From exotic childhood pets to outdoing the nation's best music-makers, here is the untold
truth about Barack Obama:
Number 18.
Name
It's safe to say that "Barack" is a unique name.
So, not many people know what it means.
Obama's first name is Swahili and means "one who is blessed."
And it looks like the title proved true for him throughout
his life so far.
Number 17.
Parents and Education
Barack Obama was born in August 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
His mother was white, and his father was black; so, he has mixed European and African ancestry.
His dad, Barack Obama Sr., worked for the Kenyan government as an economist for much
of his life but had gotten his economics degree in Hawaii.
His mom, Ann Dunham, was an anthropologist whose work mainly concerned the economics
and rural advancement of Indonesia.
His parents divorced in 1964 when Barack was only a toddler, and Barack Sr. moved back
to Kenya; he only ever visited his son one time in Honolulu, when Barack Jr. was 21 years
old.
He graduated from high school in 1979 and moved to Los Angeles, California to go to
college.
He later moved to New York City to continue his post-secondary education at Columbia University
as a political science and English literature major.
Obama received his BA in 1983.
He began attending Harvard Law School in 1988 and received his Juris Doctorate in 1991.
Number 16.
Sheila Miyoshi Jager
Sheila Miyoshi Jager is a historian and Professor at Oberlin College, teaching East Asian Studies.
She has also written various books.
However, she is most well-known for her relationship with Barack Obama.
Jager and Obama lived together in the 1980s while he was working in Chicago as a community
organizer.
In 1986, he asked her parents for her hand in marriage; but, they denied him.
He proposed a second time later on, but Jager turned him down again.
Their relationship didn't come to light until after he was out of office in May 2017.
Number 15.
Senator
Barack Obama announced his run for the United States Senate in January 2003.
He became a senator two years later, which made him the only member that was part of
the Congressional Black Caucus.
He left the Senate in 2008 to focus on transitioning to President of the United States.
Number 14.
Trinity Church
Barack Obama had been attending the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for about
20 years when his relation to the establishment affected his reputation during his presidential
campaign.
He became a member of Trinity Church around the same time he met Michelle.
Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. was the previous pastor of the church and even officiated the
Obamas' marriage; he later baptized their children as well.
However, Wright made several controversial statements that came to light and caused a
public uproar.
Concerning 9/11, he said, "...America's chickens are coming home to roost," which many people
interpreted as "America has brought this upon itself."
He also stated in his "Confusing God and Government" sermon, "[The United States] government lied
about their belief that all men were created equal.
The truth is they believed that all white men were created equal… they did not even
believe that white women were created equal...Governments lie."
Although Obama said he rejected Wright's comments, he still resigned from the church in May 2008
to avoid conflict.
Number 13.
Indonesia
In 1967, when he was just a child, Barack and his mom moved to Jakarta, Indonesia.
They lived in South Jakarta for over two years while his stepfather was working on a topographic
survey for the country's government.
His mom was teaching English at the time and also became an assistant director of the Indonesia-America
Friendship Institute.
His mother hired a transgender woman she met at a cocktail party to become Barack's caretaker
when he was just eight years old.
During his time in Indonesia, he learned to speak the language fluently as a child and
had some fascinating pets; his stepdad bred crocodiles at their house, which wasn't known
by many people in the area.
He also had a pet turtle and kept a pet ape named Tata.
Number 12.
Presidency
Obama announced his run for the Presidency in February 2007, which he did in the same
spot that Abraham Lincoln gave his 1858 "House Divided" speech.
His campaign projected his plans for change in the United States, concerning ending the
war in Iraq and changing the healthcare system.
He won the vote in November 2008 and became the first African American president.
During his first 100 days in office, he planned to take America's troops out of Iraq and wanted
to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which wasn't possible since Congress wouldn't
provide the proper funding.
The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 was the first bill he signed into law.
Obama fought for LGBT rights and did away with the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Barack announced he'd be running for a second term in 2011 and was reelected in November
2012.
He continued fighting for the rights of all citizens during his second term, leaving a
permanent mark on the nation and its people.
Number 11.
Obama Foundation
Barack Obama is credited with doing numerous things to advance our society concerning acceptance,
equality, and much, much more.
Another thing he is recognized for is the Obama Foundation.
It is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2014.
It supervises the creation of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, which will be located
in Chicago.
It will be a place that provides help and support to all people for various purposes,
including community engagement and education.
It also assists the My Brother's Keeper Alliance, which addresses the lack of opportunities
for young African-American men and boys; they believe that all young people deserve equal
opportunity to become successful.
Number 10.
Global Warming
During his presidency, Obama worked to combat global warming.
In 2009, he proposed various regulations for factories, oil refineries, and power plants
to try and lessen greenhouse gases.
In 2013, he said that he "would reject the Keystone XL pipeline if it increased carbon
pollution... [or] greenhouse emissions."
Two years later, he vetoed a bill that would have allowed the construction of the pipeline.
Obama spoke a multitude of times about trying to improve the environment and reduce the
effects of humans on the natural world.
While he was in office, he also took the opportunity to create an additional 25 national monuments
and broaden four that were already established; in total, he protected 553,000,000 acres of
land, which is more than all of his predecessors.
Number 9.
Nobel
In 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee presented Barack Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize.
He received it 'for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and
cooperation between peoples."
He is the fourth United States President to have gotten the prize and the third to have
received it while still in office.
Number 8.
Barry
During his childhood, Barack Obama was often referred to by his nickname "Barry."
However, the name was used again as the title of the 2016 drama film about Obama's life
during his time at Columbia University around 1981.
The film covers some of the racial profiling Barack faced during his life, a college romance,
and his journey to realizing who he is and accepting himself.
Barry isn't the only movie made about the former president.
Another feature, titled Southside with You, details Barack and Michelle's first date.
There is also a documentary called By the People: The Election of Barack Obama that
follows his time on the campaign trail before he was elected for his first term.
Number 7.
Books
Barack Obama is more than a favorite former-president and inspiration to people worldwide; he is
also a very successful author.
His first book, titled Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance is a memoir
that was published in 1995.
It details his life up until he began attending Harvard Law School and discusses the picture
Obama had formed of his dad, who wasn't always present in his life.
It was in Time Magazine's top 100 list of best "non-fiction books written in English
since 1923."
His second book is The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, which was
published in 2006.
The title of the book was inspired by a sermon from his controversial pastor at the time,
Jeremiah Wright.
The work talks about his political beliefs as well as his spiritual ones and gives his
opinions on various characteristics of American culture.
It was on the bestseller lists of Amazon.com and New York Times the year it was released.
Obama's third book is Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters; it was published in 2010
and is an illustrated work meant for children.
Number 6.
Apples
They say "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," and Barack Obama abides by this phrase.
Although he has talked about his smoking habit that comes and goes, overall, he is a very
health-focused guy.
He tries to eat fruit every day, and, while he was in office, he kept a heaping of apples
on the coffee table and had mixed nuts available for healthy snacking.
This isn't too surprising considering his wife's focus on health; she created the Let's
Move! campaign, which focuses on fighting childhood obesity and has plans of decreasing
it to 5% within the next 12 years.
Number 5.
Grammys
One interesting fact about Obama that you probably didn't know is that he has
received two Grammy awards.
That's more than many artists have gotten.
He won the 2005 Grammy for "Best Spoken Word Album" for Dreams From My Father.
He also received the 2007 award for "Best Spoken Word Album" for The Audacity Of Hope:
Thoughts On Reclaiming The American Dream.
We've all experience Barack Obama's amazing speech-giving skills; so, maybe, his wins
aren't too surprising.
Number 4.
Michelle
Barack met Michelle in the late 1980s while working at the Sidley Austin law firm in Chicago.
She was assigned to be his adviser for three months of his time there, and although he
developed an interest in her early on, she initially rejected his offer to start dating…
probably because workplace romances are often frowned upon.
However, the two began seeing each other later on and got engaged in 1991.
They were married in October 1992.
They now have two daughters together, Malia and Sasha, and two Portuguese Water Dogs,
Bo and Sunny.
Number 3.
Basketball
We've all heard about Obama's time playing basketball during his presidency, but he actually
had quite a bit of experience with the sport before only really participating as a pastime.
During the late 1970s, Barack was part of the junior varsity and varsity teams at his
school in Hawaii.
His friends recalled him being quite talented; one of his teammates, Mark Bendix, stated,
"I loved his game…
He had a pretty good shot and really handles the ball well."
Later on, Obama took his talent to the court at Occidental College.
In 2008, Mike Zinn, his former coach, said, "He was really athletic, ran good, jumped
good...He wasn't a great outside shooter…
He was left-handed.
He went left well, didn't go right that well…
He was a good defender, definitely a good athlete."
In 2010, he played against Clark Kellogg, a former NBA player, in a game of HORSE
and won.
Number 2.
Comic Books
Many people don't know about Barack Obama's love of comic books.
He wrote in an email for a nonprofit organization, "I grew up loving comic books.
Back in the day, I was pretty into Conan the Barbarian and Spiderman.
Anyone who read comics can tell you, every main character has an origin story -- the
fateful and usually unexpected sequence of events that made them who they are."
In fact, Obama has even been featured in a couple of comics like Savage Dragon and Spider-Man.
Number 1.
Healthcare
Barack Obama signed in the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, in March 2010.
It became the most significant healthcare reform since Medicaid and Medicare were created
in 1965.
It caused millions of Americans to become insured; uninsured percentages dropped from
16% to 8.9% from early to mid-2016.
About 70% of people who received subsidies to help pay for insurance only spent
about $70 per month for coverage.
For employers, the increase in healthcare costs began to slow down.
This reform also helped improve the income inequality problem in the United States; higher
taxes were placed on the 5% top earners, and subsidies helped lower-income people tremendously.
However, although there were many benefits to Obamacare, there were also some downfalls.
Not all states had to adopt Medicaid; so, there were several places where it wasn't
offered to adults with any income level if they didn't have children.
There was also some controversy concerning Obama's statements before the Affordable Care
Act went into effect.
On several occasions, he said, "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan."
However, as the laws concerning coverage changed, he was unable to keep this promise.