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Personal life

Obama met his future wife, Michelle Robinson, in 1988 when he was employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. Assigned for three months as Obama's advisor at the firm, Robinson joined him at group social functions, but declined his initial offers to date. They began dating later that summer, became engaged in 1991, and were married in October 1992. The couple's first daughter, Malia Ann, was born in 1998, followed by a second daughter, Natasha ("Sasha"), in 2001. Applying the proceeds of a $2 million book deal, the family paid off debts in 2005 and moved from a Hyde Park, Chicago condominium to their current $1.6-million house in neighboring Kenwood. The house purchase and subsequent acquisition of an adjoining strip of land drew media scrutiny in November 2006 because of financial links with Illinois businessman Tony Rezko, who has been indicted for political corruption. In December 2007, Money magazine estimated the Obama family's net worth at $1.3 million.

Obama plays basketball, a sport he participated in as a member of his high school's varsity team. He is left-handed. Before announcing his presidential candidacy, he began a well-publicized effort to quit smoking. "I've never been a heavy smoker," Obama told the Chicago Tribune. "I've quit periodically over the last several years. I've got an ironclad demand from my wife that in the stresses of the campaign I do not succumb. I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." Replying to an Associated Press survey of 2008 presidential candidates' personal tastes, he specified "architect" as his alternate career choice and "chili" as his favorite meal to cook. Asked to name a "hidden talent," Obama answered: "I'm a pretty good poker player."

A theme of Obama's 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote address, and the title of his 2006 book, The Audacity of Hope, was inspired by his pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. In Chapter 6 of the book, titled "Faith," Obama writes that he "was not raised in a religious household." He describes his mother, raised by non-religious parents, as detached from religion, yet "in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I have ever known." He describes his Kenyan father as "raised a Muslim," but a "confirmed atheist" by the time his parents met, and his Indonesian stepfather as "a man who saw religion as not particularly useful." The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change":

It was because of these newfound understandings—that religious commitment did not require me to suspend critical thinking, disengage from the battle for economic and social justice, or otherwise retreat from the world that I knew and loved—that I was finally able to walk down the aisle of Trinity United Church of Christ one day and be baptized.

He joined Trinity United Church of Christ in 1988. A megachurch with 10,000 members, Trinity is the largest congregation in the United Church of Christ.

1. Obama (2006), pp. 327–332. See also: Brown, Sarah (December 7 2005). "Obama '85 Masters Balancing Act". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Tucker, Eric (March 1 2007). "Family Ties: Brown Coach, Barack Obama". Associated Press. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Obama (2006), p. 329.
3. Fornek, Scott (October 3 2007). "Michelle Obama: 'He Swept Me Off My Feet'". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
4. Obama (1995), p. 440, and Obama (2006), pp. 339–340. See also: Rossi, Rosalind (January 21 2007). "The Woman Behind Obama". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Zeleny, Jeff (December 24 2005). "The First Time Around: Sen. Obama's Freshman Year". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. Slevin, Peter (December 17 2006). "Obama Says He Regrets Land Deal With Fundraiser". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. "Obama's money". CNNMoney.com. December 7 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Goldfarb, Zachary A (March 24 2007). "Measuring Wealth of the '08 Candidates". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-02-11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. Kantor, Jodi (June 1 2007). "One Place Where Obama Goes Elbow to Elbow". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Dan Morris, Neal Karlinsky. "The 'Rat-Ballers': Obama's High School Crew". Nightline. ABC News. Retrieved 2008-01-14.
10. Parsons, Christi (February 6 2007). "Obama Launches an '07 Campaign—To Quit Smoking". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
11. "Questions for the Candidates". Associated Press. USA Today. May 15 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
12. "Gambling Buddies: Obama Flush with Poker Prowess". Associated Press. CNN. September 24 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
13. Kantor, Jodi (April 30 2007). "A Candidate, His Minister and the Search for Faith". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) See also: Obama (1995), pp. 292–295.
14. Obama (2006), pp. 202–208. Portions excerpted in: Obama, Barack (October 23 2006). "My Spiritual Journey". Time. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
15. ^ Guess, J. Bennett (February 9 2007). "Barack Obama, Candidate for President, is 'UCC'". United Church News. Retrieved 2008-01-14. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)