Incumbent Democratic president: Barack Obama

Barack Obama is the Democratic candidate for the 2012 presidential election.

Barack Obama made history in 2008, when he became the first African-American president of the United States. Shortly after arriving at the White House, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion stimulus package. Upon signing the legislation, Obama said, “We have begun the essential work of keeping the American dream alive in our time." A cornerstone of Obama’s election campaign was his pledge to revamp the nation’s health care system; a promise he delivered on in 2010 when the expansive overhaul was signed into law. In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld that landmark legislation. The president also oversaw the end of combat operations in Iraq and announced that by 2014, the Afghans will be responsible for the security of their own country. Obama gave the order to deploy a team of U.S. Navy SEALS to Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden in May 2011. "Justice has been done," Obama declared after the firefight.