by Special Correspondent Nadra Kareem

Abandonment. Acceptance. Ambition.

How these themes have played out in Barack Obama’s life are examined in the Biography Channel’s profile of the presidential hopeful. The hour-long program, to be released to the public July 3 at Wal-Mart stores and debut on Biography later this summer, delivers the kind of insightful look at its subject that has become a trademark of the Biography series. Such a feat was far from easy considering that the viewing public surely knows a great deal about the Illinois senator already, especially those who have read his memoirs Dreams from My Father and the Audacity of Hope.

The program begins in 2007, when a confident and charismatic Obama announced his intention to run for the president of the United States at the Old Illinois State Capitol once frequented by Abraham Lincoln. After that jubilant moment, the viewer is transported to Obama’s boyhood in Hawaii and later in Indonesia. There, a different Obama emerges, one who is rife with insecurity, thanks to the Kenyan father who wholly abandoned his son, albeit for one brief spell when Obama was 10, and a mother who briefly abandoned him when she sent him out of her second husband’s native Indonesia and into the care of his grandparents. This Obama, according to a friend, felt like an orphan.

Most remarkable about the Biography profile is how Obama would continue to feel like an orphan of sorts, abandoned by patriarchs of the black political community when he entered Illinois’ political foray and unaccepted as authentically black when political rivals cast doubt on his biracial heritage and global upbringing. Yet, throughout the profile of Obama, Biography makes a point of showing how the senator’s experiences viewing abject poverty in developing nations inspired him to advocate for residents of Chicago’s South Side, registering some 100,000 people there to vote.

Whether Biography touches on a low point in Obama’s life, such as when he lost the race for a U.S. Congressional seat, or a high point, such as when he made his landmark speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, it’s evident that Obama’s ambition proved more powerful than his history of abandonment or longing for acceptance did, though there’s no doubt that his drive originates from those factors.

Overall, the only glaring flaw in Biography’s profile of Obama is the coverage of his 2007-08 presidential campaign. That portion of the program is included in an update that feels rushed and tacked on. With so much care given in covering the earlier parts of Obama’s life, it was a disappointment to find his most recent developments presented somewhat haphazardly.

Fortunately, the program’s frenzied conclusion doesn’t spoil it altogether. Whether the viewer is a die-hard Obama supporter who wants to become reacquainted with Obama’s life story or one who knows little to nothing about the senator, Biography presents a gripping tale about a young man’s majestic rise to prominence.

For more information about the program, including when it will air, visit Biography.com.