The people of the Islands are proud of their local heroes and a handful even became household names on the Mainland in their day.

Then there's native son Barack Obama.

Few have come close to generating the emotions and pride that surround him in these Islands.

His name will go down in the history books and his story as the first African American to reach the highest office in the land will forever be taught in America's classrooms.

And this son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya was born in Honolulu.

On election night, Hawai'i voters gave Obama the largest margin of victory in any state, voting 71 percent in his favor.

"Maybe it's because we're isolated from the other 49 states that we feel so strongly about those who bring out the best in these Islands," said state Sen. Clayton Hee, D-23rd (Kane'ohe, Kahuku). "But can you imagine a son of Hawai'i is going to be the next president of the United States of America? People better wear zippered shirts, because their buttons are going to pop off from the tremendous pride."

Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, at the old Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital, now called Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

In the decades since, Honolulu has grown into the 14th-largest city in America. But living in the most isolated populous spot on planet Earth means the people of Obama's birthplace still carry a small-town sense of pride, where successes in athletics, entertainment and other fields are celebrated beyond proportion to big cities on the Mainland.

Friends and families, for instance, have organized call-in centers to flood votes for Hawai'i-born contestants on "American Idol." And last year's Little League World Series champions from Waipi'o were given a parade by the city that ran straight through Waikiki.

At a time when unemployment has more than doubled in Hawai'i and people are losing jobs and doing without, many Island residents have decided to spend thousands of dollars to fly 5,100 miles to chilly Washington, D.C., to cheer one of their own and celebrate with the world as the Obama era begins.

Even with all their sacrifices of cash and comfort, Hawai'i people who make the trip — and those who will watch Obama's inauguration on television — grudgingly must share him with another state, Illinois, which elected Obama to the U.S. Senate and launched him onto the national political stage.

"We consider him ours," said Terry Link, an Illinois Democratic state senator and Obama poker- and golf-playing buddy. "He's very much an Illinoisan as far as we're concerned. We embrace him as our favorite son. He's Illinois true and blue."

Link will acknowledge Obama's Honolulu birthplace before quickly adding, "We're going to steal him from you in every which way we can."

But Hee — former chairman of the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs — believes there is no separating the future president from his Island home.

"He could have become the man he is growing up somewhere else," Hee said. "But the fact is that he grew up in Hawai'i. At the core of Hawaiian values is the word 'ohana. And we all feel that we're part of that family and we're being brought along on his journey."