Barack Obama landed his first political appointment as a member of the Illinois State Senate in 1996. In this role, he joined several committees overseeing important issues like health, welfare, administrative rules, and revenue. In 1998, Obama was reelected to continue serving in his seat. He appeared as a guest at the University of Illinois Springfield that year and explained why he loved to represent Chicago’s multicultural 13th district. “The federal government is increasingly providing the states more responsibility and greater latitude in shaping social policy and so I think this is a wonderful laboratory to work in,” Obama said about his job in the interview.
It was a huge year for Obama because not long before being elected to a second term, he and Michelle Obama had their first child together, daughter Malia, in 1998. Barack once posted a throwback photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, for his eldest daughter’s birthday, captioned, “No matter how sophisticated, accomplished, beautiful, and gracious a young woman you’ve become — you’ll always be my baby. And I will always be here to lift you up.”
Barack recalled that Malia was an inquisitive kid, like once asking him if the Obama family was rich. While he explained to her that they were well-off, but by no means rich, Malia responded, “‘Well, that’s good because I don’t want to be really rich. I think I want to live a simple life,'” Barack remembered to People.
