Understanding the USA - U.S. Embassy Beijing China

MEET THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

Barack Obama

Democratic Presidential Nominee

Barack Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, would be the first African-American president of the United States if elected. Serving in the Senate since 2004, Obama introduced bipartisan legislation what allows Americans to learn online how their tax dollars are spent. He also serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, which helps oversee the care of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Previously, Obama worked as a community organizer and civil rights attorney in Chicago, and served for eight years in the Illinois State Senate.

Obama was born August 4, 1961, in Hawaii and has lived in many places, including Indonesia. His mother was from Kansas and his father from Kenya. Obama attended Columbia University in New York and earned a law degree at Harvard University in Massachusetts. He and his wife, Michelle Obama, who also worked as a lawyer and later for the University of Chicago, have two young daughters.

Joe Biden

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee

Joe Biden is a six-term senator from Delaware. First elected to the Senate in 1972 at age 29, Biden currently is the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, which reviews matters related to foreign policy including treaties, national security initiatives and humanitarian assistance.

He ran for president in 2008, but withdrew from the race shortly after the Iowa caucuses.

Biden was born November 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School in New York. Prior to his senate career, Biden worked as an attorney. Biden and his wife Jill, a professor, have three children and five grandchildren.

John McCain

Republican Presidential Nominee

John McCain's Official Web Site

John McCain, currently a senator representing Arizona, would be the oldest president of the United States if elected. Serving in the Senate since 1986, he is known for championing legislation that reformed elections financing and lobbying laws.

McCain, whose father and grandfather served in the U.S. Navy, had a 22-year naval career. He served in Vietnam, where he was a prisoner of war for more than five years, and received many naval honors for his service. McCain was also a presidential candidate in 2000, but lost the nomination to George W. Bush.

McCain was born August 29, 1936, in the Panama Canal Zone, where his father was serving in the U.S. Navy. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy. McCain's wife, Cindy McCain, has been active in many international humanitarian organizations. He has seven children, including a son who recently returned from serving in Iraq and a daughter adopted from Mother Theresa's orphanage in Bangladesh.

Sarah Palin

Republican Vice Presidential Nominee

Sarah Palin is the governor of Alaska and would be the first female vice president it the Republican ticket is victorious in November. She was elected governor in 2006, defeating the incumbent governor in a Republican primary, and became the youngest and the first female leader of Alaska.

Prior to serving as governor, Palin was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates the state's oil and gas resources.

Palin was born February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho, and attended the University of Idaho. Palin and her husband Todd, who is an oil-production operator, have five children.

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