Barack Obama Archives

President-elect Barack Obama and his half-sister Maya attend a memorial service for their grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, on Tuesday at at the First Unitarian Church in Honolulu in Oahu, Hawaii.

Obama, Maya and long-time family friend Bobby Titcomb were seen scattering flower petals and his grandmother’s ashes in the sea at Lanai Lookout.

Madelyn, whom Obama called “Toot,” died on the eve of the election. Her absentee ballot (obviously for Obama) was cast before her death and was still counted as an official vote for her grandson.

10+ pictures inside of Barack Obama saying goodbye to grandma… More Here! »

Barack Obama goes shirtless as he and his family — wife Michelle, and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 — vacation at a beachside compound in Kailua, Hawaii on Sunday.

It was recently announced that Rev. Rick Warren will deliver the invocation at Obama’s swearing. Hollywood is basically up in arms over the decision.

Rihanna was also announced as a performer for the inauguration charity ball.

For the full set, check out more Barack Obama family photos. More Here! »

President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Orange County mega-pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his swearing, which has dismayed many Hollywood liberals. Actor Alan Cumming has taken to HuffPo to voice his opinion:

“In many ways Rick Warren is like a lot of people we know — friends’ dads or people we meet on planes that are pleasant but occasionally offer an opinion that gives you a startling glimpse into the darkness of their souls. Comparing same-sex relationships with incest and pedophilia is a case in point…

“I, like the majority of Americans, feel that gay people are unfairly discriminated against, and it is time they were afforded equal rights. I have heard the president-elect espouse these same opinions many times, and unlike some friends I have talked to over the last few days, I have no fears that he has altered these opinions in any way or that the invitation to Mr. Warren compromises them and his desire to see them enacted into law.

“Obama is very clearly showing his promise to be everyone’s president — from little, lefty queers like me to big, right-wing religious bigots like Rick Warren. (And he is a bigot. Go look it up in the dictionary.)

“And that, finally, is what is so upsetting and insulting about the idea that Rick Warren will be standing on the podium on this great day of celebration for a new America: because this whole thing is not about gay rights or policy or differences of opinion. It is about human decency and respect. Let’s face it, a generation ago Rick Warren would have made Barack Obama sit at the back of the bus, and now it’s the gays who are back there and we feel kind of lonely.”

Read Alan Cumming’s full entry at HuffingtonPost.com.

As President-elect Barack Obama prepares for his new role of Commander-in-Chief, he, wife Michelle, and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, chat with the weeklies on how they plan to handle the transition.

People reports that their new lives will be quite a change (new home, new friends, new dog), but Michelle shares with OK!: “We try to keep things really normal.”

Though they’ll be moving into the spotlight, Michelle tells Us Weekly she plans to have her girls stick to the same low-key routines–”homework, chores, dance and soccer”–they had before becoming the First Family.

As for Barack himself, Michelle knows he’ll stay committed to family as they move into their new life: “He’s an incredible husband and father. Not sure if the world knows yet, but they should!”

Bigger cover pics inside… More Here! »

Jennifer Garner and husband Ben Affleck proudly show off their “I Voted” stickers after casting their votes for President-elect Barack Obama at St. Martin of Tours church in Brentwood, Calif., on Tuesday morning.

The patriotic pair were spotted exiting the polls at different times. Jennifer, 36, who is expecting her second child this winter, emerged all smiles with baby bump in full view, while Ben, 36, was especially excited to show off his sticker to paparazzi.

Later in the day, Jen was seen picking up 2-year-old Violet from preschool.

Below are the very first celebrity reactions of Barack Obama’s winning the race for the White House. Among the 125,000 people at Tuesday’s victory rally were Brad Pitt and a tearful Oprah Winfrey. Here we go:

Oprah: “There are not even words to talk about what this night means. It’s one of the greatest moments I could ever imagine. That’s how great it is.”

Madonna: “I’m so f—ing happy right now”

Lindsay Lohan: “YES WE CAN.”

Samantha Ronson: “YES WE DID!!”

Kanye West: “HI MOM, OBAMA WON!” (His mom passed away about a year ago.)

Usher: “Isn’t this incredible news? Man, this is incredible. It’s so incredible to see that this historical thing has happened.”

President-elect Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, after being elected into the White House Tuesday night. Here’s the transcript of his speech:

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

(Click inside to continue reading Barack Obama’s Victory Speech…) More Here! »

Democrat Barack Obama was elected as the first black president of the United States of America on Tuesday night.

The 47-year-old senator from Illinois defeated Republican Sen. John McCain. Officials said voters came out in record numbers on Election Day — 130 to 140 million people.

The crowd is going wild in Grant Park in Chicago, where Obama will give his first public speech as president-elect.

Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President on January 20, 2009.