In an interview with Voice Of America's Indonesian Service, Obama's third-grade teacher said he wrote in a class assignment that he wanted to be president. The assignment was called, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Barak Obama had a difficult childhood and faced many obstacles. Despite the strikes against him, he turned his life around, graduating from Columbia University and spending years as a community organizer. He then went on to be a star at Harvard Law School, becoming the first African-American president of the renowned Harvard Law Review before returning to public service.

One of the most famous lines in Obama's speeches was: "There is not a black America and a white America, a Latino America, an Asian America. There's the United States of America."

Senator Obama has promoted a long list of educational reforms he is in favor of, ranging from increased access to Advanced Placement courses to expanding summer school programs. Generally, the common thread in his educational positions is his belief that school funding must be increased in all aspects of education.

The following websites provide more information about Barak Obama and his political positions:

• Barack Obama for President
• Political positions of Barack Obama

In McCain's words from the book's introduction:

It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. That is all that really passes for destiny. And you choose it. No one else can give it to you or deny it to you. No rival can steal it from you. And no friend can give it to you. Others can encourage you to make the right choices or discourage you. But you choose.

The book is divided into seven parts with further divisions of a characteristic and a person who is seen to exemplify it.

Category: Honor

• HONESTY -- Thomas More
• RESPECT -- Gandhi
• AUTHENTICITY -- Joan of Arc
• LOYALTY -- Sir Ernest Shackleton
• DIGNITY -- Viktor Frankl

Category: Purpose

• IDEALISM -- Sojourner Truth
• RIGHTEOUSNESS -- Roméo Dallaire
• CITIZENSHIP -- Pat Tillman
• DILIGENCE -- Winston Churchill
• RESPONSIBILITY -- Lord Nelson and His Lieutenants
• COOPERATION -- John Wooden

Category: Strength

• COURAGE -- Edith Cavell
• SELF-CONTROL -- George Washington
• CONFIDENCE -- Elizabeth I
• RESILIENCE -- Abraham Lincoln
• INDUSTRY -- Eric Hoffer
• HOPEFULNESS -- John Winthrop

Category: Understanding

• FAITH -- Christian Guard at Hua Lo Prison
• COMPASSION -- Maximillian Kolbe
• MERCY -- Mother Antonia
• TOLERANCE -- The Four Chaplains
• FORGIVENESS -- Nelson Mandela
• GENEROSITY -- Oseola McCarty

Category: Judgment

• FAIRNESS -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• HUMILITY -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
• GRATITUDE -- Tecumseh
• HUMOR -- Mark Twain
• COURTESY -- Aung San Suu Kyi

Category: Creativity

• ASPIRATION -- Ferdinand Magellan
• DISCERNMENT -- Leonardo da Vinci
• CURIOSITY -- Charles Darwin
• ENTHUSIASM -- Theodore Roosevelt
• EXCELLENCE -- Wilma Rudolph

Category: Love

• SELFLESSNESS AND CONTENTMENT -- Mother Teresa

Select any characteristic from the above list. Do research about the person that Senator McCain identified as someone who exemplifies the characteristic you have selected.

Prompt: Explain what the selected characteristic means to you. With proper reasoning, also explain if you agree or disagree with Senator McCain whether the selected person best exemplifies the characteristic.

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The following topics are from previous year contests.
Please see above for the current year contest topics!!

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2007 Public Speaking Contest - Level 1

(Public Speaking Level 1 contestants may choose either Topic #11 or Topic #12)

Topic #11: Who is your most important role model? Why is this person a role model for you? Preparation help: http://www.rolemodel.net/featuredrolemodels.cfm

Topic #12: There are thousands of possible careers -- from astronomy to zookeeping. What career would you like to choose when you grow up and why? Preparation help: http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/index.html

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2007 Public Speaking Contest - Level 2

(Public Speaking Level 2 contestants may choose either Topic #21 or Topic #22)

Topic #21: Michigan's economy is going through a challenging time. The state's unemployment rate of around 7% is among the highest in the nation. Home prices in the state are falling as jobs and workers are leaving the state. The state government has been facing a stubborn budget deficit. If you were the Governor of Michigan, what policies and actions would you undertake to restore the economic growth in the state? Preparation help: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_gubernatorial_election,_2006

Topic #22: Scientists have now reached a consensus that anthropogenic climate change (a.k.a. global warming caused by humans) is occurring. If unchecked, this climate change could have devastating consequences for the life on earth. If you were the President of the United States of America, what policies and actions would you undertake to mitigate the anthropogenic climate change? Preparation help: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Climate_change http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2005/11/death_from_clim.html