillary Clinton described the remarks as "elitist, out of touch and frankly patronizing." Noting he had not chosen his words well, Obama subsequently explained his remarks, "Lately there has been a little typical sort of political flare-up, because I said something that everybody knows is true, which is that there are a whole bunch of folks in small towns in Pennsylvania, in towns right here in Indiana, in my hometown in Illinois, who are bitter." Obama had addressed similar themes in a 2004 interview with Charlie Rose, and his strategists countered that Bill Clinton had made similar comments in 1991.

We need sensible gun laws. I just got back from Montana where just about everyone has guns. In that culture, fathers and sons bond over hunting. You can't take that away from rural America. But the inner city is different, and we should tighten the laws on gun purchases and close the loopholes in gun show sales to unscrupulous buyers. The gun control people and the right to bear arms people are talking past each other about disconnected topics.

That Obama's comments in San Francisco made wide media play but not the ones he spoke in Silicon Valley became a source of speculation about the media and its political coverage.

On April 18, Obama spoke in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a crowd of 35,000, at that point the largest audience yet drawn during his campaign. The next day, Obama conducted a whistle stop train tour from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.

The last big event in the final week of the campaign was the April 16 debate on ABC-TV. Many pundits gave the edge to Hillary Clinton, though many were critical of moderators Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos. A two-month-old controversy gained more exposure when Stephanopoulos questioned Obama during the debate about Obama's contacts with Weather Underground founder Bill Ayers.

Polls during the debate week showed the momentum that had cut Clinton's lead by half had stalled. Despite being outspent by three to one, Clinton would win the April 22 primary election with 54.6% of the vote, a solid nine point margin over Obama's 45.4%. Although Clinton remained behind in delegates, the press soon ran cover stories about Obama's apparent trouble connecting with less educated whites and Catholics.

After Clinton's victory in Pennsylvania, the campaigns focused on the May 6 primaries in Indiana and North Carolina. 115 delegates were at stake in North Carolina, and 72 in Indiana. Polling suggested a close race in Indiana, while Obama enjoyed the advantage in North Carolina thanks in part to the state's large African-American population – a demographic from which Obama was receiving strong support throughout the primary season. Indiana's demographic makeup appeared to favor Clinton, as the state was predominantly white, rural and culturally conservative. Clinton won states like Ohio and Pennsylvania largely because of just such a voter base. However, there were positive signs for Obama as well.

Obama won in North Carolina, capturing 56% of the vote, while Hillary Clinton finished with 42%, according to CNN. The Indiana race was much closer than expected, with Clinton, winning a 51% to 49% victory. These races were seen as Clinton's last chance to make a comeback in the nomination fight. As the results came in, ABC political analyst and former top Bill Clinton aide George Stephanopolous declared the Democratic race "over," and NBC Washington Bureau Chief Tim Russert said, "We now know who the Democratic nominee will be." The day after these primaries, it appeared that superdelegates and party leaders were beginning to coalesce around Obama. He added four superdelegate endorsements to Clinton's one, and former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern switched his support from Clinton to Obama.

Obama continued to add to his superdelegate lead in the week before the May 20 Kentucky and Oregon primaries, and former Democratic candidate John Edwards endorsed him on May 14. As Obama's chance at becoming the nominee increased, he decided to focus much of his attention on general election battleground states. He planned to watch the Kentucky and Oregon results in Iowa, and scheduled an appearance in Florida for later that week.

While campaigning in Oregon, Obama drew a crowd of 75,000, his largest crowd of the campaign season.

Obama won Oregon, 59% to Clinton's 41%, but lost Kentucky by a margin of 35%. Delegates accrued in these two contests gave him an absolute majority among pledged delegates.

After a Clinton victory on June 1 in the Puerto Rico primary, only one more day of primaries remained. June 3 saw the final votes of the primary season in Montana, which Obama won by 58-40 percent, and South Dakota, which Clinton won by 55-45 percent. Throughout the course of the day, a flood of superdelegates endorsed Obama, putting him over the top in terms of delegates needed to clinch the nomination.

On June 7, Clinton formally ended her candidacy and endorsed Obama, making him the party's presumptive nominee.

On July 6, 2008, during an interview with Fox News, a microphone picked up Jesse Jackson whispering to a fellow guest: "See, Barack's been talking down to black people ... I want to cut his nuts off." Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama's Father's Day speech chastisement of Black fathers. Only a portion of Jackson's comments were released on video. A spokesman for Fox News stated that Jackson had "referred to blacks with the N-word" in his comments about Obama; Fox News did not release the entire video or a complete transcript of his comments. Jesse Jackson, Jr. issued a statement that said "Reverend Jackson is my dad, and I’ll always love him. . .I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself." Jackson, Jr. took the statements very seriously because he had worked so hard as the National co-chair of the Barack Obama presidential campaign. Subsequent to his Fox News interview, Jackson, Sr. apologized and reiterated his support for Obama.

While Clinton was viewed as having an institutional advantage in amassing superdelegates by virtue of her fifteen years of national prominence in party politics, Obama had heavily outspent Clinton in previous contributions to superdelegates through their political action committees.

Speculation that Barack Obama had amassed about fifty additional superdelegates, removing Clinton's final advantage in the race, was reported on the eve of the March 4 primaries and caucuses; with the Clinton victory in most of that night's contests, the Obama camp chose not to release those names as expected the following day.

After Obama's large victory in North Carolina and close second in Indiana on May 6, he took the lead in committed superdelegates. The results in those two states made Obama the clear front-runner for the nomination, and he picked up endorsements from 26 superdelegates in the week following those primaries.

On 27 August Barack Obama was awarded the Democratic presidential nomination by acclamation at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Various criticisms were made during the campaign concerning Obama's religious background and heritage, both by political opponents and by some members of the media.

In 2004, conservative columnist Andy Martin issued a press release alleging that Obama had "sought to misrepresent his heritage," indirectly triggering one of the first viral emails spreading false rumors about Obama's background.

In January 2007, two of the Obama campaign's first hires were opposition researchers, immediately assigned to debunk these e-mails.

On January 17, 2007, the day after Obama announced his candidacy, the Internet magazine Insight published an article claiming that Clinton campaign staff had told them that Obama had attended a Muslim seminary as a child in Indonesia and that they were planning to use that information against him during the upcoming primary election campaign. The Clinton and Obama campaigns quickly denounced the allegations. Investigations by CNN, ABC and others showed that Obama had not, as Insight had written, attended an Islamic seminary. Instead, for his first three years abroad Obama attended St. Francis Assisi Catholic School, and in his last year transferred to State Elementary School Menteng Besuki‎, an Indonesian public school for children of all faiths. A series of Chicago Tribune reports found that "hen Obama attended 4th grade in 1971, Muslim children spent two hours a week studying Islam, and Christian children spent those two hours learning about the Christian religion." The series also stated: "In fact, Obama's religious upbringing in Indonesia depended more on the conventions of the schools he attended than on any decision by him, his mother or his stepfather. When he was at a Catholic school for three years, he prayed as a Catholic. When he was at a public school for a year, he learned about Islam." In May 2008 Insight ceased publication.

E-mails and flyers repeating allegations about Obama and other candidates were distributed to voters in Iowa and South Carolina just before they went to vote for presidential candidates. In Iowa Obama told his supporters: “You have e-mails saying that I’m a Muslim plant that’s trying to take over America. If you get this e-mail from someone you know, set the record straight.” Sen. Clinton's campaign fired at least two campaign volunteers for forwarding related e-mails about Obama.

Obama's campaign organization responded with a letter from Christian leaders vouching for his Christian faith, as well as with appeals to supporters to help correct any misunderstanding. From November 2007 to January 2008, as part of a drive to promote awareness of his Christian faith, Obama gave interviews to Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network, to Christianity Today and to the religious website Beliefnet.com. Nevertheless, the false belief that Obama is a Muslim has persisted in some key demographics, and is among the most frequently cited reasons for opposition to Obama in public polling. In polls taken in March and April 2008, between 10 and 15% of respondents believed Obama was Muslim.

Another accusation is that Obama refuses to say the Pledge of Allegiance. This is based on a Time magazine picture of Obama listening to the U.S. National Anthem with his hands at his sides while the others on stage have their right hands over their hearts. He does, in fact, say the Pledge and sometimes leads the Senate in doing so.

While it campaigned in Kentucky in May 2008, the Obama campaign mailed out a flyer featuring Obama's Christianity.

Some conservative opponents of Obama featured his middle name "Hussein" and the similarity of his last name with "Osama" to suggest that he has Muslim heritage or possible associations with terrorists, or to question his loyalty to the United States (both "Barack" and "Hussein" are names of Semitic origin that mean, respectively, to bless/blessing and good/handsome). In February, 2008, the Tennessee Republican Party circulated a memo titled "Anti-Semites for Obama" that featured his middle name and showed a picture of him in African clothes while on a trip to Africa. A website, ExposeObama.com, sent out emails in early 2008 that included messages such as "President Barack Hussein Obama ... the scariest four words in the English language!" In April 2008 a church in the small town of Jonesville, South Carolina posted a message on its sign which said, "Obama, Osama — humm, are they brothers." The next day Roger Byrd, the pastor, removed the sign after receiving "so much negative comments from throughout the country." Those incidents attracted nation-wide media coverage, while not openly supported, generally condemned by the other candidates' official campaigns and by the major political parties.

In March 2008, a controversy broke out concerning Obama's 20-year relationship to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. ABC News found and excerpted clips from racially and politically charged sermons by Rev. Wright, including his assertion that the United States brought on the 9/11 attacks with its own terrorism and his assertion that "he government lied about inventing the HIV virus as a means of genocide against people of color." Some of Wright's statements were widely criticized as anti-American. Following negative media coverage and a drop in the polls, Obama responded by condemning Wright's remarks, ending his relationship with the campaign, and delivering a speech entitled "A More Perfect Union" at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In the speech, Obama rejected some of Wright's comments, but refused to disown the man himself, noting his lifelong ministry to the poor and past service as a US Marine. The speech, which sought to place Wright's anger in a larger historical context, was well-received by liberal sources and some conservatives, but other conservatives and supporters of Hillary Clinton continued to question the implications of Obama's long relationship with Wright.

The story gained headlines again in late April with several public appearances by Rev. Wright. He appeared on the Bill Moyers show on PBS on April 25, spoke to the NAACP in Detroit on April 27 and addressed the media before a symposium at the National Press Club on April 28. In Detroit, Wright "also defended Obama and lashed out at the news media for running excerpts of his heated sermons, media pundits and those who have tried to connect him to Islam because of his full name — Barack Hussein Obama." At the Press Club, Wright said that Obama "had to distance himself from me, because he's a politician." He also suggested that Obama is not a regular attendee at church, and reiterated his earlier views on terrorism, the HIV virus and other issues. Obama held a press conference on April 29 in which he went further than he had in his Pennsylvania speech, appearing to disown the pastor himself rather than just his controversial remarks. Obama said he was "outraged" and "saddened" by Wright's comments, calling them "divisive and destructive." He said of Wright, "the man I saw yesterday was not the man I met 20 years ago." Obama stated, "Whatever relationship I had with Reverend Wright has changed as a consequence of this," he added.

Obama subsequently resigned his membership in the Trinity United Church of Christ following comments made during a guest sermon at the church by Catholic priest and long-term Obama friend, Michael Pfleger. During the sermon, Pfleger mocked Hillary Clinton and said that she felt "entitled" to be the Democratic nominee for President.

In February 2008, a Canadian diplomatic memo surfaced, which alleged that Barack Obama's economic advisor Austan Goolsbee had met with Canadian consular officials in Chicago and told them to disregard Obama's campaign rhetoric regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a charge the Obama campaign later denied.

The story was followed by CTV's Washington bureau chief, Tom Clark, who reported that the Obama campaign, not the Clinton's, had reassured Canadian diplomats. Clark cited unnamed Canadian sources in his initial report. Media later reported the source as Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson. There was no explanation at the time for why Brodie was said to have referred to the Clinton campaign but the news report was about the Obama campaign. Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, declined to comment.

The Prime Minister's communications director, Sandra Buckler, has said that Brodie "does not recall" discussing the issue. On March 4, 2008 Harper initially denied that Brodie was a source of the leak — but he appeared to be referring to a diplomatic memo that described the key conversation between an adviser to Obama and Canada's consul-general in Chicago, Georges Rioux. Harper did not appear to be distinguishing between the two leaks later in the day. Harper asked the top civil servant, Clerk of the Privy Council Kevin Lynch, to call in an internal security team, with the help of Foreign Affairs. Members of the opposition asserted that an internal inquiry is unlikely to look seriously at Harper's own high-level political aides and appointees, such as Brodie or Wilson, Canada's ambassador to Washington.

On March 10, 2008 Canadian MP Navdeep Bains called on Canadian Ambassador to the United States Michael Wilson to step down as Canada's ambassador to Washington while the leaks that are investigated. Wilson has publicly acknowledged that he spoke to CTV reporter Tom Clark who first reported the leaks before the story aired, but refused to discuss what was said.

There have been three separate incidents involving Barack Obama's State Department passport file since 2008 began; while the instances of unauthorized access have occurred over a three-month span, Obama was notified only on March 20, as upper levels of the State Department themselves, first became aware of the breaches.On March 21, 2008, the United States Department of State revealed that Obama's passport file was improperly accessed three times in 2008. Three contract employees are accused in the wrongdoing. One, who works for The Analysis Corporation (TAC), accessed Obama and McCain's records, and was disciplined. The two other workers, who worked for Stanley Inc., each accessed Obama's file on separate occasions and were fired. An unauthorized access of Hillary Clinton's file was also made in mid-2007, but was considered a training error and unrelated to the other instances. John O. Brennan, president and CEO of Analysis, is a consultant to the Barack Obama campaign and contributed $2,300 to the Obama campaign in January 2008. Brennan is a former senior CIA official and former interim director of the National Counterterrorism Center. The chairman of Stanley Inc., Philip Nolan, is a Clinton supporter and contributor; his company has had contracts with the United States Department of State since 1992 and was recently awarded a $570 million contract to continue providing support for passport processing. The State Department is focusing an internal inquiry on the TAC employee, but plans to question all three of the contractors who accessed the candidates' files.

Many commentators have noted Obama's strong support amongst social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.com. An Internet consulting site, tracking each candidate's online performance, measured Sen. Obama as the candidate that connects the most with potential voters via the Internet.

Chris Hughes, a Facebook co-founder and coordinator of online organizing within the Barack Obama presidential campaign, called the on-line surge backing Obama "unprecedented." As of late May, the "American Politics" application on Facebook listed Obama as the 6-1 favorite over Hillary Clinton. Furthermore, the Obama campaign was a launch partner for Facebook's new F8 platform.

One group on Facebook, "Barack Obama (One Million Strong for Barack)," has 894,913 members as of November 5, 2008. Obama's politician page has reached more than one million supporters as of June 17, 2008. On February 2, 2007, Obama attended a rally at George Mason University organized by "Students for Barack Obama," a group that began on Facebook, with several thousand in attendance. Other countries have also registered Facebook groups in support of Senator Obama including Canada and several European countries.

Obama's official website itself incorporates networking elements which allows supporters to create their own profiles and blogs, as well as to chat and plan grassroots events. My.BarackObama.com is a social networking website created by the campaign. It was first launched on February 11, 2007, and was billed as "a MySpace for his supporters." It was built and designed by internet technology and political strategist firm Blue State Digital and Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes.

The bulk of My.BarackObama.com's activity takes place in group and event organization, where members first create or join on-line "groups" which share common email listservs and blogs. These groups are then used to plan offline events, ranging from casual "meet ups" to large fundraising events, with those who RSVP for fundraising events via My.BarackObama.com having the option of fulfilling their fundraising promise in advance through online payment. Of the $25 million the Obama campaign raised in the first quarter of 2007, over $6 million was raised through on-line channels.

The Obama primary campaign has received publicity from the introduction of several high-profile music videos concerning the senator. The first was an off-topic parody song portraying a fictional love between Senator Obama and a provocatively-dressed young woman nicknamed "Obama Girl," entitled I Got a Crush... on Obama, first appearing on June 13, 2007. The second video was Yes We Can, after the ubiquitous Obama campaign slogan, itself originally a long-standing union chant in the US. It was released on February 2, 2008, and was a straightforward, star-studded endorsement by a range of actors, musicians and other celebrities, led by Grammy-winner Will.i.am of the Black-Eyed Peas, singing the actual words of an Obama speech following the New Hampshire primary. The video was generating over a million views on YouTube a day following its release. By March 27, 2008, the song had been viewed over 17 million times on YouTube and other sites.

The video of Obama's speech A More Perfect Union also "went viral," reaching over 1.3 million views on YouTube within a day of the speech's delivery. Links to the speech were among the most widely shared on Facebook, and by March 27, the speech had been viewed nearly 3.4 million times.

During a time when Obama was receiving negative attention from the Wright controversy and other issues, "The Empire Strikes Barack" was released, a video that featured Barack Obama as Luke Skywalker, rallying from attacks by Hillary Clinton, portrayed as Darth Vader.

Presidential candidate and Senator Barack Obama has taken positions on many national, political, economic and social issues, either through public comments or his senatorial voting record.

One such position is Obama's stance on health care. Obama has repeatedly said that he wants to see that every American has the option of having affordable health care as good as every U. S. Senator has. He has proposed a major overhaul of the nation’s health care system, aimed at covering the nearly 45 million uninsured Americans, reducing premium costs for everyone else, and breaking what he asserted was “the stranglehold” that the biggest drug and insurance companies have on the health care market.

Following Obama's interview on Meet the Press, opinion polling organizations added his name to surveyed lists of Democratic candidates. The first such poll (November 2006) ranked Obama in second place with 17% support among Democrats after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) who placed first with 28% of the responses. A Zogby Poll released on January 18, 2007, showed Obama leading the Democratic contenders in the first primary state of New Hampshire with 23% of New Hampshire Democrats supporting Obama. Senator Clinton and former Senator John Edwards were tied for second place with 19% each. A Washington Post/ABC News poll on February 26-27, 2007 placed Obama in second place with 24% among likely Democratic primary voters, with Hillary Clinton garnering 36% as the leader.

Opinion polls taken in April 2007 differ widely from each other: Obama was listed in third place nationwide, 24% behind Hillary Clinton and 2% behind John Edwards. In an April 30, 2007 Rasmussen Reports Poll, Barack Obama led the poll for the Democratic nomination for first time with 32% support. By June however, Clinton was winning all the major national polls by double digits except one that showed Obama with a one point lead, and by July, all major national polls showed Obama trailing Clinton by double digits.

Polling analysts are expected to take note of whether opinion polling statistics regarding Obama prove to be accurate, or are ultimately subject to the so-called "Bradley effect" observed in some previous American elections. This continued to be a concern in some earlier primary states, but as the season progressed Obama showed electoral success with white voters in states like Virginia and Wisconsin.

In a poll by the University of Iowa in July and August 2007 of Iowa Republicans, Obama received the third-highest percentage, with 7% of the vote - more than Republican candidates Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback, and to-be nominee John McCain combined. Polls by the Washington Post and ABC News indicated that Republicans and independents were more likely than Democrats to answer that Obama would be the Democrats' best chance to win the election.

At the end of March 2008 Obama became the first candidate to open a double-digit lead in his national Gallup daily tracking poll results since Super Tuesday, when his competitor Hillary Clinton had a similar margin. On March 30 the poll showed Obama at 52% and Clinton at 42%. The Rassmussen Reports poll, taken during the same time frame, also showed an Obama advantage of five points. Another late-March poll found Obama maintaining his positive rating and limiting his negative rating better than his chief rival, Clinton. The NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll showed Obama losing two points of positive rating and gaining four points of negative rating, while Clinton lost eight points of positive rating and gained five points of negative rating. A Newsweek poll taken on April 16-17 showed Obama leading Clinton 54 to 35% among Democrats and Democrat-leaning registered voters. The Gallup daily tracking poll showed Obama's lead over Clinton in the same group peaking at 51 to 40% on April 14 (results based on interviews April 11–13), then closing, and on April 19 (results based on interviews April 16-18) Clinton gained a lead of 46 to 45%, the first time Obama had not led since March 18–20. The next day Obama showed a lead of 47 to 45% over Clinton. The following day the Obama lead over Clinton increased to 49% over 42%.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley endorsed Obama hours after his announcement, abandoning his tradition of staying neutral in Democratic primaries. A day later, Obama traveled to Ames, Iowa where he was endorsed by Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller and State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald. Just days before the crucial New York Democratic Primary, Obama won the endorsement of the Young Democrats Club of Pelham, a key endorsement considering 16% of the club supported Hillary Clinton. Perhaps Obama's biggest celebrity endorsement is talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who has occasionally joined Obama on the campaign trail and hosted a fundraiser at her Santa Barbara, CA estate. Following his win in South Carolina Obama received the endorsement of Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy, his brother. For the first time in its ten year history, MoveOn.org endorsed a Presidential candidate when Obama received 70% of an online ballot the organization held of its members. On February 3, 2008, another member from the Kennedy family, First Lady of California Maria Shriver, announced her endorsement for Obama. On February 26, former Democratic candidate Chris Dodd endorsed Obama, followed on March 21 by another former Democratic candidate, current New Mexico governor and retired United Nations ambassador Bill Richardson. Richardson served under President Bill Clinton as Secretary of Energy and as a United Nations ambassador. Former President Jimmy Carter stated that he supports Obama for President. On May 14, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards endorsed Obama, hinting that he believed the race was over and that it was time to unite behind one candidate. On May 19, President pro tempore of the United States Senate Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV) endorsed Obama. The 90-year old-Senate legend lauded Obama as a “shining young statesman” a “noble-hearted patriot” and a “humble Christian.” In particular, Byrd said that his shared opposition to the Iraq war with Obama was a key factor in his decision. On June 7, 2008, Sen. Hillary Clinton endorsed Sen. Obama after conceding her bid for the presidency, and even adopted his slogan "Yes We Can" into her concession speech.On 16 June 2008, Al Gore endorsed Obama in a speech given in Michigan, stating "take it from me, elections matter." Gore also endorsed Obama on his website, algore.com, and appears on Obama's website, offering an official endorsement. On October 19, 2008 during a Meet The Press interview, former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Obama.

Hyatt board member Penny Pritzker served as the national finance chair of the campaign; Pritzker served on the finance committee for Obama's 2004 Senate run. Obama has said he will not accept donations from federal lobbyists or political action committees during the campaign. While he started to collect private donations for a general election account, Obama asked the Federal Election Commission if he could later return the money if he decided to take public funds. In response, the FEC allowed presidential candidates to take contributions for a general election campaign even if they later decided to accept public money.

Alan D. Solomont, who led a group that raised $35 million for John Kerry in 2004, has signed on with the campaign, saying Obama "is the sort of person America wants in the White House right now." Other fundraisers that have joined the campaign include David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Mark Gorenberg.

Obama's fundraising prowess early on matched that of Hillary Clinton's and, financially speaking, stayed competitive with her. On April 4, 2007, Obama's campaign announced that they had raised $25 million in the first quarter of 2007, coming close to Hillary Clinton's $26 million in first quarter contributions. Over 100,000 people donated to the campaign and $6.9 million was raised through the Internet. $23.5 million of Obama's first quarter funds can be used in the primary, the highest of any candidate.

Obama's fundraising skills were affirmed again in the second quarter of 2007, when his campaign received $32.5 million in donations: $5.5 million more than his nearest rival, Hillary Clinton, whose campaign raised around $27 million. Obama's 258,000 individual donors revealed his wide grassroots appeal and success raising funds via the Internet. Altogether Obama's campaign raised US$58 million during the first half of 2007, topping all other candidates and exceeding previous records for the first six months of any year before an election year.

For the third quarter of 2007, which typically sees lower numbers than the rest of the year, Obama raised $20 million, still a large amount but bested by Clinton, who led all candidates with $27 million raised. Obama's campaign reported adding 108,000 new donors through in the quarter, for a total of 365,000 individual contributors in the first nine months.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, Obama raised $23.5 million, while Clinton raised $27.3 million. By January 2008, Obama had received over 800,000 donations from over 600,000 individual donors.

The Obama campaign raised $32 million in the month of January 2008 alone, from over 250,000 separate supporters. When it was disclosed that Hillary Clinton loaned $5 million of her own money to her campaign, Obama's supporters donated over $6.5 million in less than 24 hours. When the Clinton campaign reported that it had raised over $10 million in the five days after Super Tuesday, the Obama campaign reported raising "well more" than that.

Candidate financial disclosures released following the Wisconsin and Hawaii primaries raised Barack Obama's estimated January take to $37 million, about $17 million more than the second-placed candidate Hillary Clinton. Much of her fundraising was furthermore ineligible for primary-contest spending, and her campaign is projected to have ended the month in debt by over eight million dollars, one-quarter of that being unpaid fees to consultant Mark Penn. In February, the Obama campaign surpassed the one million donor mark, a first for a competitive primary campaign in the United States and raised $55 million, setting a record for political fundraising in one month. Of the $55 million raised in February $45 million of it was contributed over the Internet—without Obama hosting a single fund-raiser.

According to reports filed with the FEC and news from the Boston Herald, by the end of the first quarter of 2008, the campaign had raised more money ($133,549,000) than it had raised in all of 2007 (103,802,537). By the end of March, Obama had raised a total of over $235 million during the course of his campaign.

On June 3, 2008, after the Montana and South Dakota primaries, Barack Obama secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination of the Democratic party for president of the United States. His opponent, Republican party nominee John McCain, passed the delegate threshold to become the presumptive nominee much earlier, on March 4. On June 7, Obama's remaining opponent in the quest for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, conceded defeat at a rally in Washington and urged supporters to back Obama.

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Inauguration of Barack Obama

The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on January 20, 2009. The inauguration, with a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joseph Biden as Vice President. With his inauguration as President of the United States, Obama became the first African American to hold the office and the first President born in Hawaii. The theme of the 56th inauguration was "A New Birth of Freedom", commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

The inauguration celebration began on January 17, 2009 with a train ride by the President-elect and a party of family, collegues and guests from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania commemorating Abraham Lincoln's inaugural train ride. Official events were held in Washington, D.C. from January 18 to 21, 2009, including the concert We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, a day of service on the federal observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a "Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future" concert event at the Verizon Center, the inaugural ceremony at the U.S. Capitol, an inaugural luncheon at National Statuary Hall, a parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, 10 inaugural balls at the Washington Convention Center and elsewhere, a private White House gala and an inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral.

On January 17, 2009, Obama began a tribute and partial reenactment of Abraham Lincoln's 1861 train ride by holding a town hall meeting with a few hundred supporters at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia before embarking on his train ride to Washington, D.C. Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States and, like Obama, a former Illinois politician, was the cornerstone for the theme of the 2009 presidential inauguration. After the first phase of his historic train tour from Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln arrived in Philadelphia on February 21, 1861 to begin a chartered train ride to his inauguration in Washington, D.C.

Honoring Lincoln's legacy, Obama departed from Philadelphia, stopping in Wilmington, Delaware, to pick up Vice President-elect Biden. Together they continued in the Georgia 300, a railroad car used by past presidents, to Baltimore, Maryland, where Obama spoke to a crowd of around 40,000 people. Obama and Biden arrived at Union Station in Washington, D.C. at 7:00 p.m. EST. During the tour, Obama recited his trademark rejoinder "I love you back" in response to enthusiastic crowds. Forty-one "everyday" American citizens were selected to participate in the train ride and other inaugural events such as the parade, the swearing in and an inaugural ball. The 41 were composed of 16 invited citizens who had special stories and their families.

The day after Obama arrived in Washington, D.C., an inaugural concert, "We are the One", took place at the Lincoln Memorial. The concert featured performances and readings of historical passages by more than three dozen celebrities.

Attendance at the concert was free to the public, and HBO broadcasted the concert live on an open feed, enabling anyone with cable television to watch the event. An estimated 400,000 people attended the concert at the Lincoln Memorial. The Washington Metro recorded 616,324 passenger trips during the day, breaking the old Sunday ridership record of 540,945 passenger trips set on July 4, 1999.

Obama and Biden participated in community service activities for the national day of service, and the Presidential Inauguration Committee also provided information through its website about how to host community service projects, along with information about a broad range of national service organizations. More than 11,000 community service events took place across the nation on the national day of service.

On January 19, the president-elect's motorcade departed at 8:33 a.m. EST from Blair House and headed to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Obama spent a little more than an hour meeting privately with the families of troops who were recovering from wounds sustained in the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.

After the visit at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Obama and Martin Luther King, III headed to the Sasha Bruce House homeless shelter for teens in Washington, D.C., while Jill and Ashley Biden, Michelle Obama, and Obama's daughters Malia and Sasha, along with hundreds of volunteers, spent the morning at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium where they helped fill 60,000–85,000 care packages destined for U.S. troops overseas. After a morning of service activities, the Obamas and Bidens met for lunch at Coolidge High School, a public high school in N.W. Washington, D.C. Joe Biden spent part of his day hanging drywall at a Habitat for Humanity home in N.E. Washington, D.C., as others continued to perform numerous service activities throughout Washington, D.C. on that day. During the evening that day, Obama hosted three separate bipartisan dinners to honor the service of John McCain, Colin Powell and Joe Biden.

On the evening of January 19, 2009, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden hosted the "Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future" event at the Verizon Center. Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers honored military families in concert. The show was broadcasted live on the Disney Channel and on Radio Disney. Other celebrity participants included Demi Lovato, Bow Wow, Corbin Bleu, Queen Latifah, Billy Ray Cyrus, Shaquille O'Neal and Jamie Foxx. In keeping with the service theme of the day, Michelle Obama issued a call for children to become engaged in public service by volunteering in homeless shelters, visiting elderly people or writing letters to U.S. troops.

The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies released the full schedule of the January 20 swearing in ceremonies on December 17, 2008. The inauguration schedule referred to the president-elect as "Barack H. Obama", even though Obama had specified previously that he wanted to be referred to by his full name, "Barack Hussein Obama".

After the inaugural ceremony, President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden escorted former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura Bush to a departure ceremony on the east side of the U.S. Capitol. The Obamas and Bidens then attended an inaugural luncheon in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol before traveling from there to the presidential reviewing stand at the White House to watch the parade.

The inaugural ceremony took place at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2009. The inaugural program started at 8:00 a.m. EST (13:00 UTC) with the playing of two hours of pre-recorded music of the "The President's Own" United States Marine Band, followed by the playing of live music by the United States Marine Band starting at 10:00 a.m. EST (15:00 UTC). The National Mall, stretching to the Lincoln Memorial, served as the public observation area to witness the inaugural ceremony, and a section of the Mall between 3rd and 4th Streets, N.W. was reserved for ticket holders. The event was planned by the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and its chair, Senator Dianne Feinstein, acted as the day's emcee.

The theme of the inauguration was the phrase "A New Birth of Freedom". Obama is from Illinois as was Lincoln and the phrase is associated with Lincoln. It comes from the last of the ten sentences in the commonly accepted version of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. February 2009 marked Lincoln's 200th birthday.

The program by the congressional leaders included vocalist Aretha Franklin singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and a performance of John Williams' composition "Air and Simple Gifts", which was both pre-recorded and performed live synched with the recording by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman, pianist Gabriela Montero and clarinetist Anthony McGill. Other participants included the "The President's Own", the United States Marine Band, and the United States Navy Band. The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus also performed at the ceremony. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren delivered the invocation, while civil rights activist Joseph Lowery, minister of the United Methodist Church, delivered the benediction.

Vice President-elect Biden took his oath first from Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. The oath was followed by the first playing of four ruffles and flourishes and the anthem "Hail, Columbia".

After the performance of "Air and Simple Gifts", Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to President Obama shortly after noon. Although the inaugural ceremony ran longer than scheduled, which also delayed the administering of the oath that finished around 12:05 p.m. EST (17:05 UTC), under the Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution Obama assumed the presidency at the expiration of President Bush's term at noon.

The oath was followed by a 21-gun salute to the new President by members of the armed forces, followed by the first playing of four ruffles and flourishes and "Hail to the Chief". Obama delivered his inaugural address as the President of the United States following his swearing-in. Poet Elizabeth Alexander then delivered the inaugural poem, "Praise Song for the Day".

Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath of office to Obama, while Michelle Obama held the Bible that was used in 1861 by Abraham Lincoln at his first inauguration. Obama mentioned several weeks earlier that he intended to use his full name for his swearing-in ceremony, including his middle name Hussein, in "follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other". His middle name had caused some controversy during the election campaign when detractors tried to imply falsely that he was a Muslim.

Roberts ended the presidential oath with the phrase "so help you God", and Obama responded "so help me God". Obama had previously asked to include "so help me God" after the oath. Roberts congratulated Obama as the new President at the end of the oath.

A central theme of President Barack Obama's inaugural address was a call to restore responsibility — both in terms of accountability in Washington and the responsibility of ordinary people to get involved. Obama's address did not have memorable sound bite phrases. Instead, he used traditional references to connect his new administration with the nation's history in a speech that was understated deliberately, according to rhetoric expert James Mackin.

Obama concluded the second paragraph of his address by saying, "we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents". The speech reinforced words such as "legacy" and "heritage", as well as values such as "honesty", "courage" and "patriotism", which "are old" values. Near the end of the speech, Obama referred to words written by Thomas Paine in The American Crisis, which were ordered by George Washington to be read to his troops: "Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet ". Because Obama's campaign message focused on the need for change, Mackin noted that Obama sought to reassure Americans that he would operate as President within the margins of the nation's traditions.

As part of Obama's call for responsibility, he said "what is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American" and "those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account". Obama also quoted the lyrics of the Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields song "Pick Yourself Up" from the musical comedy Swing Time, saying that "starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America". In an article for the The New York Times, columnist and former drama critic Frank Rich noted the link to the lyric in Field's song from the movie, writing that Obama offered in his address "one subtle whiff of the Great Depression".

Obama's inaugural address received mixed reviews, with some describing the tone of the speech as one of restraint and plain speaking, while others described the speech as low-brow and cliched. Despite his optimism, Obama was critical of former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. David E. Sanger of The New York Times described the speech as the harshest rebuke of an outgoing President during an inaugural address since Franklin Roosevelt's call for restoration of American values. The Bush administration was upset about the tone of the speech, which they said proceeded directly from that of a ritualistic but respectful thanks to that of a public diatribe. Republican voices viewed the speech as a missed opportunity to seek unity. However, Rahm Emanuel described the speech as a reflection of the mandate of the people.

Before the luncheon and in keeping with tradition, President Obama entered the President's Room in the Capitol building, where he signed his first Presidential orders. The first order signed by President Obama was a proclamation "declaring a day of national renewal and reconciliation". During the historic signing, Obama joked about his left-handedness and also quipped, "I was told not to swipe the pen." He also signed orders officially presenting his Cabinet and several sub-Cabinet officials to Congress for their approval.

Obama then joined several congressional guests for the inaugural luncheon in National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. Guests, who included top Washington lawmakers as well as former Presidents and Vice Presidents, were served duck and pheasant with Pinot Noir. The theme of the luncheon was based on Obama's 2009 inaugural theme, "A New Birth of Freedom", which commemorated the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The red and white china were copies of those used in the Lincoln White House.

A luncheon at the Capitol has been part of the inaugural program since 1953 (before that, the luncheon was usually held at the White House and hosted by the outgoing President and First Lady). The menu for the inaugural luncheon often featured dishes that were representative of the home states of the new President and Vice President, with the 2009 menu including seafood stew, a pheasant and duck dish and apple cinnamon sponge cake with sweet cream glacé for dessert. Since 1985, a painting has been chosen to serve as a backdrop for the head table. In 2009, the featured painting was Thomas Hill's 1865 View of the Yosemite Valley, a painting that commemorated Abraham Lincoln's 1864 signing of the Yosemite Grant, which was the first time the federal government protected park lands for public use.

During the luncheon, Senator Ted Kennedy collapsed after he suffered a seizure, and he was transported to a hospital for medical treatment and recovery. Early reports about the medical emergency suggested erroneously that Senator Robert Byrd also fell ill during the luncheon. These reports were later denied, and Byrd eventually explained that the Kennedy incident disturbed him and caused him to leave.

The inaugural parade traveled along Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. from the U.S. Capitol, ending at the north face of the White House. During the parade, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama twice exited their limousine on Pennsylvania Avenue and walked a portion of the parade route to the cheers of the crowds in attendance, and their second walk ended just before the gate to the White House. During the parade, the President and First Lady traveled in the new armored limousine for most of the parade route because of potential security threats.

Vice President Biden and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, also walked the parade route at several points with their children Beau, Hunter, and Ashley. Beau Biden, Attorney General for the state of Delaware and a JAG officer in the Delaware Army National Guard, received a special furlough from serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to participate in the ceremonies.

The parade lasted more than two hours during the afternoon and early evening following the inaugural ceremony. Parade participants included 15,000 people, 240 horses, dozens of marching bands, two drum and bugle corps and a mariachi band. President Obama invited the Drum Corps International, nine-time world champion Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps and eight-time finalist Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from Dubuque, Iowa, as well as the VMI corps of cadets and the high school marching band from Punahou School, Obama's high school in Hawaii, to perform in the inaugural parade.

Vice President Joe Biden also invited several groups from Delaware to march in the parade. The Delaware section was led by the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association of which Biden is an honorary member, followed by the marching band of Biden's alma mater, the University of Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens, known as The Pride of Delaware, and the Delaware State University Hornets marching band, known as The Approaching Storm.

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attended 10 official inaugural balls during the evening of January 20, 2009 and one inaugural ball during the evening of January 21, 2009. For the inaugural balls held on January 20, 2009, Barack Obama wore a new tuxedo, the first one that he purchased in 15 years. The tuxedo was made by Hart Schaffner Marx, a Chicago-based menswear firm that uses union labor. During that evening, Michelle Obama wore a white, one-shouldered, sleeveless gown designed by 26-year-old New York designer Jason Wu, breaking with tradition set by former first ladies Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton who showcased designers from their hometowns.

After they made their rounds at the inaugural balls, the Obamas hosted an after-midnight gathering at the White House for 70 of their earliest supporters, close friends and family, including Oprah Winfrey, Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Representatives Artur Davis of the state of Alabama and Neil Abercrombie of the state of Hawaii, in addition to Michelle Obama's brother Craig Robinson. Members of the Illinois congressional delegation also attended the after hours White House celebration, including Senator Dick Durbin and Representatives Melissa Bean, Jan Schakowsky, Luis Gutierrez and Jerry Costello.

On January 21, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden attended an inaugural prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral. The Obamas and Bidens were joined by the former President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton, in the front pew. The service also was attended by about 3,200 other invited guests, including members of the U.S. Congress, diplomats and other leaders.

The interfaith service featured performances by choirs and an array of scripture readings and prayers by various faiths. The worship service reflected inclusiveness and religious diversity, with a mix of Protestant pastors, female Hindu and Muslim religious leaders, rabbis and Catholic bishops who delivered inspirational scripture readings and prayers throughout the service. Prayers for the interfaith service also drew in part passages from the 1789 inauguration prayer service of George Washington and the 1865 inaugural address of Abraham Lincoln, including phrases such as "with malice toward none, with charity for all".

The featured sermon for the inaugural prayer service was delivered by Rev. Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the first woman to deliver the featured sermon for the interfaith inaugural event. In her own sermon, Rev. Watkins integrated passages from a variety of interfaith sources, such as passages summoned from Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Cherokee sources.

Former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and former Vice Presidents Walter Mondale, Dan Quayle, Al Gore and Dick Cheney, along with their wives, attended the inauguration. Cheney was wheelchair-bound because of an injury that he suffered while moving boxes. Invitations were also sent to the chiefs of diplomatic missions to the United States and their spouses, but not to any other representatives of foreign countries. As a result, North Korea's offer to send a senior envoy was rejected.

John Lewis, the only living speaker from the historic 1963 rally at the March on Washington, was present on the stage during the inauguration. Obama signed a commemorative photograph for Lewis with the words, “Because of you, John. Barack Obama.” More than 180 of the Tuskegee Airmen attended as invited guests for the inauguration. The five-person crew of US Airways Flight 1549 who survived a crash landing five days earlier, including pilot Chesley Sullenberger, were also invited to the inaugural ceremony.

Eighty-seven year old Sarah Obama led a group of Obama's Kenyan relatives from his father's home village of Kogelo. Other relatives traveling to Washington from Kenya as guests included Obama's aunt, Maggie Obama, his uncle, Said Obama, as well as his half-brother Malik Obama. The Kenyan relatives were expected to present Barack Obama with traditional Kenyan gifts, including a three-legged stool usually given to Luo tribal elders, a fly whisk crafted from goat hair and a warrior shield. Sarah Obama previously attended Obama's swearing-in ceremony as U.S. Senator in 2005.

For the swearing-in ceremony, members of the 111th U.S. Congress also distributed 240,000 color-coded tickets with yellow, orange, blue, purple and silver borders to guests and constituents to view the inaugural ceremony from reserved sections at or near the U.S. Capitol. House and Senate congressional members distributed tickets with silver borders to the public by lottery or on a first-come, first served basis because of the overwhelming requests from constituents to attend the inaugural ceremony.

Amid the massive crowds who arrived at the U.S. Capitol to attend the inaugural ceremony, approximately 4,000 ticket holders were unable to gain attendance to their designated areas because the security gates were closed at the start of the ceremony, leaving many of them outside of the U.S. Capitol grounds. Some were stuck in underground tunnels where pedestrian traffic was directed to and from the National Mall. Stranded ticket holders with access to radios or cell phones with Internet reception were able to listen to the inaugural ceremony on those devices.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, launched an investigation to address complaints by the ticket holders who were prevented from gaining entry to view the inaugural ceremony. On January 22, 2009, a spokesperson for the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies also announced that holders of blue, purple and silver tickets who were unable to enter the U.S. Capitol grounds to view the inaugural ceremony would receive commemorative items. The commemorative items included a copy of the swearing-in invitation and program, photos of President Obama and Vice President Biden and a color print of the inaugural ceremony.

No official count was taken of the number of people attending the inauguration ceremony, although multiple sources concluded it was the highest attended event ever held in Washington, D.C. Government agencies and federal officials that coordinated security and traffic management determined the attendance count to be 1.8 million people, based on information collected by several cameras and individuals on the ground. The Washington Post reported the number and the National Park Service said it did "not contest" the estimate.

Satellite analyst Allison Puccioni of IHS Jane's estimated a crowd size of between 1.031 and 1.411 million people, using an image acquired by the GeoEye-1 satellite at 11:19 a.m. EST (16:19 UTC). This estimate did not include an estimated 240,000 people in designated ticket holder areas or in federal buildings open to the public. However, Arizona State University professor Stephen Doig estimated that 800,000 people attended the inauguration ceremony using the same satellite image. Although the image was taken a little less than 45 minutes before Obama’s swearing-in, Doig adjusted his estimate to include people who were still arriving in the area before the swearing-in ceremony. In spite of his crowd estimate, Doig stated that "if I had to bet, I would say the Obama crowd is in fact bigger than those that showed up for or any of the other things" ... "I'm wholly prepared to think it was the largest crowd." Approximately 1.2 million people had attended the Lyndon B. Johnson 1965 presidential inauguration.

The District of Columbia police force temporarily doubled in size with the addition of 8,000 police officers from around the United States. The police force was assisted by 1,000 FBI agents to provide security for the event, and the Secret Service Countersniper team was assigned to hidden locations throughout the area. Ten thousand National Guard troops were also on site, including the 153rd Military Police Company of the Delaware National Guard with 5,000 troops providing security duty in a ceremonial capacity and 1,300 unarmed troops aiding Park Police in crowd control at the National Mall. C Company of the 1-175 Infantry provided security between the first and second public viewing areas of the National Mall at the 7th Street intersection, while the remaining members performed other security functions. The FAA maintained airspace restrictions over Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was chosen as the designated survivor to ensure continuity of government in case of catastrophe, and he spent inauguration day at a U.S. military installation outside of the Washington, D.C. area.

No one from the crowds at the inaugural ceremony and parade was arrested as of 6:00 p.m. EST on Inauguration Day, which a federal agent said was unusual for a crowd of that size.

Security concerns were also an issue about extending the closing time beyond the normal 2:00 a.m. weekday and 3:00 a.m. EST Friday and Saturday closing times for bars and restaurants that served alcoholic beverages. In response to the concerns of Senators Dianne Feinstein and Robert Bennett, the D.C. City Council approved legislation signed by D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty that adopted 4:00 a.m. EST as the closing time.

Nielson television ratings indicated that 29.2% of televisions in the 56 largest media markets in the United States were tuned to the inauguration, the largest audience since Ronald Reagan's first inauguration in 1981 and nearly double the viewership of the 2005 inauguration of George W. Bush. Of the top 10 media markets in terms of viewership, four were in North Carolina, two were in Virginia and one was in Maryland, with the Washington D.C. market ranking second highest in viewership.

As measured between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST, U.S. television viewership for the Obama inaugural events achieved an average of 37.8 million viewers (not including online viewers who watched live streaming video of the events) across the 17 broadcast and cable channels. Television viewership was lower than that of the 1981 Reagan inaugural festivities, however, which averaged 41.8 million viewers.

Obama's inauguration also resulted in a surge of Internet traffic to news and social networking websites and a record number of video streams. The technology company Akamai reported that 5,401,250 web users logged on news sites in less than one minute, the fifth highest peak among news websites since the company started tracking data in 2005. During at-peak usage, news websites served seven million simultaneous video streams, which was the highest number of simultaneous video streams in Akamai's history.

The BBC reported downtime during its own live video feed of the inaugural event because of heavy traffic at its website. At one point, the heavy website traffic caused the BBC video feed to cut out for 30 minutes, with web visitors seeing the message "Please come back later" instead of the live video footage. CNN reported that it generated more than 21 million video streams by 3:30 p.m. EST that day — an all-time record, in addition to receiving 136 million page views that day.

The international community paid unprecedented attention to the inauguration of Barack Obama. Millions of people, including citizens of the respective countries and American expatriates living in those countries, watched the Obama inauguration live on television and the on Internet. In some countries, the Obama inauguration garnered as much viewership as the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Moses Wetang'ula, Minister for Foreign Affairs for Kenya, commented that the inauguration marked "a moment of great pride for Kenya". Obama's father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born in Kenya and lived there for all but six years of his life. Obama still has relatives living in the country. Many celebrations occurred across Kenya, and in some areas, streets were even deserted during the inauguration.

Barbados offered free public viewings of the Obama inauguration on large screens in at least three locations throughout the country, including the Kensington Oval sports stadium, the George Washington House and the Bridgetown Hilton Hotel. Americans in Antigua Guatemala held a party featuring Obama's favorite music.

In Canada, the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada released a statement: "On behalf of all Canadians, I want to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Barack Obama as he assumes office as President of the United States of America and wish him and his administration well as they begin their new term in office. We also send our warmest wishes to our American neighbours as they celebrate this historic day with their friends around the world. I am delighted that the President has accepted our invitation to make Canada the destination of his first international visit. The United States remains Canada’s most important ally, closest friend and largest trading partner and I look forward to working with President Obama and his administration as we build on this special relationship." Governor General Michaëlle Jean also gave a speech to mark the Obama inauguration during a Youth Dialogue held at Rideau Hall, the governor general's official residence.

Millions of readers and viewers in the People's Republic of China followed the inauguration, which was broadcast live by state-controlled China Central Television, with simultaneous translation into Mandarin Chinese, but with enough of a delay to allow for censoring by briefly silencing the translation. When President Obama mentioned that "earlier generations faced down fascism and communism", Chinese state television officials cut away abruptly and switched to a discussion in the studio . Chinese websites also censored President Obama's references to communism and dissent. The Xinhua News Agency website provided the full, uncensored text in the English language, along with a censored translation that lacked the reference to communism, as well as Obama's remarks about "leaders ... who ... blame their society's ills on the West" and "cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent".

Indonesians and Americans in Jakarta watched the inauguration at a free midnight ball, featuring performances by students from State Elementary School Menteng 01, which Obama attended as a child.

In Japan, the city of Obama, Fukui, celebrated the inauguration with fireworks, bell-ringing and hula-dancing at the Hagaji Temple. The mayor of Obama expressed interest in having President Obama visit the city. Elsewhere in Japan, the Associated Press reported that Okinawans were hopeful that the new President would take actions on issues associated with U.S. military bases in Okinawa, and several news organizations reported that Japanese citizens were hopeful that Obama might make significant steps towards eliminating nuclear weapons.

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë and United States Ambassador to France, Craig Roberts Stapleton, hosted a viewing party for approximately 1,000 people at the landmark Hôtel de Ville.

In Berlin, Germany, about 1,500 guests attended an inaugural ball held at the Goya club, possibly the largest outside of the United States.

Obama's distant relatives gathered in Moneygall, County Offaly in Ireland, where his ancestors once lived during the 1800s. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party faithful living in Ireland threw a bash in Dublin. Brian Cowen, head of the government of Ireland, welcomed "a day of joy and celebration in Washington, across the United States and across the world".

Pope Benedict XVI sent President Obama a telegram for his presidential inauguration day.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown heralded the inauguration saying, "The whole world is watching the inauguration of President Obama, witnessing a new chapter in both American history and the world's history. He's not only the first black American president but he sets out with the determination to solve the world's problems." In the United Kingdom, the inauguration was also shown to housemates competing in this years' Celebrity Big Brother, breaking the rules of isolation from the outside world. London held an inauguration ball for an estimated 1,300 attendees. Other viewing parties, including a luau in Cambridge, were held across the United Kingdom, which is home to 300,000 Americans.

Derek Sikua, the Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, congratulated Barack Obama after his inauguration on behalf of the government and people of the Solomon Islands. Sikua noted that Americans originate in all corners of the world, including the Solomon Islands, and noted that Solomon Islanders will pray that God will continue to give Obama strength, wisdom and good people to support him in endeavours for his country and for the world.

As of January 30, 2009, Obama's 2009 Presidential Inauguration Committee raised more than $53 million, with at least 458 people giving the committee-imposed maximum amount of $50,000, including George Soros, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Sharon Stone, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Ron Howard, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Lisa Henson, daughter of Jim Henson.

Unlike political campaigns, an individual or corporation could contribute to an inaugural celebration without legal restrictions on the amount of the donation. However, Obama's Presidential Inauguration Committee, which included Penny Pritzker, John W. Rogers, Pat Ryan, William Daley and Julianna Smoot as members, set a $50,000 contribution limit. To underscore its commitment to change business as usual, the inauguration committee did not accept donations from PACs, federally registered lobbyists and corporations. In spite of its commitment, the committee did accept donations from individuals who had active lobbying interests but were not classified as registered lobbyists, such as executives from Google and Microsoft executives Eric Schmidt and Steve Ballmer.

In 2005, numerous corporations contributed $250,000 to the second inauguration of George W. Bush, which cost an estimated $42.3 million not including security costs. Obama's inauguration was expected to cost $45 million from Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee and "near $50 million" from Washington, D.C. for security costs. Some estimated costs soared to more than $150—170 million for Washington, D.C. and more than $11 million for neighboring states such as Maryland.

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Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School (also known as Harvard Law or HLS) is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the United States' oldest law school in continuous operation. It is home to the largest academic law library in the world.. HLS is currently ranked the second best law school by U.S. News and World Reports, only behind Yale Law School.

Harvard Law introduced what became the standard first-year curriculum for American law schools—including classes in contracts, property, torts, criminal law, and civil procedure—in the 1870s, under Dean Christopher Columbus Langdell. At Harvard, Langdell also developed the case method of teaching law, which became the dominant model for U.S. law schools.

The current dean of Harvard Law School is Elena Kagan, who succeeded Robert C. Clark in 2003. On January 5, 2009, however, Barack Obama nominated Dean Kagan to be Solicitor General of the United States. Howell Jackson would succeed her as acting dean if replaced; a permanent replacement has yet to be named.

Each cohort in the three-year J.D. program numbers approximately 550 students. The first-year (1L) class is broken into seven sections of approximately 80 students who take most first-year classes together. Harvard Law has 246 faculty members.

Admission to Harvard Law is highly selective: For the class entering in 2008, there were approximately 7200 applicants, of which approximately 11.4% were admitted; 67.9% of those admitted enrolled. For that class, the median GPA for the middle 50% of the students was between 3.74 and 3.95 (out of 4.00) and an LSAT score between 170 and 176 (out of 180). Harvard Law's admissions process includes the unusual feature of telephone interviews conducted amongst students likely to be accepted.

Harvard Law School has produced numerous leaders in law and politics, including the current U.S. President, Barack Obama, six sitting U.S. Supreme Court Justices, including the Chief Justice, John G. Roberts, 149 sitting federal judges, and the current President of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou. It is consistently the best represented law school among the faculty at the U.S. law schools and among the attorneys at the top law firms in the U.S. Harvard Law School graduates have accounted for 568 judicial clerkships in the past three years, including 25% of all Supreme Court clerkships. More than 120 from the last five graduating classes have obtained tenure-track law teaching positions.

Harvard Law School's campus is located just north of Harvard Yard, the historic center of Harvard University, and contains several architecturally significant buildings.

Austin Hall, the law school's oldest dedicated structure, was completed in 1884 by architect H. H. Richardson. The law school's student center, Harkness Commons, was designed by Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius, along with several law school dormitories. Together, they make up the Harvard Graduate Center complex. Langdell Hall, the largest building on the law school campus, contains the Harvard Law Library, the most extensive academic law library in the world.

As of 2006, a new complex is scheduled to rise on the northwest corner of the law school campus, to be designed by traditionalist architect Robert A. M. Stern. The complex is set to marry the architectural themes present in Austin and Langdell Halls, as well as the Gropius buildings.

Its origins can be traced to the estate of Isaac Royall, who sold most of his Caribbean slaves and plantations to move to Medford, Massachusetts. His Medford estate, the Isaac Royall House, is now a museum, and includes the only remaining slave quarters in the northeast United States. The estate was passed down to Royall's son, Isaac Royall, Jr., who fled Massachusetts as the American Revolution broke out. Just prior to his death in 1781, Royall, Jr. left land to Harvard, the sale of which was intended for the "endowing of a Professor of Laws at said college, or a Professor of Physics and Anatomy". Harvard took the opportunity to fund its first chair of law. The Royall chair remains today. It traditionally was held by the Dean of the law school, but the current Dean, Elena Kagan, declined the Royall chair, instead giving herself the Charles Hamilton Houston Professorship.

In 1806, the Royall estate in Medford was returned to Royall, Jr.'s heirs, who sold it and donated the proceeds for the formal foundation of Harvard Law School. The Royall family coat-of-arms was adopted as the school crest, which shows three stacked wheat sheaves beneath the university motto (Veritas, Latin "truth").

By 1827, the school, which was down to one faculty member, was struggling. An alumnus stepped in by endowing the Dane Professorship of Law and insisting that it be given to then Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story. Story's belief in the need for an elite law school based on merit and dedicated to public service helped build the school's reputation at the time, although the contours of these beliefs have not been consistent throughout its history. Enrollment remained low through the 19th century as university legal education was considered to be of little added benefit to apprenticeships in legal practice.

In the 1870s, Christopher Columbus Langdell arrived, introducing his new curriculum. Langdell's notion that law could be studied as a "science" gave university legal education a reason for being distinct from vocational preparation.

While the law school had previously been located on Harvard Yard, the new system demanded lecture halls suited to the case law and interrogatory Socratic method of teaching. H. H. Richardson would later design the law school's first independent home, the Romanesque Austin Hall, to the north of the Yard, with these needs in mind. This would come to form the nucleus of the current law school campus.

As the 20th century dawned, Dean Langdell's innovations became standard in law school curricula across the country. The school also became the first to elevate legal education to a graduate-only discipline. Yet new theories, such as legal realism, blossomed at Yale and Columbia, while Harvard faculty members were generally known for their conservative approach.

As it rose to preeminence among law schools in the United States, Harvard attracted significant criticism for many perceived shortcomings.

Harvard Law was often believed to be a competitive environment. For example, Dean Berring of Berkeley Law once stated that he "view Harvard Law School as a samurai ring where you can test your swordsmanship against the swordsmanship of the strongest intellectual warriors from around the nation." This was possibly historically true. When Langdell developed the original law school curriculum, Harvard University President Charles Eliot told him to make it "hard and long." The school maintained a relatively uncompetitive admissions process, but "weeded out" a large number of first year students. This gave rise to the infamous legend of a dean at the school telling incoming students, "Look to your left, look to your right, because one of you won't be here by the end of the year." Novels such as Scott Turow's One L and John Jay Osborn's The Paper Chase describe such an environment.

The school has also been criticized for extremely large first year class sizes (at one point there were 140 students/classroom; as of 2001 there are 80), a cold and aloof administration, and an inaccessible faculty. The latter stereotype is a central plot element of The Paper Chase and appears in Legally Blonde. Inaccessibility of the faculty was possibly a side effect of Harvard's original admissions process, which may have annoyed faculty by giving them less than stellar students.

This Harvard Law persisted into the latter half of the 20th century, but bears no resemblance to the modern school. The school eventually implemented the once-criticized but now dominant approach pioneered by Dean Robert Hutchins at Yale Law School: It shifted the competitiveness to the admissions process. Robert Granfield and Thomas Koenig's 1992 study of Harvard Law students that appeared in The Sociological Quarterly found that students "learn to cooperate with rather than compete against classmates," and that contrary to "less eminent" law schools, students "learn that professional success is available for all who attend, and that therefore, only neurotic "gunners" try to outdo peers." According to the ABA, in 2007-2008 the school admitted only 11.8% of applicants and no students left as a result of "academic" shortcomings.

Dean Robert C. Clark is generally given credit for "break the logjam" of the school's tenure battles and other political disputes. Above all, many of the school's shortcomings were addressed head-on by the administration of Dean Elena Kagan after 2003.

Elena Kagan sought to reverse many of the persistent stereotypes about the school when she assumed its deanship in 2003, promising reforms. She gives students her personal e-mail address, holds office hours, has successfully cut first year class sizes in half, and has been given credit for a host of quality-of-life improvements at the law school, including an ice-skating rink (during the winter) and a beach volleyball court (the rest of the year) on campus, free coffee in classroom buildings, free tampons in campus public restrooms, and the renovation of several of the school's facilities. She has also managed to boost the school's involvement in international and public interest law, and has hired significant quantity of prominent new faculty members.

The number of students interested in public interest law positions has expanded as Harvard has begun to offer summer funding for public interest internships and low income loan reduction plans for alumni who take on careers in the public interest and academia. For example, beginning with the J.D. Class of 2011, students who pledge to spend five years working for nonprofit organizations or the government after graduation will receive a grant in the full amount of their tuition during their third year, and are entitled to keep the grant if they remain in such positions for the five-year period. Tuition for the 2008-2009 academic year is $41,900.

In 2006, the faculty voted unanimously to approve a new first-year curriculum, placing greater emphasis on problem-solving, administrative law, and international law. The new curriculum is being implemented in stages over the next several years. In 2008, the faculty voted to eliminate letter grades and move to a pass/fail grading system, effective for the class entering in the Fall of 2008.

In addition, a vast new complex under construction on the northwest part of the law school campus is intended to expand classroom space for additional courses and create more space for an expanding clinical program. Several dormitories are also set to be renovated.

One recent change was not implemented by Kagan but by the faculty. In late 2008, they reached consensus that the school should move toward a non-letter grading system, much like that in place at Yale and Stanford Law Schools. The system will apply for half the Class of 2010 and fully starting with the Class of 2011.

In 2009, Kagan was nominated Solicitor General of the United States by President Barack Obama. If confirmed, she would take a leave of absence from the faculty and resign the deanship. Harvard University President has named HLS professor Howell Jackson as acting dean.

The Harvard Law School is home to the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, which focuses on the study and construction of cyberspace. The Center sponsors conferences, courses, visiting lecturers, and residential fellows. Members of the Center do research and write books, articles, and weblogs with RSS 2.0 feeds, for which the Center holds the specification. The Center's present location is a small Victorian wood-frame building which sits next to the larger-scale buildings of the Harvard Law School campus. It is in the process of relocating to a larger site on the campus' perimeter. Its newsletter, "The Filter", is on the Web and available by e-mail, and it hosts a blog community of Harvard faculty, students and Berkman Center affiliates. The Berkman Center is funding the Openlaw project. One of the major initiatives of the Berkman Center is the OpenNet Initiative, which is a joint worldwide study of the filtering of the web, along with the Universities of Toronto and Cambridge (UK). The Berkman Center was a co-sponsor of Wikimania 2006. Charles Nesson, Lawrence Lessig, Jonathan Zittrain, John Palfrey, William W. Fisher, and Yochai Benkler hold appointments at the Berkman Center.

Established in the fall of 2005 by Professor Charles Ogletree, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice seeks to honor the contributions of Charles Hamilton Houston. The Institute carries forth Houston's legacy by serving as a hub for scholarship, legal education, policy analysis, and public forums on issues central to current civil rights struggles.

The Labor and Worklife Program is a forum for research and teaching on the world of work and its implications for society. The program brings together scholars and policy experts from a variety of disciplines, including scholars of labor studies and an array of international intellectuals, to analyze critical labor issues in the law, economy, and society. As a multidisciplinary research and policy network, the LWP organizes projects and programs that seek to understand critical changes in labor markets and labor law, and to analyze the role of unions, business, and government as they affect the world of work. It also provides unique education for labor leaders throughout the world via the Harvard Trade Union Program, founded in 1942, which works closely with trade unions around the world to bring excellence in labor education to trade union leadership. By engaging scholars, students, and members of the labor community, the program coordinates legal, educational, and cultural activities designed to improve the quality of work life. It regularly holds forums, conferences, and discussion groups on labor issues of concern to business, unions, and the government.

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is the oldest student-run legal services office in the country, founded in 1913. The Bureau's mission is to provide an important community service while giving student attorneys the opportunity to develop professional skills as part of the clinical programs of Harvard Law School.

The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is a student-run law firm. The Bureau serves clients in housing law (landlord-tenant relations, public housing, subsidized housing), family law (divorce, custody, paternity, child support), government benefits (Social Security, unemployment benefits, Veterans' benefits, welfare), and wage and hour cases (including unpaid or underpaid wages, benefits, and overtime). The Bureau employs seven supervising attorneys and elects approximately twenty student members annually. Students practice under the supervision of admitted attorneys; however, students are primarily casehandlers on all matters. As a result, students gain firsthand experience appearing in court, negotiating with opposing attorneys, and working directly with clients. Students receive both classroom and clinical credits for their work at the Bureau.

Unlike most clinical programs at Harvard (or other schools), the Bureau is a two-year commitment. This gives clients a chance to have a much more sustained and in-depth academic experience. In addition to the substantive legal experience, students gain practical experience managing a law firm. The student board of directors makes all decisions regarding case intake, budget management, and office administration.

Famous participants include Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, activist and first lady Michelle Obama, and professors Erwin Chemerinsky and Laurence Tribe.

Located in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood, the WilmerHale Legal Services Center (formerly the Hale and Dorr Legal Services Center) is Harvard Law School’s oldest and largest clinical teaching facility. Students working at the Center are placed in one of its clinics housed in five substantive practice groups and work with clinical instructors, experienced practitioners and mentors, who supervise student work and provide guidance as students build and manage their own caseload. The Center provides substantive training in each practice area and also offers general instruction on topics such as client interviewing and intake, case management, legal investigation and discovery, creative legal analysis, research and drafting.

Two additional programs affiliated with Harvard Law School are the Ames Foundation and the Selden Society.

Students of the Juris Doctor (JD) program are involved in preparing and publishing the Harvard Law Review, one of the most renowned university law reviews, as well as a number of other law journals and an independent student newspaper. The Harvard Law Review was first published in 1887 and has been staffed and edited by some of the school's most notable alumni. In addition to the journal, the Harvard Law Review Association also publishes The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, the most widely followed authority for legal citation formats in the United States. The student newspaper, the Harvard Law Record, has been published continuously since the 1940s, making it one of the oldest law school newspapers in the country, and has included the exploits of fictional law student Fenno for decades.

Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, and Barack Obama, the 44th and current President of the United States, graduated from HLS. Obama was the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review and is now the first African-American President of the United States. His wife Michelle Obama is also a graduate of Harvard Law School. Ma Ying-jeou, the current president of the Republic of China/Taiwan, received his SJD from Harvard. Past presidential candidates who are HLS graduates include Mitt Romney, Michael Dukakis and Ralph Nader. A plurality of US Senators with law degrees, and a significant number of Massachusetts governors, graduated from HLS as well.

Fourteen of the school's graduates have served on the Supreme Court of the United States, more than any other law school, and another four justices attended the school without graduating. Six of the current nine members of the court attended HLS: Chief Justice John Roberts, and Associate Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. Ginsburg transferred to and graduated from Columbia Law School. Past Supreme Court justices from Harvard Law School include Harry Blackmun, Louis Brandeis, Felix Frankfurter, Lewis Powell (LLM), and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Attorneys General Alberto Gonzales and Janet Reno, among others, and noted federal judges Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Michael Boudin of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Laurence Silberman of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Pierre Leval of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, among many other judicial figures, graduated from the school. The current Commonwealth Solicitor General of Australia Stephen Gageler SC graduated from Harvard with an LL.M.

Famous legal academics who graduated from Harvard Law include Erwin Chemerinsky, Ronald Dworkin, Susan Estrich, Arthur R. Miller, William L. Prosser, John Sexton, Kathleen Sullivan, Cass Sunstein, and Laurence Tribe.

In addition to their achievements in law and politics, Harvard Law alumni have also excelled in other fields. Many have gone on to become influential journalists, writers, media and business leaders and even professional athletes.

A number of notable novels have been inspired by the student experience at the school.

The Paper Chase is a novel set amid a student's first ("One L") year at the school. It was written by John Jay Osborn, Jr., who studied at the school. The book was later turned into a film and a television series (see below).

Scott Turow, a novelist, also wrote a book about his experience as a first-year law student at Harvard, One L.

The book Legally Blonde, by Amanda Brown, is about a sorority girl enrolling at Stanford Law School, much to the scrutiny of her classmates and professors. When the book was adapted into a feature film (which itself spawned both a sequel and a musical) the setting was changed to Harvard Law School. Several scenes from the first movie were filmed on the grounds of Harvard.

Less notable than the above novels, several memoirs have also been written by former students at the school. Richard Kahlenberg's account of his experiences, Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School. Kahlenberg breaks from the other two authors and describes the experience of the final two years at the school, claiming that the environment drives students away from their public interest aspirations and toward work in high-paying law firms.

The book Brush With the Law, by Robert Byrnes and Jaime Marquart, is an account of the authors' three years in Stanford and Harvard Law Schools. The authors indulge in alcohol, drugs (Marquart has a penchant for crack cocaine), womanizing, and gambling before passing their exams and moving on to a successful legal career.

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Jesse Jackson, Jr.

Jesse Louis Jackson, Jr. (born March 11, 1965) is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 2nd congressional district, which includes the part of the Southland southeast suburbs of Chicago and part of the Chicago South Side. The son of activist and former presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, he has served the 2nd district since winning a special election on December 12, 1995 to fill the seat vacated by Mel Reynolds. His wife, Sandi Jackson, serves on the Chicago City Council. He served as a national co-chairman of the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Prior to elective politics Jackson was proactive in international civil rights activism. He participated in his father's presidential campaigns and then in the office of his Rainbow Coalition. During his time in public office he has co-authored three books, two of them with his father. Jackson has a consistent liberal record on both social and fiscal issues. His most important political issue has been the pursuit of the proposed Chicago south suburban airport to serve as a third major airport for the Chicago metropolitan area. He has been a very active Democratic spokesperson for other Democratic candidates and a popular interviewee and broadcast media guest. In his 40% white district, he has generated broad-based support, which has repeatedly earned him re-election by wide 5-to-1 and 10-to-1 margins.

Prior to the selection of Roland Burris, Jackson had been mentioned as a possible appointee by Governor Rod Blagojevich for an interim United States Senator to replace Obama until the November 2010 election. Numerous press publications noted his supposed involvement in the Rod Blogojevich corruption investigation.

Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina four days after the Selma to Montgomery marches (known as Bloody Sunday). Raised in the Jackson Park Highlands District of the South Shore community area on the South Side of Chicago, he is one of five children of Jesse and Jacqueline Jackson: Santita is the oldest; Jesse Jr. is two years younger; Jonathan follows him by one year; Yusef and Jacqueline are five and ten years younger than Jonathan. He attended nursery school at the University of Chicago and, like all of his siblings, attended the John J. Pershing Public Elementary School. One of the earliest memories of Jesse, Jr. for Chicagoans was a speech he gave at age five from a milk crate at the Operation PUSH headquarters. He says that he was reared more by his mother, Jacqueline, although his father gave him lots of advice through the years. His father sought media attention to shed light on important issues according to some accounts and as a result of his father's travels, his time with his father often occurred in the time between meetings.

He and his brother Jonathan were sent to Le Mans Military Academy in Watertown, Wisconsin after Jackson was diagnosed hyperactive. He was often paddled for disciplinary reasons during his time as a cadet. Jacqueline wanted both boys to go to St. Albans in Washington D.C. to spend more time with their father who was very active in that city. Although Jonathan decided to attend Whitney Young High School, a magnet school in Chicago, Jackson moved to Washington. Biographical content in A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights explains that the four-year foreign language requirement at St. Albans necessitated Jackson repeating the ninth grade and that he was suspended from school twice. According to younger brother Yusef, Jesse was responsible for changing several rules at the St. Albans dorms. He was an all-state running back on his football team in high school and his play got him into the February 13, 1984 issue of Sports Illustrated as part of their Faces In The Crowd section, which noted him for his 15 touchdowns, 889 rushing yards, and 7.2 yards per carry in six games. This issue is notable as the 1984 Swimsuit Issue. Then Jackson followed in his father's footsteps by attending North Carolina A&T where his father had been quarterback, class president and the successful suitor of Jacqueline. He took classes every summer, and he earned his Bachelor of Science degree magna cum laude from North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1987. He received his college diploma along with his brother Jonathan in 1988 in a year where his father as a presidential candidate was a speaker. He decided to follow his father's advice and experience a seminary education at the Hyde Park based Chicago Theological Seminary, where he earned his master's degree a year early but opted not to become ordained. In 1989, he earned his M.A. from the Chicago Theological Seminary in Chicago. Jackson proceeded to law school at the University of Illinois and convinced his future wife to transfer there from the Georgetown University Law Center. He then earned a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1993. Jackson never sat for the bar exam despite finishing his coursework a semester early.

A teenage Jackson and his brother Jonathan assisted in their father's international civil rights activities. During the 1984 Democratic primaries, the three Jackson brothers sometimes appeared at events together in support of their father's presidential campaign. While in college, Jackson held a voter registration drive that registered 3,500 voters on a campus with 4,500 students. During the 1986 United States House of Representatives elections he got involved in politics outside his own family when he supported the return to office of Robin Britt, but first-term Congressman Howard Coble won re-election by less than 100 votes. Following these elective experiences, his first job after graduation was as an executive director for the Rainbow Coalition.

Jackson, Jr. was again involved in his father's campaigning during the 1988 Democratic Primaries. In 1988, in the dealings between Jesse Jackson and Michael Dukakis at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, Jackson, Jr. was named an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by a nomination from Democratic Party Chairman Paul Kirk. At the convention, the elder Jackson had himself introduced at the podium by all five of his children, including Jr. Jackson, Jr. was the last of the five children and introduced his father with the words "a man who fights against the odds, who lives against the odds, our dad, Jesse Jackson." During the speech, Jackson, Jr. saved his father from an allergic reaction or asthma attack by taking action to block air conditioning vents that were blowing on him during his speech. At the time, in Time magazine, Margaret Carlson depicted the younger Jackson as a well-spoken and compelling personality who would likely carry any of his father's political aspirations that his father was unable to achieve himself. His experience with the DNC gave him the opportunity to work on numerous congressional election races. After the convention he also became a Vice President of Operation PUSH.

Jackson's earliest public controversy came when he was linked to alleged Nigerian drug trafficker Pius Ailemen. Ailemen was supposed to be Jackson's best man at his 1991 wedding, but canceled at the last minute due to supposed passport-related issues. Jackson's name and pictures were included in San Francisco, California press accounts of the arrest, which resulted from a Federal Bureau of Investigation investigation. The investigation and court proceedings extended for several years. The wiretap included many conversations between the two and financial records indicate that Ailemen had purchased an Alfa Romeo using a $13,000 charge on Jackson's credit card. Ailemen was sentenced to 292 months in jail. In 2003, Ailemen was denied petition for a writ of certiorari.

Jackson, Jr. spent his twenty-first birthday in a jail cell in Washington, D.C. following his participation in demonstrations against apartheid at the South African Embassy. It was not his first time being arrested for apartheid protest activity around his birthday: he was arrested with his father and brother the year before. His protest against apartheid extended to weekly demonstrations in front of the South African Consulate in Chicago. Jackson shared the stage with Nelson Mandela when Mandela made his historic speech following his release from a 27-year imprisonment in Cape Town in February 1990. Before entering the House, he became secretary of the Democratic National Committee’s Black Caucus, the national field director of the National Rainbow Coalition and a member of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. Jackson, Jr. served as the national field director of the Rainbow Coalition from 1993 to 1995. Under Jackson's leadership, the Rainbow Coalition attempted to stimulate equitable hiring in the National Basketball Association because while 78% of the league's players were African American, 92% of the front-office executive positions 88% of the administrative jobs and 85% of the support positions held by Caucasians. While serving as the field director for the National Rainbow Coalition, he registered millions of new voters through a newly instituted national non-partisan program. He also created a voter education program to teach citizens the importance of participating in the political process. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is also a founding board member of the Apollo Alliance.

Sandi envisioned Jackson running for the 2nd congressional district seat in the Spring 1996 primary election. His father felt he should obtain experience at the local level as an alderman, Illinois State Senator or Illinois State Representative. Therefore, Jackson Sr. approached Alice J. Palmer with a deal where they supported her for Congress and she support Junior for her seat in the Illinois State Senate, but Jackson Jr. did not agree with that plan. He felt if Patrick Kennedy was ready at age 26, then at age 30 he was ready. After seeking approval from former Democratic National Committee Chairman and Chicagoan David Wilhelm, he decided to run for the seat. Palmer ran and endorsed Barack Obama for her old seat.

When Mel Reynolds, who was later convicted on sex misconduct charges, announced his resignation from the Congress on September 1, 1995, Jackson's name was (along with Palmer) one of the first names to surface as a replacement. On September 10, 1995, Jackson officially announced his candidacy. Five Democrats, including Illinois State Senate minority leader Emil Jones, and four Republicans competed in November 29, 1995 party primaries for the party nominations in the December 12, 1995 general election. Jones was endorsed by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. In addition to Jones, Jackson's toughest competitor, the Democratic field included Illinois State Senator Alice Palmer, Illinois State Representative Monique Davis and businessman John Morrow. Jackson used a combination of multimedia, targeted marketing and an army of community activists to deliver his positive campaign messages. He also registered thousands of new voters. Jackson received no endorsements from the downtown daily newspapers (Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, and the black daily, Chicago Defender), but was endorsed by the Citizen, Daily Southtown, Markham, Illinois mayor, Evans Miller, and one local labor organization.

As part of his campaign he was the only candidate to embrace the third Chicago airport proposal being championed by Jim Edgar at the time. The proposed airport in Peotone, Illinois was in Will County and was outside of the congressional district (which then was entirely contained in Cook County), but with thousands of jobs that would result nearby, his region would be a large beneficiary. Jackson estimates the airport could bring the region nearly a quarter million jobs and with the multiplier effect on the economy the region would benefit by a half million jobs.

Jackson won the democratic party primary and since the district is overwhelmingly Democratic, he was the favorite for the special general election. The manner in which he won was interesting because although he lost two of the eleven city wards and three of the six townships, he won all the highest voter turnout regions (two largest townships and five largest wards) except the 34th ward, which was Jones' home base. The day after winning the primary, he received a congratulatory phone call from United States Vice President Al Gore who had also won his first election (representing Tennessee in the House of Representatives) in the shadow of his father, Albert Gore, Sr. who had represented Tennessee in Congress.

On the eve of the election, Gore attended a Jackson address. Jackson was campaigning in a district where his father was well-known. During this campaign, his lone controversy was the fact that his salary as field director the Rainbow Coalition had been subsidized by the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, which was accused by a Senate investigating committee of having ties to organized crime. Nothing ever came of those accusations. Jackson won the general election against Republican Thomas Somer (76 percent to 24 percent). The victory had been widely anticipated. Upon his victory, Jackson made it known he would be a liberal voice in opposition to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and he was sworn in by Gingrich on December 15, 1995 before being introduced to the House by long-time Chicago congressman Sidney Yates. Jackson was perceived as less charismatic than his father and less credentialed than the Rhodes Scholar Reynolds, but his family pedigree was expected to help him open the doors that would enable him to serve the needs of his constituents effectively. In August 1996, Somer withdrew from a rematch leaving Jackson with no major party opposition. As a result, Jackson received 94% of the vote in the general election.

After being elected in the special general election, Jackson was one of many congressional politicians who received a donation from John Huang although Jackson did not know Mr. Huang. Jackson's donation was unexplained. Many recipients felt compelled to return the donations as a scandal erupted involving the true source of the funds. Eventually there was an Federal Bureau of Investigation and United States Department of Justice interrogation of Mr. Huang concerning irregularities which seemed to relate to Jackson and Bill Clinton. Mr. Huang's $1,000 contribution to Jackson's campaign was within legal limits and Jackson attributed Mr. Huang's desire to contribute to the national media attention his campaign's positive message received.

As a freshman congressman, Jackson quickly earned a reputation for his manners and decorum. Even when Jackson takes issue with the status quo, his deference to rules, political decorum, parliamentary procedure and personal principles shows through. Jackson's popularity on Capitol Hill also manifested itself very quickly. In his first nine months in office, he began to rival his father as a requested visitor to congressional districts with 36 requests from congressional colleagues. He was quickly immersed in efforts to help fellow Democrats on the campaign trail, where he is typically sent on the "black circuit" without any notification to the press. He was even chosen to represent Congress during a special week of television gameshow Jeopardy! In 1997, when Newsweek mentioned him in their list of 100 people to watch in the new century, dubbed "the Century Club", they praised both his oratorical skills and his popularity in Congress. They also raised the question of whether he would be the first black President. During the Clinton administration, Jackson voiced concern over patterns of compromising with the Republicans too often and voted in dissent on several notable bills that were the products of such compromise. Jackson quickly attempted to parlay his popularity into a seat on the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure using the leverage of his ability to perform voter registration drives. By late 1996, it was speculated that if Carol Mosley-Braun agreed to drop out of the 1998 United States Senate elections, as she was being pressured to do for her support of controversial Nigerian military leader and politician Sani Abacha, that Jackson would consider running.

Jackson had some controversial interactions with Jewish leaders in his early years in office. In 1996, his message of unity and cooperation with the Jews was met with skepticism. In 1997, New York City Mayoral candidates Al Sharpton and Ruth Messinger had engaged in bickering about Louis Farrakhan's remarks about Judaism and Jews after Jackson commented on the issue in a way that was not favorably received. Nonetheless, Jackson remained a popular speaker, making 30 appearances for Democratic Congressional candidates in 1998 according to Minority Leader, Dick Gephart.

Much of Jackson's political ideology became clear to the public based on his early press appearances. Jackson developed a style in which he has focused his discussion on the economic impact of actions. He has believed that the majority of racial debate is about economics, which is better framed in terms of employment, growth, and the economy. Jackson preferred direct aid and debt relief to trade reform as a method of helping impoverished nations such as those of the sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean Basin. He feared relaxed trade regulations will have perverse economic incentives that benefit big business more than the needy and that it may even lead to exploitation of labor. The bill on this issue, which was sponsored by Charles Rangel, eventually became the African Growth and Opportunity Act and divided the 36-person Congressional Black Caucus with Jackson leading the 14 dissenting members. He is also an opponent of incentives for corporations to invest in developing nations. Jackson's objected to the aforementioned bill in part because it would not motivate adherence to internationally recognized core labor rights and proposed his own bill that "provided debt relief, worker rights and duty-free, quota-free access to the United States market for clothing made of African cloth". He was outspoken on issues of minority hiring in industries such as information technology.

At the time of the Impeachment of Bill Clinton at the beginning of 1999, Jackson was a proponent of having Clinton testify under oath to the American people. Jackson was also an opponent of investing Social Security money in the stock market at the same time.

Jackson quickly built a track record of never missing a floor vote. Once he nearly missed his great-grandmothers funeral for a roll call, but the presiding officer was able to slightly delay the closing the roll, there by keeping his attendance record. When he does vote and debate he does so with a contentiousness that makes it difficult to view him as a team player according to Charles Rangel. Jackson has not only developed foes in the House, but also Mayor Daley has had a hand in several attempts to block Jackson such as objecting to both his committee seating and his doing a Chicago talk show, and Rush Limbaugh and the right-wing talk show hosts have targeted him. Daley has also been an opponent of the third Chicago airport which would diminish O'Hare International Airport. Supporters of the third airport project argue that O'Hare is over capacity, the additional airport would be a much-needed economic engine for the south suburbs and it can be built without public funding because investors are already lined-up.

Jackson's district was 65% black as well as one-third suburban when he first assumed it responsibility for it and many of the suburban constituents had moved from the city. After the 2002 redistricting following the 2000 Census, Jackson's resulting 650,000-constituent district remains predominately black. Jackson has established a hard core liberal voting record on both social and fiscal issues, and he has not been seriously challenged since his first election. Because of his name recognition and liberal track record, Jackson is besieged with public speaking requests, television appearance request, and requests for political commentary on issues of current affairs and liberal causes, and although he declines many, he recognizes his roles is to propagate his liberal message.

In 1998, Gore attempted to maintain good relations with the Jackson family with an eye on the 2000 elections, hoping to keep the elder Jackson from causing minorities to support other candidates if Gore decided to run. Gore even advised and campaigned for Jackson, Jr. on a trip to Chicago and issued instructions to his aides to create the "vice presidential effect" in Jackson's district. By December 1999, Jackson, Jr. was displeased with and critical of each potential Democratic nominees (Hillary Clinton, Gore and Bill Bradley) who were not as liberal as he would like.

At the 2000 Democratic National Convention, Jackson Jr. was notable for his lackluster support for Democratic presidential nominee Gore; as a representative of the left wing of the Democratic Party, he endorsed the Gore/Joseph I. Lieberman ticket as a matter of pragmatism despite its disconcerting centrist policies, because he feared the Bush/Dick Cheney ticket and felt even the disillusioned should avoid the Ralph Nader Green Party option. The elder Jackson agreed and compared his endorsement of Gore with intaking castor oil. At this convention, Jesse Jackson, Sr. gave a memorable introduction for Jesse Jackson, Jr. Despite the tepid support from Jackson, Jr., he was still considered a likely United States Secretary of Education in the event of a Gore Presidency.

Jackson won reelection in the 2000 House of Representatives elections by a 90–10 margin over Robert Gordon. When George W. Bush seemed destined to become United States President after the tumultuous 2000 presidential election, Jackson, one of Bush's harshest critics, realized that despite having only received 8% of the Black vote, Bush was going to attempt to court the black vote rather than pay it some sort of retribution. As word spread that Bush intended to appoint both Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and a third unnamed black to the United States Cabinet, Jackson recognized very quickly that Republican leaders such as Newt Gingrich had expressed the sentiment that the Republicans could achieve political dominance with a 15% share of the Black vote and would for this reason probably attempt to curry favor with the blacks by making favorable appointments. Jackson was one of the liberal leaders who was at the National Press Club meetings to plot strategy after Bush actually assumed control.

First partnering with Henry Hyde, Jackson has been trying to pursue the proposed Chicago south suburban airport since he assumed office. Jackson referred to the Republican Hyde as the right wing complement to his own left wing role in pursuing support for the airport. The 3rd Chicago airport has been supported by Illinois Governors Edgar, George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. The efforts to promote the proposed airport had sputtered for twenty years before Jackson got involved. Then in June 4, 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration authorized a master plan. Jackson has withheld support for local Democrats who would not support the airport, such as 1998 Democratic Illinois Governor nominee Glenn Poshard.

In 2004 Jackson, stood behind the Ho-Chunk tribe's proposal for a casino within his district in Lynwood, Illinois. The proposal was to build the largest casino in the state as part of an entertainment complex. Local residents who fear the change to the neighborhood had contested the plan, but Lynwood Mayor at the time supported by the plan because of the prospect of new job creation. The Ho-Chunk tribe has already built numerous casinos in Wisconsin. Also in 2004, Jackson was one of the politicians that Meg Whitman met with in an effort to ensure that internet sales continue to be free of sales tax. He also noted his support for granting Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion in boxing, a presidential pardon.

In 2005, Jackson along with co-sponsor John Kerry wrote and shepherded a bill designating $370,000 for the design, creation and acquisition of a life-size statue of Rosa Parks (who died October 24, 2005) to be placed in Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol. The bill was signed by President Bush on December 1, 2005 with funds earmarked for use prior to December 1, 2007. Parks' statue will be the first commission of a full-sized statue authorized and funded by the U.S. Congress since the 1870s. Parks will become the first black woman to have a statue in Statuary hall. On March 11, 2008, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that they would manage a design competition for the statue and that the Chrysler Foundation would support the competitions with a $100,000 grant.

Jackson has been very active in funding AIDS service organizations through congress in support of efforts by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People following moves by the Congressional Black Caucus.

During the 2002 Democratic primary for Jackson's 2nd District congressional seat, Jackson claimed that Illinois State Senator William Shaw, who would later become Dolton Mayor, and his brother, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Robert Shaw, had planted a bogus candidate in the primary race. The claim was that they selected 68-year-old retired Robbins truck driver, "Jesse L. Jackson", as an opponent in order to confuse voters and derail the congressman's re-election campaign. Although no criminal wrongdoing was found, the Jackson from Robbins withdrew his candidacy after the unexpected death of his wife was followed by his 19-year-old grandson's death during football tryouts at Northern Illinois University.

In 2001, the Federal Election Commission ruled that Jackson could hire his wife on his campaign payroll. The ruling stated that relatives can be employed as long as they were compensated "no more than the fair market value" for their services. Many other lawmakers have made similar arrangements without contacting the FEC for a ruling. When House Majority Leader Tom Delay was charged with ethical infractions, matters such as these came to light.

When Jackson decided not to run in the 2004 United States Senate election, he became one of Barack Obama's early supporters. He also became an early supporter of Howard Dean for the 2004 United States Democratic presidential nomination. The nomination was a bitter blow to the hopes of Al Sharpton who had hoped for endorsements from both Jackson, Jr. and Jackson, Sr. Jackson's nomination corroborated Al Gore's endorsement of Dean as the most likely of the ten candidates to beat President Bush, and it came despite two African Americans (Al Sharpton and Carol Mosley Braun, a fellow Illinoisan) in the field. Jackson was one of nearly three dozen House of Representatives endorsers of Dean.

The 2004 elections contributed to his joint support, with the Congressional Black Caucus, for election reform. He dislikes the way election rules differ across jurisdictions, saying that our country "is founded on the constitutional foundation of 'states' rights'—50 states, 3,067 counties and 13,000 different election jurisdictions, all separate and unequal." He was one of the 31 who voted in the House not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. He also proposed legislation for uniform voting standards that was supported by black leaders.

Jackson won reelection in the 2004 House of Representatives elections by a wide margin over Stephanie Kennedy Sailor. In 2005 Jackson supported legislation that gave the United States Federal Court of Appeals jurisdiction over the Terri Schiavo case. In advance of the 2006 House of Representatives elections, with the 2008 presidential election on the horizon, Jackson was a proponent of having Bill Clinton on the campaign trail. He felt Clinton might help the Democratic candidates reach out toward Black voters. During the 2006 House of Representatives elections among Jackson's opponents was Libertarian Party candidate and African-American pastor Anthony Williams who was an opponent of immigration.

In December 1999, he co-authored It's About the Money: How You Can Get Out of Debt, Build Wealth, and Achieve Your Financial Dreams. The book is a self-help book with directions for achieving personal financial independence. The book is targeted toward people of limited means. In the fall of 2001, he co-authored Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America’s Future, also known as Legal Lynching II. With coauthors, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Jackson, Jr., and Bruce Shapiro, the anti-death penalty voice was heard very publicly. The book was published at a time when public opposition to the death penalty was at a historically high level by two of America's most prominent civil rights leaders. It was a follow up to Legal Lynching: Racism, Injustice and the Death Penalty, which was released in 1996 by Jackson, Sr. In 2001, Jackson, Jr. authored A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights, with his press secretary, Frank Watkins. The book outlines his moral and political philosophies, and it provides an autobiographical sketch. It provides analysis on the link between race and economics from colonial America to the present with a vision for the future. In addition to the analysis, it provides eight proposed constitutional amendments that Jackson sees as essential to pursuit of broader social and economic opportunity. Since the publication of this book, Jackson has refined these and formally proposed these constitutional amendments.

In March 2005, he revealed that he had lost 50 pounds (22.7 kg; 3.6 st) due to gastric bypass surgery. In Ebony, Joe Madison revealed that when he and Jackson were on a panel at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conference he asked Jackson why he looked so different. He stated that Jackson described having undergone a duodenal switch medical procedure that his sister, Santita, had used to lose 200 pounds (90.7 kg; 14.3 st) over several years.

Chicago is the largest American city without mayoral term limits, and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley started his mayoral tenure in 1989. Jackson is less attracted to the limelight of the media than his father and rarely holds press conferences. After making a formal announcement in 2006 with a press conference, Jackson was considered a strong potential candidate to oppose Daley in the February 27, 2007 municipal election. He stated on September 7, 2006 that his final decision would come after the Congressional election in November. Jackson had built up a more moderate reputation than his father and had support that transcended racial lines. Jackson views his broad based support as a sign that the U.S. is advancing to the point where politicians from ethnic minorities can appeal to broad constituencies.

After more than a decade in the national political spotlight he had maintained an untarnished image, unlike his troubled 2nd district predecessors Mel Reynolds and Gus Savage, and had challenged Daley on several issues on the local political scene. Jackson has supported the living wage legislation that had been hotly contested in the Chicago City Council, and he has been an ardent backer of the long-proposed third Chicago airport in Peotone, Illinois, placing him at odds with Daley on both issues. He also railed against Daley over a trucking contract scandal involving city workers' collecting payoffs. At the time, the Mayor had recently exercised the first veto in his seventeen year mayoral term to thwart a big box retailer city minimum wage bill from the City Council despite the bill's public popularity.

Jackson and Zach Wamp were spokespersons for the changing the name of the main hall of the United States Capitol Visitor Center from the Great Hall to Emancipation Hall. The Library of Congress's main hall was already designated Great Hall. Some had wanted further feedback on naming possibilities, but the United States House Committee on Appropriations approved the proposed new name. On November 13, 2007, the House of Representatives approved the renaming of the Hall in a roll call vote that was requested by Eleanor Holmes Norton. The name is symbolic of the struggle against slavery, and the contribution of slaves in building the Capitol. Dianne Feinstein is a co-sponsor of the companion legislation in the Senate.

Jackson has continued to pursue support for the eight constitutional amendments outlined in his book A More Perfect Union. Jackson has been proposing the eight amendments since the 107th United States Congress when the Public Education amendment (H.J.RES.31) obtained 29 co-sponsors and the Health Care amendment obtained 10 (H.J.RES.29). In the 108th United States Congress all of the amendments had co-sponsors, and those with the most were the Right to Vote (H.J.RES.28) with 45, the Public Education of Equal High Quality (H.J.RES.29) with 37, Health Care of Equal High Quality (H.J.RES.30) with 35. Support peaked in the 109th United States Congress with 61, 35 and 35 co-sponsors respectively for these same amendments. On February 13, 2007, he proposed the eight amendments again in the 110th United States Congress; the amendment regarding the right to vote has accumulated 51 co-sponsors, and was referred to the United States House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties on March 1, 2007. The amendment regarding the right of citizens of the United States to health care of equal high quality (H.J.RES.30) also has a few sponsors.

Jackson is one of the progressive leaders who supports a fixed timetable for Iraq troop withdrawals. In 2007, he has also co-sponsored (along with Roy Blunt), legislation providing nearly $1 million dollars to each family the lost someone to the al-Qaida activities in the 1998 United States embassy bombings.

Jackson feels that America has moved forward, based in large part on his own experiences where he has seen political rhetoric change its tone in Chicago. He had felt that then-incumbent congressman Harold Ford who was running for reelection would overcome the Bradley effect in the 2006 Tennessee Senate election. Jackson represents a state that has elected Carol Mosley-Braun as the first black female senator and Barack Obama as a senator. He also serves in a city where over the last thirty years Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan have replaced Al Capone as the personalities most closely associated with the city. Although Jackson’s experiences may have seemed unique to his environment, Ford lost by the same slim margin predicted by advance polling that accurately accounted for the percentage of white voters indicating their predisposition. Several other 2006 biracial contests saw pre-election polls predict their respective elections' final results with similar accuracy.

In the February 27, 2007 Chicago municipal elections, Jackson's wife, Sandi Jackson, won the election for Alderman in Chicago's 7th ward. Also, in February 2007, Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. In March 2007, Jackson became an early Barack Obama supporter in his presidential bid, and he serves as a national co-chairman of the Barack Obama presidential campaign. As such, he is involved in garnering support from the superdelegates. During the campaign, he provided the voice for some advertisements such as one South Carolina radio ad in which he said: "Once, South Carolina voted for my father, and sent a strong message to the nation,...Next year, you can send more than a message. You can launch a president.'" When describing Obama he stated that "Barack Obama is not speaking as a friend of the community; he's part of the community...He doesn't always tell people what they want to hear. He tells them what they need to hear.'" During the campaign, he described Obama as the first successor of Martin Luther King, Jr. to use the thoughtful and careful approach to language to frame social debate in a way that is unlikely to alienate whites and noted his ability to get various factions to agree with him and his political positions.

Jackson has a lengthy relationship with Barack Obama. Barack's Illinois State Senate 13th district that he served from January 8, 1997–November 4, 2004 was within Jackson's Congressional district. Now, the role is reversed with Jackson's 2nd district within Obama's statewide United States Senate jurisdiction. The two have collaborated on issues, stood together against the party slate on certain reform-minded candidates and sought each other’s advice. Additionally, Jackson's sister Santita was a close friend of Michelle Obama and served as a bridesmaid at the Obama wedding. Despite their shared name, the younger Jackson has shown political and philosophical differences from his father. For example, when in 2008 Jackson Sr. wrote an op-ed in the Chicago Sun-Times attacking presidential candidate Barack Obama for his lack of activist involvement, Jackson Jr. responded sharply in the same paper with a defense of Obama.

On July 6, 2008, Jackson, Sr. said he thought Obama talks down to black people, and unaware he was near a live microphone offhandedly commented that he would like to "cut nuts off". Jackson, Jr. quickly expressed his outrage at and disappointment in his father's "ugly rhetoric". The Reverend later apologized for his remarks and reiterated his support for Obama. Jackson was expressing his disappointment in Obama's Father's Day speech chastisement of Black fathers. Jackson, Jr. issued a statement that said "Reverend Jackson is my dad, and I’ll always love him. . .I thoroughly reject and repudiate his ugly rhetoric. He should keep hope alive and any personal attacks and insults to himself." Jackson, Jr. took the statements very seriously because he had worked so hard as the National co-chair of the Barack Obama presidential campaign.

Before the entire congress was charged with seeking a solution to the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and overall economic crisis of 2008, Jackson proposed that the United States Department of Agriculture increase the allotment of food stamps. During the congressional debates on a federal bailout, Jackson worried about the viability of various plan iterations to his constituents. Although only two years earlier he spoke of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in glowing terms, he could not support the late-September version of the legislation she was proposing because he felt it contained inadequate homeowner protections. Although he voted against the bill on September 29, 2008 he voted in support of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 on October 3, 2008. He later expressed concerns in a New York Times op-ed article about the implications that the eventual bill had on enfranchisement due to the lack of protections for homeowners as it relates to voting rights.

On November 27, 2008, Blagojevich hinted that Davis might be his choice. On December 6, the Chicago Tribune reported that Jackson was among the minority of potential candidates who had not been granted a meeting with Blagojevich on the subject, but two days later Blagojevich granted Jackson a meeting. On December 9, the day after a 90-minute meeting that Jackson described as his first meeting with Blagojevich in years, the Rod Blagojevich federal corruption scandal became public when the Governor was arrested. On December 10, Jackson was contacted by federal prosecutors for questioning with regard to the scandal involving Governor Blagojevich's search for a replacement. The press speculated that Jackson was "Senate Candidate #5," for whom it is alleged by Blagojevich that emissaries offered up to a million dollars in exchange for the appointment. Jackson, however, denies any wrongdoing, and says that the U.S. Attorney's office assured him that he is not a target of the investigation. In a press conference, his lawyer confirmed his belief that Jackson is candidate #5, but asserted that he has done nothing wrong. Immediately thereafter, in his own news conference, Jackson confirmed that he is a subject and not a target of the investigation and emphatically stated his opposition to "pay to play" politics. On December 16, a Jackson spokesperson confirmed special federal investigators have been questioning him since the summer. Also WLS-TV reported December 15 that Jackson has notified investigators that Blagojevich refused to appoint Sandi Jackson, his wife, as state lottery director because Jackson refused to donate $25,000 to the governor's campaign fund. Jackson spokesman Kenneth Edmonds clarified that although Jackson had been a federal informant for over a decade, never did his cooperation concern the current investigation into the Senate seat.

Although Blagojevich's alleged corruption is widely reported to have been under federal investigation for years, Howard Fineman reportedly has sources that claim Jackson attributes the Obama replacement case to Obama's neutral stance on whom to replace him with. According to his source, Jackson feels if Obama had endorsed Jackson, Blagojevich would have selected Jackson. When the scandal first broke, the reaction was that Jackson's reputation was sullied to the point that his viability as a senatorial candidate was diminished. However, reports that Jackson has been a longtime federal information provider has led political allies to continue to speak of his viability as a candidate. After much controversy, Roland Burris was successfully nominated by Blagojevich.

When Jackson entered Congress, he sought a seat on the United States House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure in order to shepherd the third Chicago Airport. However, allies of Mayor Daley, such as Illinois' 3rd congressional district Congressman Bill Lipinski, blocked his nomination and he was relegated to the United States House Committee on Financial Services. During the 106th United States Congress, Dick Gephardt supported his seating on the United States House Committee on Appropriations.

Jackson was also appointed to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission in 2003 by the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives. He is among the scholars and politicians adding commentaries to Lincoln in Illinois which was published in the by the Abraham Lincoln Association and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. The book had been expected in the fall, but was published in June 2008.

Jackson is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. In 2006, when Jackson became a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Nu Pi Chapter, the Illinois House of Representatives issued a congratulatory resolution to his father. Jesse Sr. is also a member of the Omega fraternity. Jackson, Jr. delivered the keynote address to the fraternity at the November 18, 2006 Founder's Day gathering. He is also affiliated with the Theta Epsilon Chapter.

During the 1988 presidential campaign, Jackson met his future wife, Sandi Stevens, who was press secretary for United States Congressman Mickey Leland. After her first year at Georgetown University Law Center, the couple decided public schooling was more affordable and jointly enrolled at the University of Illinois College of Law. While still law students, they got married on June 1, 1991. Jackson and Sandi now have two children, Jesse III ("Tre") and Jessica and keep two homes. They own one in the South Shore community area, which is within both the 2nd district that Congressman Jackson represents in the United States House of Representatives and within the seventh ward that his wife represents on the Chicago City Council as Alderman. The South Shore home serves as an election base for himself and candidates he has supported, for which he claims a 13–0 record in public elections. The Jacksons also own a home in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., which serves as the family home and base for his service in Congress.

Jackson acknowledges that he has had the benefits of privilege and opportunity and says that his hobbies include fencing, hunting and fishing, especially salmon fishing. He often enjoys these hobbies in bipartisan friendships that include Dick Armey and regarded the late Republican Rep. Henry Hyde as one of his closest friends. In fact, Armey points to Jackson as an example of his ability to work with politicians at all ends of the political spectrum. Jackson also has a very good relationship with Republican United States President George W. Bush despite their sharp ideological differences. The relationship traces back to when Jackson Sr. and United States President-Elect George H. W. Bush met to discuss a range of issues while Jackson Jr. and his siblings Santita and Jonathan had an hour and a half luncheon with future president George W. He also developed a relationship with Bill and Hillary Clinton that enabled him to watch Super Bowl XXXIII at Camp David with them.

Jackson is a martial arts enthusiast, who practices Tae Kwon Do and Kung Fu. On August 1, 2007, Jackson got into a verbal disagreement with Rep. Lee Terry, a Republican from Nebraska on the House floor. Jackson stated in floor debate that "Republicans can't be trusted" and Terry responded with "shut up" before approaching Jackson. Jackson then spoke profanities and challenged Terry to step outside, presumably for a physical fight. Steve Rothman helped avoid escalation to actual physical confrontation. Martial artists throughout the Omaha, Nebraska area (Terry's district) called to inquire about Jackson's mindset and intentions. Jackson says Terry was the instigator. Terry says Jackson was at fault, but the two shook hands the next day and agreed to move forward in the interest of their constituents. However, a week later an unidentified man who claimed to be a Jackson relative walked into Terry's Omaha office saying he was Jackson's hitman who had come to beat up Terry, which led to FBI involvement. Although the story was covered in the Washington Post, and Omaha World-Herald, neither the Chicago Tribune nor the Chicago Sun-Times covered any part of the story.

Jackson became notable for his use of a battery-powered GPS-equipped Segway at a time when much of Capitol Hill was participating in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's WalkingWorks Capitol Hill Challenge, a six-week pedometer contest where House and Senate offices compete to rack up miles. Jackson, who missed two votes in his first thirteen years in Congress, quipped that the Segway helps him to maintain his good voting record.

Jackson, Jesse L., Jr., with Frank E. Watkins, A More Perfect Union: Advancing New American Rights.., ISBN 1-56649-186-X, Welcome Rain Publishers: New York, 2001.

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Family of Barack Obama

According to Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father, his great-grandmother Leona McCurry was part Native American, which Obama believed Leona held as a "source of considerable shame" and "blanched whenever someone mentioned the subject and hoped to carry the secret to her grave"; whereas McCurry's daughter (Obama's maternal grandmother) "would turn her head in profile to show off her beaked nose, which along with a pair of jet-black eyes, was offered as proof of Cherokee blood." To date, no concrete evidence has surfaced of Cherokee heritage. Obama's maternal heritage consists mostly of English ancestry, with much smaller amounts of German, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Swiss, and French ancestry.

The Obamas are members of the Luo, Kenya's third-largest ethnic group, which is part of a larger family of ethnic groups, collectively also known as Luo. This group belongs to the Eastern Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan phylum. The Obama family is largely concentrated in the western province of Nyanza.

Barack Obama has called his wife Michelle "the most quintessentially American woman I know." Her family is of African American heritage, descendents of Africans of the American Colonial Era. Michelle Obama's family history traces back from slavery to Reconstruction to the Great Migration North. Some of Michelle's relatives still reside in South Carolina.

Michelle's earliest known relative is her great-great grandfather Jim Robinson, born in the 1850s, who was an American slave on the Friendfield plantation in South Carolina. The family believes that after the Civil War he remained a Friendfield plantation sharecropper for the rest of his life and that he was buried there in an unmarked grave.

Jim had two sons, Gabriel and Fraser, Michelle Obama's great-grandfather. Fraser had an arm amputated as a result of a boyhood injury. He worked as a shoemaker, newspaper salesman and in a lumber mill and was married to Rosella Cohen. Carrie Nelson, Gabriel Robinson's daughter, now 80, is the oldest living Robinson and the keeper of family lore.

At least three of Michelle Obama's great-uncles served in the military of the United States. One aunt moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where she worked as a maid, and cooked Southern-style meals for Michelle and her brother, Craig, when they were students at Princeton University.

According to genealogists, Barack Obama's distant cousins include the multitude of descendants of his maternal ancestors from all along the early-American Atlantic seaboard as well as paternal, Kenyan relations belonging to the Luo tribe, many descending from a 17th century ancestor named Owiny. For example, George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. president, is the eleventh cousin of Barack Obama. The New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade argues that with eleven generations leading back to their common progenitor, Samuel Hinckley, the relationship between the 43rd President and the 44th President is "genetically meaningless".

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