Editor's Note: Illinois Sen. Barak Obama's staff has said the senator's schedule prevents him from attending today's forum. He is the only Democratic front-runner not in attendance.
Barak Obama
Age: 45
Birthday: Aug. 4, 1961
Birthplace: Honolulu
Party: Democrat
Education: Occidental College, Los Angeles and Columbia University, New York City; juris doctorate from Harvard University in 1992, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review
Years in Public Service: Three
Experience: Member Illinois state Senate 1997-2004; elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004
Organizations: Lecturer on constitutional law, University of Chicago