Public image of Barack Obama Muslim community center to be located two blocks from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan. One interview in the opinion section of the LA Times was titled "The Useless Obama Muslim poll." In response, the White House said: "President Obama is Christian, prays daily." In July 2002, 40-year-old state Sen. Barack Obama embarked on a two-year campaign for 41-year-old Republican Peter Fitzgerald's U.S. Senate seat, against a large field of better known and wealthier opponents in the most expensive Senate primary in U.S. history. In March 2004, Obama won an unexpected landslide in the Illinois primary election for
First inauguration of Barack Obama 2008. The inauguration schedule referred to the President‑elect as "Barack H. Obama", although Obama specified previously that he intended to use his full name for his swearing-in ceremony, including his middle name Hussein. Obama decided to use his full name "Barack Hussein Obama" to "follow the tradition, not trying to make a statement one way or the other" for the inaugural ceremony. During the election campaign, Obama's detractors tried to use his middle name to imply falsely that he was a Muslim. The District of Columbia City Council passed legislation to enable bars and restaurants to stay open around‑the‑clock to