Barack Obama
Candidate for President (Democrat)
Residence: Chicago
Marital Status: Married (Michelle)
Prev. Occupation: Attorney, Lecturer
Prev. Political Exp.: IL Senate, 1996-2004; US Senate, 2004-present
Education: BA Columbia University, 1983; JD Harvard University, 1991
Birthdate: 08/04/1961
Birthplace: Honolulu, HI
Religion: United Church of Christ
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Civil Liberties
Senator Obama has made civil liberties one of his legislative priorities. In December 2005, Obama voted against extending the wiretap provisions of the USA Patriot Act, although he voted to renew the Act itself in March 2006.
“I will be supporting the Patriot Act compromise. But I urge my colleagues to continue working on ways to improve the civil liberties protections in the Patriot Act after it is reauthorized,” said Obama on the Senate floor during the Patriot Act Reauthorization debate. “Now, at times this issue has tended to degenerate into an ‘either-or’ type of debate. Either we protect our people from terror or we protect our most cherished principles. But that is a false choice. It asks too little of us and assumes too little about America.”
Obama strongly favors closing the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, and has repeatedly expressed his opposition to torture, stating, "America cannot sanction torture. It's a very straightforward principle, and one that we should abide by. Now, I will do whatever it takes to keep America safe. And there are going to be all sorts of hypotheticals and emergency situations and I will make that judgment at that time. But what we cannot do is have the President of the United States state, as a matter of policy, that there is a loophole or an exception where we would sanction torture. I think that diminishes us and it sends the wrong message to the world."
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to grant terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay access to the federal courts, Obama said that it strikes an appropriate balance between fighting terrorism and protecting America’s core principles. "This is an important step toward reestablishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus."
Obama plans to improve the country’s intelligence capacity and protect civil liberties by improving information sharing and analysis, revising the Patriot Act, and strengthening the warrantless wiretap approval process.
Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama on S.2271 - USA PATRIOT Act Reauthorization
Transcript of Democratic Presidential Debate, August 26, 2007
Immigration
A proponent of comprehensive immigration reform, Obama believes that we must preserve the integrity of our borders, fix the dysfunctional immigration bureaucracy, and increase the number of legal immigrants to keep families together and meet the demand for jobs that employers cannot otherwise fill. He supports a system that allows undocumented immigrants who are in good standing to pay a fine, learn English, and go to the back of the line for the opportunity to become citizens. Furthermore, Obama believes that we need to do more to promote economic development in Mexico to decrease illegal immigration.
“The time to fix our broken immigration system is now… We need stronger enforcement on the border and at the workplace… But for reform to work, we also must respond to what pulls people to America,” explained Obama in a statement on the U.S. Senate floor on May 23, 2007. “Where we can reunite families, we should. Where we can bring in more foreign-born workers with the skills our economy needs, we should.”
On March 7, 2007, Obama, together with, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), introduced the Citizenship Promotion Act in the U.S. Senate. This Act seeks to ensure that immigration application fees are both reasonable and fair. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had decided to raise fees on applications to as much as $2,400 for a family of four. Obama's bill reverses large fee increases for legal immigrants seeking to become citizens and provides grants to states to help promote citizenship. Many law-abiding legal immigrants see their applications delayed for years while the F.B.I. conducts background investigations. Obama introduced legislation to make such investigations smoother and quicker.
In May 2006, Obama voted to establish a Guest Worker program for immigrants, and to create a path through which the workers in the program could achieve citizenship. Obama also supports improving visa programs, particularly the H-1 B program, in order to attract talented individuals from around the world to America. At the same time, he has expressed support for the building of a fence on the U.S.-Mexican border to stem illegal immigration.
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Barack Obama On the Issues
Iran
Obama believes that Iran constitutes a threat to the U.S. and its allies. He supports tougher economic sanctions against the country and has said that he would do everything in his power to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Where Obama differs most with John McCain is whether or not America should engage in direct diplomacy with Iran.
Obama believes that Iran has acted "irresponsibly" in supporting Shiite militia organizations in Iraq, and has expressed concern over the Iranian government's support of "terrorist activities" as well as its nuclear program. He has maintained that he would promise not to seek "regime change" if Iran agreed to cease interfering in Iraq as well as cooperate on terrorism and nuclear issues. "We are willing to talk about certain assurances in the context of them showing some good faith," Obama said in an interview.
In May of 2007, Obama introduced the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of 2007, which empowers Americans to apply economic pressure on the Iranian regime by establishing a federal list of entities that invest in Iran and allowing for divestment. “As Iran continues to threaten regional stability and international security by pursuing a nuclear program, rattling sabers at its neighbors – especially Israel – and supporting terrorist groups funded by its energy sector, this bill will enable investors and state and local governments to ensure they are not invested in companies that support Iran’s oil and gas industry,” Obama said.
Obama remains very skeptical of the Bush Administration on Iran. He believes that members of Congress must carefully read all the intelligence before giving the President any justification to use military force. Furthermore, Obama feels that the Bush Administration has strengthened Iran’s hand by setting preconditions for any direct talks with Tehran. "Sen. Obama's view is that the approach the Bush administration has taken towards Iran has been utterly counterproductive and has left Iran more powerful and further along the path towards achieving its nuclear ambitions than it would otherwise have been," explains Susan Rice, one of Obama's chief foreign policy advisers.
In his speech to the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee group's annual policy conference in June of 2008, Obama stated, “Senator McCain refuses to understand or acknowledge the failure of the policy that he would continue. He criticizes my willingness to use strong diplomacy, but offers only an alternate reality- one where the war in Iraq was somehow put Iran on its heels.”
Obama Envisions New Iran Approach, New York Times, November 2, 2007
Obama, Frank, Lantos Introduce Iran Divestment Bill
Candidates Diverge On How To Handle Iran, NPR, September 22, 2008
Click here for Obama's position statements on other issues.
