Backgrounder: Barack Obama -- U.S. president-elect

2008 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Obama announced his bid for the White House on Feb. 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois, where former President Abraham Lincoln had delivered a speech in 1858.

He joined seven other politicians in the Democratic camp, including former first lady and New York Senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In the first half of 2007, he raised 58 million U.S. dollars, setting the record for fundraising by a presidential campaign in the first six months of the calendar year before the elections, although he trailed Clinton in national polls in 2007.

However, Obama was highly successful in enlisting supporters, especially among youth, minorities and those with higher education, and mapped a strategy to campaign not only in primary states but also caucus states. In the first caucuses held in Iowa on Jan. 3, 2008, he scored a surprising victory.

After the Super Tuesday of Feb. 5, Obama tied Clinton. With victories in 10 more consecutive contests over the rest of February, he surpassed her to become the most likely nominee. Finally, on June 3, he clinched the presidential candidacy.

On Aug. 29, Obama and his running mate Joe Biden told the Democratic national convention that he would bring the changes the country needs and "revive the American dream."

He has promised that if elected, he will take the country in a new direction by withdrawing U.S. combat troops from Iraq with responsibility, enacting universal and affordable healthcare and adopting tax policies favoring lower- and middle-income families.

During the national campaign, he led Republican rival John McCain not only in polling numbers but also in campaign funding.

HIS FAMILY

Obama met his wife, Michelle Robinson, in June 1989 when he worked at a Chicago law firm. They married on Oct. 3, 1992, and have two daughters, Malia Ann and Natasha.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei