Timeline to the highest office in the land

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On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became president of the United States of America.
And in assuming the highest political office in the strongest nation on earth, he becomes, in effect, the leader of the western world.
Quite an accomplishment for a young man born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1961 to a white mother, Ann Durham from Kansas, USA and an African father, Barack Obama Sr., a Luo from Nyanza Province in Kenya.
His parent met while they were students at the University of Hawaii. They were divorced in 1964.
He attended elementary and high school in Indonesia (where his mother remarried) before returning to the United States in 1979.
He attended Occidental College in Los Angeles before transferring to Columbia University in New York where he majored in Political Science (specialization: International Relations).
Community Work
After Columbia University Obama spent three years (1985-1988) as director of a community organization, Developing Communities Project (DCP) in Chicago’s south side.
At DCP, Obama helped to establish several viable projects in areas such job training, tutoring and tenants’ advocacy. He also increased the organization’s budget from $70,000 to $400,000.
Law and Politics
In 1988 Obama, entered Harvard Law School where, during his first year he was elected editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He gained national attention when he was elected president of the journal during his second year.
He graduated in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he was recruited by the University of Chicago, who offered him a fellowship and office to work on a book. He worked at the university, teaching Constitutional Law for 12 years.
In 1992 he married attorney Michelle Robinson.
In 1995 he published his first book, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance."
Between 1993 and 1996, he also worked as a civil rights lawyer with a Chicago Law firm
In 1992, Obama was recruited to direct Project Vote, a voter registration drive. He registered more than 150,000 Black voters in the state of Illinois.
In 1996 he entered politics.
In November 1996, he was elected to the Illinois senate.
In 1999, he began preparations to run for a Congressional seat.
In 2002, he lost to Representative Bobby Rush. 
In 2004, he signaled his intention to run for the US Senate. That same year, he delivered a high-powered address to the Democratic Convention in Boston.
In November 2004, he was elected to the US senate with 70 per cent of  the vote.
In 2006, Obama published another national bestseller, The Audacity of Hope.
Later that year, he signaled his intention to run for the office of the President of the United States of America.
On February 10, 2007 he announced that he was in the race. To win he had to defeat Hilary Clinton and several other heavyweight Democrats including John Edwards.
On December 13, Obama was joined on the campaign trail by Oprah Winfrey, the most popular television personality in the USA.
On Jan 3, 2008, Barack Obama won the Iowa primary: “They said this day would never come.” He told supporters.
January 26, Obama won the mostly Black state of South Carolina Primary: Former president, surprised many with what was considered a racist remark: “Jesse Jackson also won South Carolina.”
On February 12, Obama showed Clinton he was not Jesse Jackson by winning Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland.
On March 13, 2008, Obama was forced on the defensive when the media made publican outburst from his former minister at Trinity United Church in Chicago, Jerrimiah Wright, quoted as saying. ” God didn’t bless America, God damn America.”
On March 18, Obama delivered a define speech on race in America.
On June 7, 2008 after several defeats, Hilary Clinton conceded the Democratic nomination race to Barack Obama.
On July 24, more than 200,000 Germans and Europeans turned out to hear Obama’s speech in Berlin.
On August 8, Obama names Senator Joe Biden as his choice for vice president.
On August 25, Obama accepts the nomination from the Democratic Party to stand for president of the USA.
During October and November, Obama establishes his superior skills, knowledge and charismatic appeal over his Republican counterpart, John McCain.
On November 4, Barack Obama win the election to become the 44th president of the United States. He is the first African-American in charge.