OBAMA Political Career
When Barack Obama decided he wanted to run for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he ensured his candidacy by successfully challenging the nomination petitions of his four competitors.
Obama's entry into federal politics was also marked by competitors falling by the wayside. He won both the 2004 primary and general election for the US Senate "after tough challengers imploded when their messy divorce files were unsealed," the Chicago Tribune writes.
The NYT reports that "the Tribune reporter ... acknowledged in print that the Obama camp had 'worked aggressively behind the scenes' to push the story. But there are those in Chicago who believe that [David] Axelrod had an even more significant role - that he leaked the initial story."
Then on 25 June 2004, Obama's Republican opponent, Jack Ryan, withdrew due to yet-another a sex scandal.
This article provides a detailed (and in-work) timeline of Obama's political career through 2007.
- 1988 - Obama is a summer associate at the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin
1992, Oct - Obama marries fellow attorney Michelle Robinson
1995, Jul - Obama, at 34, publishes his first memoir, "Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance"
1995, Aug - Obama files paperwork to run for Palmer's Illinois Senate seat
1996, Jan - Obama has his four competitor petitions invalidated; he emerges as the only candidate
1996, Nov - Obama is elected to Illinois Senate, which is controlled by Republicans
1999 - Obama begins running for Congress
2000 - Obama loses his challenge for Congressional seat held by Rep. Bobby Rush
- 2001 - Obama receives legal services contract with Illinois firm owned by Robert Blackwell, Jr. A few months later, Obama writes a letter on Illinois Senate letterhead in support of a tourism grant for a different Blackwell company. The next day, "Obama's U.S. Senate campaign received a $1,000 donation from Blackwell... In the presidential race he is credited on Obama's website with committing to raise $100,000 to $200,000 for Obama's campaign."
- Obama reported $98,158 income for providing legal services; $80,000 was from Blackwell's firm."Illinois ethics disclosure forms are designed to reveal possible financial conflicts by lawmakers... Obama did not specify that EKI provided him with the bulk of the private-sector compensation he received... he attached a multi-page list of all the law firm's clients, which included EKI among hundreds."
2002, Nov - Democrats usurp Republican control of the Illinois Senate
2003-2004 - Obama amasses his legislative record, serves as chair of the Health and Human Services Committee
2003 - Obama begins running for US Senate; the leading Democratic candidate will withdraw in 2004 due to a sex scandal that Obama's campaign urged the Chicago Tribune to report.
2003 - David Axelrod[bins having] camera crews [track] virtually everything Obama has done in public." He uses this footage to create a five-minute Internet video for the 16 Jan. 2007 announcement that Obama is running for president.
- 2004, Mar - Obama wins the primary with 52% of the vote
2004, Jun - Obama's Republican opponent withdraws due to sex scandal
2004, Aug - Democratic National Convention address
2004, Nov - Obama is elected to US Senate with 70% of the vote
2005, Jan - Obama files paperwork for his leadership PAC, The Hope Fund (PAC website no longer active)
- 2005 - Obama purchases land from neighbor and now-indicted political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko
2005 - "Shortly after his election to the U.S. Senate, he delivered a well-received address arguing faith should have a greater role in public discourse."
2006 - Obama publishes the book, <em>The Audacity of Hope</em>
2006, Oct 22 - Obama announces he is considering a run for the Presidency. - 2007, Jan - Obama begins running for US President
2007, Mar - Obama endorses controversial Chicago alderman Dorothy "The Hat" Tillman, who reportedly "[deployed] city resources to hire her family and reward campaign contributors."
2007, Apr - Controversy over Obama's Myspace page
2007, May - Obama's campaign releases its sophisticated Facebook application, only hours "after the company launched the developer platform." Tech President argues that Facebook gave the Obama camp an advantage: "the other campaigns found out about Platform’s with the rest of us, on Friday, May 25" and reports that "Chris Hughes, a co-founder of Facebook, is working on the Obama campaign." - 2007, September - Presented a plan for "full withdrawal" of American troops in Iraq.
- 2007, December - Campaigns with Oprah Winfrey in Iowa and South Carolina.
2008 Presidential Campaign
On February 10, 2007, Obama announced his candidacy for President of the United States in front of the Old State Capitol building in Illinois. The choice of the announcement site was symbolic because it was also where Abraham Lincoln delivered his historic "House Divided" speech in 1858. Throughout the campaign, Obama emphasized the issues of rapidly ending the Iraq War, increasing energy independence, and providing universal health care.
During both the primary process and the general election, Obama's campaign set numerous fundraising records, particularly in the quantity of small donations. On June 19, Obama became the first major-party presidential candidate to turn down public financing in the general election since the system was created in 1976.
A large number of candidates initially entered the Democratic Party presidential primaries. After a few initial contests, the field narrowed to a contest between Obama and Senator Hillary Clinton, with each winning some states and the race remaining close throughout the primary process. On May 31, theDemocratic National Committee agreed to seat all of the disputed Michigan and Florida delegates at the national convention, each with a half-vote, narrowing Obama's delegate lead. On June 3, with all states counted, Obama passed the threshold to become the presumptive nominee. On that day, he gave a victory speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. Clinton suspended her campaign and endorsed him on June 7.From that point on, he campaigned for the general election race against Senator John McCain, theRepublican nominee.
On August 23, 2008, Obama selected Delaware Senator Joe Biden as his vice presidential running mate.
At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, Obama's former rival Hillary Clinton gave a speech in support of Obama's candidacy and later called for Obama to be nominated by acclamation as the Democratic presidential candidate. On August 28, Obama delivered a speech to the 84,000 supporters in Denver. During the speech, which was viewed by over 38 million people worldwide, he accepted his party's nomination and presented his policy goals.
After McCain was nominated as the Republican presidential candidate, there were three presidential debates between Obama and McCain in September and October 2008. In November, Obama won the presidency with 53% of the popular vote and a wide electoral college margin. His election sparked street celebrations in numerous cities in the United States and abroad.
President-Elect
Presidential transition of Barack Obama
On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama defeated John McCain in the general election with 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173 and became the firstAfrican American to be elected President of the United States. In his victory speech, delivered before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of his supporters in Chicago's Grant Park, Obama proclaimed that "change has come to America".
On January 8, 2009, the joint session of the U.S. Congress met to certify the votes of the Electoral College for the 2008 presidential election. Based on the results of the electoral vote count, Barack Obama was declared the elected President of the United States and Joseph Biden was declared the elected Vice President of the United States.
Presidency
Inaguration
Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States at 12:05 p.m. EST (17:05 UTC) on January 20, 2009, in an inaugural ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. During the public inauguration ceremony on January 20, 2009, the wording of the oath as prescribed by the United States Constitution was not followed exactly, so the oath was administered a second time, privately, on January 21, 2009
