Biographical Sketches of the Democratic Candidates

Barack Obama

A person's childhood influences can affect their decisions and overall views in their future. During Barack Obama's teens, he admitted to using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. This affected his political view of drugs. He knows how it feels and understands the consequences of drugs once you begin from experience and strongly disagrees.

Obama is a Christian who grew up with non-religious parents. His father was raised as a Muslim, but then became an Atheist. So he didn't really have any religous practice when he was young. His religious view changed when he began working with black churches in his twenties. He understood how important it was and it changed his view of education and how kids can choose to be taught creationism beside science and evolution because he thinks creationism is not any less important than evolution.



Joe Biden

Events that occur in someone's life affects their core of belief, emotional response and overall viewpoint. At age ten, Joe Biden moved New Castle County, Delaware, where he attended a Catholic prep school, Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware. He was not academically oriented, but athletically oriented. He graduated in 1961 and attended the University of Delaware and graduated 506th of the 688 students in 1965. He then attended Syracuse University of Law in 1968 and graduated 76th of 85. He described himself as lazy. His poor grades affected his political views of education and how he wants to change it so students can get a better education and teachers can get paid more to do a better job.

On February 1988, Biden almost died from two brain aneurysms, but survived. He almost experienced death and that affected his political view of pro-public health care.