CURRENT CANDIDATES: About the Presidential Candidates
McCAIN, John, a Representative and a Senator from Arizona
• born in Panama Canal Zone, August 29, 1936
• attended schools in Alexandria, VA
• graduated, United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD 1958
• graduated, the National War College, Washington, DC 1973
• pilot, United States Navy 1958-1981
• prisoner of war in Vietnam 1967-1973
• received numerous awards, including the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Flying Cross
• elected as a Republican in 1982 to Congress
• reelected to Congress in 1984
• elected to the United States Senate in 1986
• reelected in 1992, 1998 and in 2004
• chair, Committee on Indian Affairs (Two years)
• chair, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (Four years)
• candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2000
OBAMA, Barack, a Senator from Illinois
• born in Honolulu, Hawaii, August 4, 1961
• obtained early education in Jakarta, Indonesia, and Hawaii
• continued education at Occidental College, Los Angeles, where he studied Politics and Public Policy
• received a B.A. in Politicial Science with specialization in International Relations, 1983 from Columbia University, New York City
• worked as a community organizer in Chicago
• studied law at Harvard University, where he became the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, and received J.D. (Juris Doctor) and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1991
• lecturer on constitutional law, University of Chicago
• member, Illinois State senate 1997-2004
• elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2004 for term beginning January 3, 2005