Level: High: Barack Obama - The Magic Ladder

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) was the 44th President of the United States, and the first African-American to hold the office. He is a Democrat. Obama won the 2008 United States presidential election, on November 4, 2008. He was inaugurated on January 20, 2009.

As president, he slowly ended the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He also signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (often called “Obamacare”), which changed many health care laws. He also enacted numerous programs to create jobs to help the economy. He became the first president to openly express support for gay marriage, he proposed gun control, and called for improving relations with Cuba.

Early life:

In the word 'Been', the letter 'N' says its Letter Name. In the word 'Named', the letter 'A' says its Letter Name. In the word 'Died', the letter 'I' says its Letter Name. In the word 'Lolo', both 'O's' say their Letter Name. In the word 'Spent', the letter 'N' says its Letter Name.

Remember, Bold letters ALWAYS say their Letter Names. Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women and Children, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is the first President to have been born in Hawaii. His father was an exchange student from Kenya named Barack Obama Sr. His mother Ann Dunham was from Kansas. She was an anthropologist. His mother married Barack Obama Sr. in 1961 and divorced him in 1964. In 1965 she married Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia. She divorced him in 1980. Barack Obama Sr. died in a motorcycle accident in Kenya in 1982. Barack’s mother died of cancer in 1995.

Obama spent most of his childhood in Hawaii and Chicago, Illinois, although he lived in Indonesia with his mother and stepfather from age 6 to age 10. He moved back to Hawaii after that, to live with his grandparents.

Education:

In the word 'Graduted', the letters 'U' and 'A' say their Letter Name. In the word 'Time', the letter 'I' says its Letter Name. In the word 'People', the letter 'P' says its Letter Name. In the word 'Prevented', the letters 'E' and 'N' say their Letter Name.

Remember, Bold letters ALWAYS say their Letter Names. He started college at Occidental College in Los Angeles, and graduated from Columbia University in New York City. After taking time off to do community service, Obama went to law school at Harvard University. After law school, Obama worked for a law firm that sued companies who unjustly fired people, and that sued the government, claiming that some African-Americans were prevented from voting.

Letter Name

	B	e	e	n

Letter Name

	N	a	m	e	d

Letter Name

	D	i	e	d

Letter Name

	L	o	l	o

Letter Name

	S	p	e	n	t

Letter Name

	G	r	a	d	u	a	t	e	d

Letter Name

	T	i	m	e

Letter Name

	P	e	o	p	l	e

Letter Name

	P	r	e	v	e	n	t	e	d

Letter Name

B	e	e	n

Letter Name

N	a	m	e	d

Letter Name

D	i	e	d

Letter Name

L	o	l	o

Letter Name

S	p	e	n	t

Letter Name

G	r	a	d	u	a	t	e	d

Letter Name

T	i	m	e

Letter Name

P	e	o	p	l	e

Letter Name

P	r	e	v	e	n	t	e	d

Before becoming president:

In the word 'State', the letter 'E' is Silent. In the word 'Congress', the letters 'E' and the second letter 'S' are Silent. In the word 'Tried', the letter 'E' is Silent. In the word 'Meet', the second letter 'E' is Silent. In the word 'Team', the letters 'E' and 'A' are Silent. In the word 'Became', both 'E's' are Silent.

Remember, Gray letters are ALWAYS Silent. Obama worked for Alice Palmer, an Illinois state senator. In 1995, she chose not to run for re-election, so that she could run for U.S. Congress, and Obama decided to run for her Illinois state senate seat. Palmer lost her election for U.S. Congress, so she tried to keep her seat in the state senate, but she did not have enough time to meet the rules of the election process. Obama’s team said that she could not be on the ballot, and the election rulemakers agreed. Obama won the election and became an Illinois state senator, serving from 1997 to 2004.

In the word 'Wrote', the letter 'E' is Silent. In the word 'Videotape' both 'E's' are Silent. In the word 'Part', the letter 'A' is Silent.

Remember, Gray letters are ALWAYS Silent. While he was Illinois state senator, he wrote a law that required police to keep records on the race of people who they stopped. This law also forced police to videotape interrogations, when they talked to people who they suspected of murder. At the same time, Obama taught law, part-time, at the University of Chicago Law School. Judge and political teacher Abner J. Mikva taught Obama about politics and became his mentor.

In the word 'Asked', the letter 'E' is Silent. In the word 'Spoke', the letter 'E' is Silent.

Remember, Gray letters are ALWAYS Silent. Obama then ran for the U.S. Senate. While running for Senate, John Kerry asked him to speak at the Democratic National Convention, where he spoke on television. He became a U.S. Senator, serving from 2005 to 2008, and then won the presidential election of 2008.

Silent

	S	t	a	t	e

Silent

	C	o	n	g	r	e	s	s

Silent

	T	r	i	e	d

Silent

	M	e	e	t

Silent

	T	e	a	m

Silent

	B	e	c	a	m	e

Silent

	W	r	o	t	e

Silent

	V	i	d	e	o	t	a	p	e

Silent

	P	a	r	t

Silent

	A	s	k	e	d

Silent

	S	p	o	k	e

Silent

S	t	a	t	e

Silent

C	o	n	g	r	e	s	s

Silent

T	r	i	e	d

Silent

M	e	e	t

Silent

T	e	a	m

Silent

B	e	c	a	m	e

Silent

W	r	o	t	e

Silent

V	i	d	e	o	t	a	p	e

Silent

P	a	r	t

Silent

A	s	k	e	d

Silent

S	p	o	k	e

2008 presidential campaign:

In the word 'Campaign', the letters', 'C', 'A', 'M', 'P', and 'N' say their Common sounds. In the word 'When', the letter 'W' says its Common sound. In the word 'Most', the letters', 'M', 'S', and 'T' say their Common sounds. In the word 'Win' every letter says its Common sound.

Normal looking letters ALWAYS say their most Common sound. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign for the White House started in early June 2008, when he defeated Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primaries. Hillary Clinton was favored to win, but Obama won many smaller state caucuses (local party elections) by having a lot of volunteers. He decided not to accept government money for his campaign, so that he could accept more money from private donors. He raised the most money that any presidential campaign had ever collected.

In the words 'Man' and 'And' every letter says its Common sound. In the word 'Car', the letter 'C' says its Common sound.

Remember, Normal looking letters ALWAYS say their most Common sound. Obama’s campaign theme was that he was a man of hope and change. He was also against the war in Iraq. He was in favor of loaning money to American car companies. He was in favor of sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Common

	C	a	m	p	a	i	g	n

Common

	W	h	e	n

Common

	W	i	n

Common

	M	o	s	t

Common

	M	a	n

Common

	A	n	d

Common

	C	a	r

Common

C	a	m	p	a	i	g	n

Common

W	h	e	n

Common

W	i	n

Common

M	o	s	t

Common

M	a	n

Common

A	n	d

Common

C	a	r

In the word 'some', the letter 'O' says the 'UH' sound. In the word 'opponent', the first letter 'O' says the 'UH' sound. In the word 'candidate', the letters 'I' and 'A' say the 'UH' sound.

Remember, Shrunken letters ALWAYS say the 'UH' sound. During the campaign, some people connected Obama to Tony Rezko, a landlord, and to former member of the Weather Underground, Bill Ayers. Obama claimed that they were not his friends. Obama also had trouble when his minister at church, Jeremiah Wright, was videotaped criticizing America. During the campaign, Obama said that his opponent, Republican candidate John McCain, was just like George W. Bush, something that John McCain said was not true.

In the word 'Republican', the letters 'I' and 'A' say the 'UH' sound. In the word 'Won', the letter 'O' says the 'UH' sound. In the word 'Total', the letter 'A' says the 'UH' sound.

Remember, Shrunken letters ALWAYS say the 'UH' sound.. Obama defeated Republican candidate McCain in the election on November 4, 2008, by a wide electoral majority of 365 to 173, meaning that he had won the necessary votes in enough states to send 365 Electoral College delegates to officially elect him. The popular vote (based on the total number of votes across the country) was closer, with Obama winning 53%, to McCain’s 46%.

Schwa

	S	o	m	e

Schwa

	O	p	p	o	n	e	n	t

Schwa

	C	a	n	d	i	d	a	t	e

Schwa

	R	e	p	u	b	l	i	c	a	n

Schwa

	W	o	n

Schwa

	T	o	t	a	l

Schwa

S	o	m	e

Schwa

O	p	p	o	n	e	n	t

Schwa

C	a	n	d	i	d	a	t	e

Schwa

R	e	p	u	b	l	i	c	a	n

Schwa

W	o	n

Schwa

T	o	t	a	l

Family:

In the words 'University', 'Harvard', and 'worked', the Rotated 'R' says the 'ER' sound.

Remember, a rotated 'R' ALWAYS says the 'ER' sound. Obama married Michelle Obama in 1992. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Princeton University, and she also has a law degree from Harvard Law School. She worked as a lawyer. They have two daughters, Malia Ann, who was born in 1998, and Natasha (“Sasha”), born in 2001. They lived in Chicago prior to Obama’s presidential victory, but they moved into the White House on January 20, 2009.

In the word 'Senator', the Rotated 'R' says the 'ER' sound.

Remember, a rotated 'R' ALWAYS says the 'ER' sound. Obama promised his daughters that the family would get a dog if he was elected President. In April 2009, Senator Ted Kennedy, the brother of former President John F. Kennedy, gave Obama one of his dogs, a Portuguese water dog named Bo.

In the words 'Sister' and 'Maternal', the Rotated 'R' says the 'ER' sound.

Remember, a rotated 'R' ALWAYS says the 'ER' sound. Obama has a half-sister who is a teacher in Hawaii. His father died from a car accident in Africa. His mother died of cancer. His maternal grandmother died just before Obama won the election to become President.

Rotated R

	U	n	i	v	e	r	s	i	t	y

Rotated R

	H	a	r	v	a	r	d

Rotated R

	W	o	r	k	e	d

Rotated R

	S	e	n	a	t	o	r

Rotated R

	S	i	s	t	e	r

Rotated R

	M	a	t	e	r	n	a	l

Rotated R

U	n	i	v	e	r	s	i	t	y

Rotated R

H	a	r	v	a	r	d

Rotated R

W	o	r	k	e	d

Rotated R

S	e	n	a	t	o	r

Rotated R

S	i	s	t	e	r

Rotated R

M	a	t	e	r	n	a	l

Presidency:

In the word 'On', the letter 'O' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound. In the word 'Called', the letter 'A' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound.

Remember, Stretched letters ALWAYS say their drawn-out Exception sounds. Obama became President of the United States on January 20, 2009. The United States was battling a tough recession. He asked Congress to spend an extra $787 billion ($787,000,000,000) to try to end the recession. He called the plan the stimulus bill. The stimulus bill funded many road projects, gave money to schools, gave tax credits to many Americans, and funded many science and research projects.

In the word 'Automobile', the letter 'A' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound. In the word 'Obama', the letter 'A' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound. In the word 'Along', the letter 'O' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound.

Remember, Stretched letters ALWAYS say their drawn-out Exception sounds. Obama continued the financial bailout that George W. Bush had started, providing billions of dollars to automobile companies and banks, so that they would not go bankrupt. He signed an act, written by Barney Frank and Chris Dodd, which would more closely regulate Wall Street (the financial industry) to try to prevent another recession like the 2008 economic collapse from even happening again. Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which would bring along health care reform to the United States, which he said would change the system so that more people could afford health care.

In the word 'Also', the letter 'A' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound. In the word 'Wants', the letter 'A' is stretched to say its 'AHH' sound.

Remember, Stretched letters ALWAYS say their drawn-out Exception sounds. In foreign policy, Obama developed a plan to slowly withdraw troops from Iraq, ending the War in Iraq by the end of 2011, while he added more troops in Afghanistan to help the United States win the War in Afghanistan. He also decided that the U.S. should help in the war against Libya. He has said several times that he wants to improve U.S. relations with the Muslim world.

Stretch

	O	n

Stretch

	C	a	l	l	e	d

Stretch

	A	u	t	o	m	o	b	i	l	e

Stretch

	O	b	a	m	a

Stretch

	A	l	o	n	g

Stretch

	A	l	s	o

Stretch

	W	a	n	t	s

Stretch

O	n

Stretch

C	a	l	l	e	d

Stretch

A	u	t	o	m	o	b	i	l	e

Stretch

O	b	a	m	a

Stretch

A	l	o	n	g

Stretch

A	l	s	o

Stretch

W	a	n	t	s

Obama received the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, 2009. He donated the prize money to several charities.

In the word 'Popularity', the letters 'A' and 'R' blend to say their 'AIR' sound. In the word 'During', the letters 'I', 'N', and 'G' blend to say their 'ING' sound. In the word 'Spending', the letters 'I', 'N', and 'G' blend to say their 'ING' sound.

Remember, Dotted-Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Blended sounds. Although his popularity was very high (around 70% approval) when he entered office, his approval ratings had dropped to 45% during by 2010. He received a lot of criticism from Republicans, conservatives, libertarians, and members of the Tea Party because they believe that the federal government is becoming too large and is spending too much money. They argued that his programs were not in the best interest of the country.

In the word 'For', the letters 'O' and 'R' blend to say their 'OAR' sound. In the word 'Afford', the letters 'O' and 'R' blend to say their 'OAR' sound. In the word 'Welfare', the letters 'A' and 'R' blend to say their 'AIR' sound.

Remember, Dotted-Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Blended sounds. With rising deficits (the amount of money the government borrows each month) under his administration, he called for taxes to be increased on wealthier Americans, who he argued could afford to pay them. He criticized his Republican opponents for wanting to cut welfare benefits for the poor and needy, rather than raising taxes to help pay down the debt. He also signed the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010, which since 1993 had prevented openly gay men and openly lesbian women from serving in the army.

In the word 'Iraq', the letters 'I' and 'R' blend to say their 'EAR' sound. In the word 'Terror', the letters 'E' and 'R' blend to say their 'AIR' sound. In the word 'Support', the letters 'O' and 'R' blend to say their 'OAR' sound.

Remember, Dotted-Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Blended sounds. Obama presided over the end of the Iraq War, and he continued the war on terror, which resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden on May 2, 2011. Obama developed a no-fly-zone policy regarding Libya, which ended the civil war in October 2011, with the death of Muammar al-Gaddafi. On May 9, 2012, Obama became the first sitting U.S. President to openly support legalizing same-sex marriage.

Blended

	P	o	p	u	l	a	r	i	t	y

Blended

	D	u	r	i	n	g

Blended

	S	p	e	n	d	i	n	g

Blended

	F	o	r

Blended

	A	f	f	o	r	d

Blended

	W	e	l	f	a	r	e

Blended

	I	r	a	q

Blended

	T	e	r	r	o	r

Blended

	S	u	p	p	o	r	t

Blended

P	o	p	u	l	a	r	i	t	y

Blended

D	u	r	i	n	g

Blended

S	p	e	n	d	i	n	g

Blended

F	o	r

Blended

A	f	f	o	r	d

Blended

W	e	l	f	a	r	e

Blended

I	r	a	q

Blended

T	e	r	r	o	r

Blended

S	u	p	p	o	r	t

On December 14, 2012, after the horrifying school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut had occurred, Obama declared, “We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” On December 21, 2012, Obama and his White House staff observed a moment of silence, because of the school shooting in Connecticut.

In the word 'His', the letter 'S' is raised to say its higher 'Z' sound.

Remember, Raised letters ALWAYS say their Higher Exception sound. On December 21, 2012, during his second term, Obama nominated John Kerry for United States Secretary of State. Kerry was sworn in on February 1, 2013.

In the word 'Guns', the letter 'S' is raised to say its higher 'Z' sound. In the word 'December', the letter 'C' is raised to say its higher 'S' sound.

Remember, Raised letters ALWAYS say their Higher Exception sound. Before his second term began, debates over guns were constant, because of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that had occurred on December 14, 2012.

Multiple PQ Types

Raised Exception

	S	c	h	o	o	l

Dropped Exception

	M	e	a	n	i	n	g	f	u	l

Dropped Exception

	T	r	a	g	e	d	i	e	s

Raised Exception

	T	r	a	g	e	d	i	e	s

Raised Exception

	O	f

Raised Exception

	H	i	s

Raised Exception

	G	u	n	s

Raised Exception

	D	e	c	e	m	b	e	r

Raised Exception

S	c	h	o	o	l

Dropped Exception

M	e	a	n	i	n	g	f	u	l

Dropped Exception

T	r	a	g	e	d	i	e	s

Raised Exception

O	f

Raised Exception

H	i	s

Raised Exception

G	u	n	s

Raised Exception

D	e	c	e	m	b	e	r

In the word 'Inauguration', the letters 'T' and 'I' are underlined to say their Combined 'SH' sound. In the word 'That', the letters 'T' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'TH' sound.

Remember, Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Combined sound..

He took his second term inauguration oath in the White House, privately (only his family members attended), on January 20, 2013. Obama was inaugurated for a second term on January 21, 2013 in the United States Capitol. That inauguration was viewed by the public.

In the word 'South', the letters 'O' and 'U' are underlined to say their Combined 'OW' sound. In the word 'South', the letters 'T' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'TH' sound. In the word 'With', the letters 'T' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'TH' sound.

Remember, Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Combined sound. Obama visited South Africa in late June 2013. Prior to visiting South Africa, he visited Senegal. He visited Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela had been imprisoned, but he did not meet with Mandela.

In the word 'Shutdown', the letters 'S' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'SH' sound. In the word 'Shutdown', the letters 'O' and 'W' are underlined to say their Combined 'OW' sound. In the word 'Which', the letters 'C' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'CH' sound.

Remember, Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Combined sound. A United States government shutdown occurred on October 1, 2013, because Congress had not agreed on a national budget. On October 17, 2013, Obama signed a bill which ended the shutdown.

In the word 'Presidential', the letters 'T' and 'I' are underlined to say their Combined 'CH' sound. In the word 'Such', the letters 'C' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'CH' sound. In the word 'Chita', the letters 'C' and 'H' are underlined to say their Combined 'CH' sound.

Remember, Underlined letters ALWAYS say their Combined sound. Obama awarded several people, including former U.S. President Bill Clinton and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 20, 2013. He has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to many people, such as Stephen Hawking, Sandra Day O’Connor, Chita Rivera, Loretta Lynn and George H. W. Bush.

Combined

	T	h	a	t

Combined

	S	o	u	t	h

Combined

	W	i	t	h

Combined

	S	h	u	t	d	o	w	n

Combined

	W	h	i	c	h

Combined

	S	u	c	h

Combined

	C	h	i	t	a

Combined

I	n	a	u	g	u	r	a	t	i	o	n

Combined

T	h	a	t

Combined

S	o	u	t	h

Combined

W	i	t	h

Combined

S	h	u	t	d	o	w	n

Combined

W	h	i	c	h

Combined

P	r	e	s	i	d	e	n	t	i	a	l

Combined

S	u	c	h

Combined

C	h	i	t	a

On December 5, 2013, Obama gave a four and a half minute speech honoring Nelson Mandela, after Mandela’s death was announced. On December 9, 2013, he departed Washington, D.C. to travel to South Africa for Mandela’s memorial service. On December 10, 2013, Obama spoke at Mandela’s memorial service in Soweto, South Africa.

On April 4, 2011, Obama declared that he would stand for re-election for a second presidential term, in a video titled, “It Begins with Us.” It was posted on his website. He filed the necessary election papers with the Federal Election Commission, and he was officially nominated as his party’s presidential candidate on September 6, 2012. Mitt Romney was officially nominated as his opponent by the Republican party, on August 30, 2012. While the popular votes were very close, Obama easily won the Electoral College votes that he needed to win a second term. Obama and Romney had together spent more than $2 billion on advertising during the election campaign.

The start of Obama’s second term in 2014 experienced a number of setbacks. Many people were upset at the Obama Administration, claiming that the government, via the NSA, was possibly listening to many citizens’ phone calls. Further, his Democratic Party had lost many Congressional elections, and the Republicans had the majority in Congress. Because of disagreements between Democrats and Republicans, neither side found itself being very effective, and Obama turned to using Executive Orders (part of his power as President) to take actions on issues that he deemed important.

Among some of the initiatives in his second term, Obama supported increasing the minimum wage, and he pushed legislation that would eliminate income disparities for women and men who performed the same job. He had also called for the first two years of college to be fully government-funded for students who studied full-time and achieved high grades.

After the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Obama nominated Merrick Garland on March 16, 2016, to replace Scalia. But the nomination expired, because the Senate refused to hold a vote for him, preferring to delay the choice until the next U.S. President was in office.

Since former-President Obama has left office, he and his family have apparently kept quite busy, including R&R, and many paid and non-paid appearances. In February 2017, he joined close friend Richard Branson on a U.S. Virgin Islands vacation. He followed this with a trip to French
Polynesia.

In April, he spent time with young adults, working in Chicago as a community organizer. Then in May, he unveiled plans for his presidential center, saying, “What we want this to be is the world premiere institution for training young people, and leadership, to make a difference in their communities, in their countries, and in the world.” The month continued with acceptance of the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage award, a visit with Germany’s Angela Merkel, and then a meeting with Great Britain’s Prince Harry.

In September, he delivered the keynote address at a Gates Foundation event, and then attended the Invictus Games in Toronto. Prince Harry interviewed him in December, on a BBC radio broadcast. Here is a comment made by the former President, during the session: “I still care about making sure that the United States, and the world, is a place where kids get a decent education. Where people who are willing to work hard are able to find a job that pays a living wage. That we’re conserving the amazing resources of our planet, so that future generations can enjoy the beauty of this place, like we did.”


Girl	Boy	Woman	Man