Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., was born November 20, 1942, in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four siblings. In 1953, the Biden family moved from Pennsylvania to Claymont, Delaware. He graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council. Then, at age 29, he became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate.

Just weeks after the election, tragedy struck the Biden family, when Biden's wife, Neilia, and their 1-year old daughter, Naomi, were killed and their two young sons critically injured in an auto accident. Biden was sworn in at his sons' hospital bedside and began commuting to Washington every day by train, a practice he maintained throughout his career in the Senate.

In 1977, Biden married Jill Jacobs. Jill Biden, who holds a Ph.D. in Education, has been an educator for over two decades in Delaware's schools. Vice President Biden has three children: Beau, Hunter, and Ashley. Beau serves as Delaware's Attorney General and is currently deployed to Iraq as a Captain in the 261st Signal Brigade of the Delaware National Guard. Ashley is a social worker and Hunter is an attorney. Vice President Biden has five grandchildren: Naomi, Finnegan, Roberta Mabel ("Maisy"), Natalie, and Robert Hunter.

As a Senator from Delaware for 36 years, Biden has been a leader on some of our nation's most important domestic and international challenges. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 17 years, Biden was widely recognized for his work on criminal justice issues including the landmark 1994 Crime Bill and the Violence Against Women Act. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 1997, Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He has been at the forefront of issues and legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

Barack H. Obama is the 44th President of the United States.

His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African—American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7.

WHITE HOUSE STAFF


Chief of Staff
Rahm Emanuel

Deputy Chiefs of Staff
Jim Messina
Mona Sutphen

Senior Advisors
David Axelrod
Valerie Jarrett
Pete Rouse

Obama Is A Vulcan

Britain's singing sensation Susan Boyle reportedly turned down a dinner invitation with US President Barack Obama as she was too nervous to attend the event.

The 'Britain's Got Talent' contestant, popularly known as the 'Hairy Angel', turned down the invitation for prestigious annual Correspondents Dinner which took place in Washington DC last night where US President Obama was guest of honour, British tabloid News of The World reported.

Obama reportedly became a Boyle fan after watching her performance on TV.

"She was shocked and thrilled by the invite - but it was all too much too soon for her so she said 'No'. She has been told President Obama has seen clips of her on TV and loved her singing and she is delighted," a source close to Boyle told the newspaper.

The 48-year-old singer who captured hearts around the world when she sang 'I Dreamed a Dream' from Les Miserables would have also rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous including Hollywood A-listers at the five-star Hilton Hotel.

"She knows she would have been incredibly nervous if she'd gone," said the source. "But her dream is to sing for President Obama one day. She loves him and thinks he is already a terrific president," the source added.

For the first time in many years, I am optimistic on behalf of the United States. When America chose their new President Barack Obama, the world started to believe in America again.

I am a Norwegian Leadership Consultant who came to the United States for the first time more than 30 years ago to study as an exchange student at Harvard University. After just six weeks, the American dream became mine too. Since that time, I have spent most of my career learning what it actually means to attain this dream, not only for me but for others as well.

During these last 20 years, I have felt privileged to guide many leaders, all in varying degrees of their development. Some of these people were shining stars blazing new trails, others were on the rise and there were those that had fallen, each struggling to grasp how they had failed. For each, the invaluable lesson of understanding their strengths was their great awakening.

An authentic leader

Today, Barack Hussein Obama has become the 44th President of the United States of America. It is a joy to see him as a leader for the most powerful nation in the world! I have followed him with special interest since he emerged on the political scene. I understood quickly that this man was not only a great orator as many people suggested, I saw a Leader with a capital L.

I could see he had a clear vision and that he said what he meant. I felt I could trust him. In debates, he showed a presence and a dignity that had not been seen in American elections for many years. The more I heard him speak, the more I recognized that he based his ideas and decisions on clearly defined values and principles.

During the campaign, there was tremendous pressure on both Obama and McCain. Although McCain had a high standing with many people, myself included, I did not perceive him to be a clear leader aligned with what he said, felt and did. As an experienced leadership consultant, I see Barack Obama as a man who is principle-based as well as a flexible thinker. He knows who he is and what he wants. He is completely clear on his strategy and he communicates his goals in a succinct manner. What he says resonates with the listener and deepens over time. He shows himself to be a whole person, aligned in what he says, does and believes: an authentic leader.
The former President of Iceland, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, once said, "When there is chaos around me, I feel totally at peace because I know who I am and what I want."

A reason to be passionate

Barack Obama has paid a high price to become the person he is today. As he has shared in both of his books and in his many interviews, he grew up in a household without a father, often separated from his mother for long periods. With little or no contact, it was difficult for him to come to grips with who his father was. Every leader that I have coached has needed, at some level, to make an impression on their father or to compensate for their father's shortcomings. This produces drive.

He is of mixed race, which is not easy to reconcile in the United States, especially as a teenager, and he often felt despair and humiliation. Obama has said that as a young man, he gained a deeper commitment and motivation to help people when he discovered that his mother's insurance company did not want to pay for her cancer treatment. Experiences like these can affect a person profoundly as it did him. Today he is passionate about improving the welfare of all Americans. He never makes excuses, choosing instead to use unfortunate circumstances as building blocks and opportunities to soar.

His tenacity to learn, his willingness to grow and his deep desire for public service, whatever the cost, confirms his desire to become a Leader to influence an entire nation. How did he hold strong to his belief that he could become the first black President of the United States? Did he have role models to inspire him? Yes, there were many, Martin Luther King, Jr., among others, and in his own family, his maternal Grandmother who became vice president of a bank, something unheard of for a woman at that time. Obama had seen "the impossible" happen. Through his leadership skills, focus, and commitment, he has defied all odds and become an inspiration to the world.

Obama tells us that we are responsible for our own lives. It is critical that Obama continues to educate us on this important topic, so we can stop complaining and blaming others and begin to take more responsibility for our own lives. Only then can we become part of the solution for this great country.

Emotionally Intelligent

Barack Obama seems to be highly emotionally intelligent. He does not let his feelings run-off with him, but seems to manage them effectively and stay on top of them. That is what we expect of a modern Leader!

In 1990, Dr John Mayer from The University of New Hampshire and Dr Peter Salovey at Yale University became the first scientists in the world to define the term Emotional Intelligence. In part they said, " Individuals with high emotional intelligence have the ability to perceive, understand and manage emotions, on the one hand and allow emotions to facilitate their thought, on the other hand" This definition initiated a paradigm shift in leadership thinking. Tapping into his emotional intelligence, will enhance Obama's decision- making abilities. It will also assist him in developing better relationships at all levels and among nations.

Ten years ago, it was taboo to mention emotions. People looked down when emotions were discussed. Yet, like the Intelligence Quotient (IQ), Emotional Intelligence existed, even if not yet defined. (The apple did fall down and not up long before Newton defined the law.) Fortunately, Obama has both types of intelligence and we will require a leader such as him to deal with what lies ahead.

We all have negative emotions that we must channel and integrate into our personalities. Most people can reach emotional maturity if they learn to manage their negative emotions. Obama seems to have chosen the path of not only integrating his feelings but also using the information that his feelings give him to know himself better every day and we can expect this remarkable person to flourish as he continues to develop He is a person who knows how to lead himself. That is a prerequisite to be a leader. Because of his particular journey, Obama radiates the confidence, peace and dignity that we expect from our highest leader.

One leader that I have worked with said it this way, "Before I learned to tap my emotional intelligence and use my emotional skills, I saw life in black white, but now I see everything in color, multi-dimensionally. With far more information, I can make better choices because I can see the whole, intricate picture". The emotionally intelligent person breaks free from traditional thinking, He is not a linear thinker. He is more sophisticated and can handle far more information on every level, allowing for decisions that are more complex.

Obama embraces his whole person, has a natural relationship to his feelings and he uses them wisely. He is a good listener, takes signals well and treats everyone with respect. Obama seldom, if ever, falls into the trap of "throwing dirt". Yet, he has also shown that he is not a "doormat" and does not tolerate poor behaviour without an appropriate response.

He understands and connects with young people and quickly wins their trust and support. As a Leader Obama makes them feel important because they are. For these young people, his passion has affected them in a tremendous way, so much so, that Obama has become larger than life to them. Obama recognizes how important young people are and his decision to rally them won him the election.

Presidents before him often forgot to address the young people.

As is expected of a great leader Obama designed a clear vision. He has managed the most important thing of all: to put people into action to follow this vision, and this he can do again and again.

As a leadership consultant, I find Obama's ability to mobilize constituents in his "Obama for Change" campaign intriguing. Leadership is not an exact science. We define leadership as an ability to create results through yourself and others. From my perspective, great leaders demonstrate four important principles that Obama seems to embody. They are:

* Build on your own strengths and those of others
* Be true to yourself, your own vision, goals and values so that you can be true to others
* Take full responsibility for you own life and empower others to do the same
* Tap into your emotional intelligence in order to make better choice and influence others more effectively.

Huge challenges are ahead and we must ask ourselves, Will he make it? Will he be a great President? Will he be able to handle the challenges that lie ahead? Will Obama manage to build a sustainable foundation with his leadership team that strengthens himself and the country? Will his principles and leadership skills carry us forward?

My answer is a resounding yes. Barack Obama is an authentic Leader who will likely be leading us for a long time. There will be mistakes and criticisms, but when we get disappointed, he will polish our vision for the future. Obama will empower us to lead ourselves more effectively towards our dreams and goals and to take action. A new sense of hope will rekindle our faith in a creative America where some us still remember that anything is possible.

I also believe that his leadership will summon positive forces for which the world is ready.

"I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends."
- Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States

The world is looking for a new kind of leader who can bring hope and stability in dark economic times. President Obama could very well be that leader. Only time will tell. What can we learn so far from Obama's style of leadership? Here are some observations to note for leading in the 21st century:

1. Survival of the Fittest

Charles Darwin spoke of survival of the fittest belonging to the species that is not necessarily the strongest, but the most adaptive. Obama was strong, bold and fiercely determined at the very start of his campaign. But what catapulted his success into the stratosphere was how his communications team adapted to the power of the internet to engage voters through various online social media channels such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and Twitter, and by developing a powerful web presence that helped raise over half a billion dollars online for his campaign.

2. Foes to Friends

Will Lincoln's "team of rivals" strategy of appointing campaign opponents to his cabinet work for President Obama? That remains to be seen; but Obama has shown so far that he is a charismatic leader who can successfully put differences behind and get opponents onboard his team using charm and intelligence. Although easier said than done, an enemy turned into a true friend can prove to be a loyal ally. On a broader scale, Obama's consensus building approach to international relations by seeking to understand before being understood and welcoming multilateral decision making, could help ease world tensions and maybe even convert certain enemy nations into allies. Naïve yes, impossible no.

3. Lead by Example

On his first day of office, President Obama froze senior White House staff salaries exceeding $100,000 and promised more openness and transparency to "make government more trustworthy in the eyes of the American people." His example sends a clear message to the public that his leadership team is willing to share in the sacrifices necessary to turn the economy around.

4. Bold and Swift Action

Rhetoric has to be backed by action. In his inaugural speech, Obama spoke of 'bold and swift' action. From the decision to close down Guantanamo prison in a year, to vowing to pull out American combat troops from Iraq in sixteen months, not to mention the herculean task of getting Congress to pass an $800 billion-plus stimulus package, Obama has so far delivered on his call for 'bold and swift' action. Leadership is about judgment - the ability to make decisions. Some of the choices may be wrong in retrospect, but leadership, like a river, must keep moving forward.

5. Admit Mistakes

It takes a special person of character to readily admit mistakes. When Tom Daschle pulled out of the nomination process for the post of Health Secretary after controversy over his personal tax records, Obama admitted, "I screwed up." He was sincere, direct, and to the point. True leaders earn respect by honestly admitting their mistakes. False leaders are despised, and their plans eventually undermined, because they hide behind their title or position and blame someone else for their own mistakes.

6. Maintain Poise

Whether in a public debate, press conference, or media interview, Obama has shown his trademark signature of remaining cool, calm, and collected by neither overreacting nor underreacting to curve ball questions and attacks. When all is said and done, the person who can keep cool when others are hot is usually the one to boss the job.

7. Powered by Purpose

One of the reasons why President Obama has such a high approval rating is that people see that he is driven by a genuine sense of moral purpose. While he could have easily pursued a high paying corporate law career, Obama chose civil rights law practice instead and served as a community organizer who took a grassroots approach to improving his community in the South Side of Chicago. He is a caring and compassionate leader who burns for justice. In perhaps the greatest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in the history of America, Obama expresses outrage at Wall Street execs who pocketed billions in bonuses from taxpayer bailout money and calls for a 'new era of responsibility'.

8. Hope Rooted in Reality

Abraham Lincoln once said, "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." With unprecedented access to information today, it is becoming nearly impossible to fool all the people even some of the time. People want the facts and aren't fooled easily. Leaders who make the mistake of blind optimism or obscuring the facts are in for a rude awakening. Without the facts, without the proper diagnosis, the disease will only get worse and spread.

President Obama understands this phenomenon and is a leader who provides hope rooted in reality. With sobering resolve, Obama is telling his people that they will have to hunker down, roll up their sleeves, and work hard to rebuild the American dream; a dream that may take more than a term to rebuild, but that can become a reality - with the audacity of hope.