Presidential candidate Barack Obama's ties to Hawaii run deep. Born to an American woman and a Kenyan student in Honolulu in 1961, Obama was raised in the Islands by his mother and her parents. His adolescent years were influenced by family and friendships, but also marked by struggles with racial identity and school problems, all of which contributed to his world views.
Now his career as a civil rights lawyer and US senator from Illinois have led him to the Democratic Party's nomination for president. If elected, he would become the first U.S. president of African-American descent and, it should be added, the first from Hawaii.
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