Description: Barack Obama, the first African-American nominee of a major party, argues that his life experience, from Hawaii and Indonesia to Chicago and Washington, makes him the best candidate to change politics as usual. Born to a free-spirited white mother and a black Kenyan absentee father, Mr. Obama spent his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia. As part of a younger generation of black leaders, he represents the success — but not the historic struggle — of the civil rights movement. And his upstart campaign for the Democratic nomination, using a mantra of hope and change combined with tech-savvy, unconventional organization, helped him surpass one of America's most prominent political establishments, the Clintons, to become the first African-American to lead a major party ticket. Senator John McCain has worked to build a reputation of taking no one‘s orders but his own. Mr. McCain‘s image as a maverick remains a central justification for his presidential campaign, though that image has been diminished somewhat by his efforts to mend fences with some Republicans during his quest to become president. The son and grandson of Navy admirals, Mr. McCain went from the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy to war hero after refusing preferential treatment and enduring five years as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down over Hanoi in 1967. His military experiences continue to inform his views about war.