Landmark Election:
On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois became the first African American to be elected president, defeating Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. Obama emerged as a frontrunner for the Democratic Party nomination in January 2008, when he won the caucus in Iowa, a state with an African American population of less than 3 percent. He lost the New Hampshire primary to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York in the following week, and a battle between the two candidates went on for the next six months. In the primary campaign, the longest in history, Obama distinguished himself from Clinton and the other major candidates by his history of consistent opposition to the war in Iraq. In the presidential race with McCain, during a time of financial crisis, the focus turned to economic issues. After his election, Obama chose Clinton as his secretary of state.

Fast Facts
Party:	Democrat
Date of Birth:	Friday, August 04, 1961
Date of Death:
Vice President:	Joe Biden
First Lady:	Michelle Robinson Obama