Get to Know Barack Obama

Nov. 1, 2007— -- In just a few years, Barack Obama has gone from little-known state senator to promising presidential candidate. His meteoric rise has made Obama one of the most closely watched candidates in the race.

Charles Gibson spoke with Obama as part of a new ABC News series, called "Who Is," which features an interview a week with a presidential candidate, from now until December, with a focus on their private lives.

Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Hawaii. His parents, who met while at the University of Hawaii, came from two very different worlds. Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, was from Kansas. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in Kenya. However, the marriage and Obama's relationship with his father, were broken soon after he was born.

When Obama was only 2 years old, his father left to study at Harvard. Eventually, Obama Sr. returned to Kenya, leaving his wife and family behind in Hawaii.

"He was somebody who I think genuinely loved [his wife,] but was also somebody who was more interested in his career and pursuing his ambitions, than he was caring for a family," Obama said. "[My mother] could have been bitter, but she didn't communicate that to me. She would talk about how smart he was, and how generous he was, and how charismatic he was, and for a little boy, that's actually a good thing."

Still, Obama concedes that his father's absence left a lasting mark on his life.

"Some of my drive comes from wanting to prove that he should have stuck around, that I was worthy of his attentions," Obama said.

At the age of 6, Obama, known as "Barry" at the time, moved to Indonesia after his mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian oil manager.

"I have wonderful memories of the place, but there's no doubt that, at some level, I understood that I was different," Obama said. "It meant that I was, maybe, not part of the community as much as I might have been, otherwise. On the other hand, it also gave me an appreciation of what it means to be an American."