Where did you first become familiar with Barack Obama?

[NightWatcher]

For me it was the DNC 2004 Keynote speech.

It was one of if not the best political speeches in my opinion.

I guess what I'm asking by this and my other https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029292090 thread is where can we look to find our next candidates? I didn't ask where you first heard of Hillary. I assumed it was from her time as First Lady.

[hedda_foil]

1. Months before the Illinois Senatorial primary.

I was on the board of the Democratic Party of Evanston, Illinois. There were several much better known candidates and a billionaire competing in that primary. They all came to speak at our endorsement meeting in January , 2004. He knocked our socks off.

[davsand]

19. One of his staffers introduced me to him at the start of that Senate Primary.

It was so early on in the process they were just starting to organize in the counties. I liked him a great deal, but held off committing at that point because I'd been hearing that Dan Hynes was looking at the seat. Dan and my husband were friendly through Labor circles, and I was standing down until we knew for sure. A few days later I was talking to a friend and he asked me about Obama. I was stumped to realize I had no reason at all not to sign on, because I honestly liked the guy that much. I signed on to Obama a couple days later.

Two weeks later my husband signed on with Hynes via an AFL-CIO connection.


I never regretted it, and the next time Obama ran, my husband and I volunteered in that race together. The deal with Obama is that in a room full of people--some of them big names--if he's talking to you, he is right there WITH you. There's no "scanning" for the next contact, there's no game, he's there and he's focused on that conversation. It is phenomenal. I've met some of the "big" names over the years, and I've never seen anyone like Obama. NEVER.



Laura

[brutus smith]

2. Me too!

[Siwsan]

3. Watching his speech at a Kerry Campaign convention party

All of the activity in the room came to a halt, when Barack Obama started speaking. I so distinctly remember how many of us remarked that we felt, for sure, we were looking at a future POTUS. I just don't think we realized how soon we would be proven to be correct.

[SaschaHM]

4. Same actually.

[Wiseman32218]

5. Me Too!!

[mucifer]

6. In the Illinois senate primaries.

[malaise]

7. A good friend who knew about him

told me to make sure and watch the 2004 Convention. He's a big time Dem in NJ and he told me after the speech that Obama would be the party's Presidential candidate in 2008 and would win. I was hooked and started paying attention to Obama.

[Blue_true]

8. 2004. nt

[mopinko]

9. he was pretty well known in my hood.

he was the leading contender around here. lots of long time friends.
i do remember that speech quite well.

was well into the camp, but i got to meet him.
i was at a dupage dems rally, a thing that i am not sure had ever happened. shortly before the '04 election. a couple other state legislators sang his praises before he spoke.
i hung out for a while after w my congressional candidate, got to chat a bit. i had an art car, covered in anti-bush bumper stickers that i drove around the parking lot before leaving. caught the 2 of them leaving and got a big wave, smile and thumbs up.

been love sick ever since.

[ProfessorGAC]

36. You Bet

You probably remember that we had a DUer at one time (we met him a couple times at DU gatherings back in the day) who worked in PR. He turned us on to BHO when he was still a state senator, saying "Watch out for this guy, he's got the goods". A couple months later i went to another gathering that our friend told me about and met him.

As soon as i heard he was running for Senate i thought to myself "Well, he's got my vote!"

[UTUSN]

10. For me, when he started beating in the primaries. & I wasn't happy back then. Better later.

[secondwind]

11. Same here! It was love at first sight. In every sense

[Warren DeMontague]

12. driving around Chicago in early-mid 2004, and I saw all these signs saying "Obama"

I was like, gee, shame about his name- everyone will get him confused with "Osama". My opinion of the American voting populace was pretty low at the time.

[MagickMuffin]

13. 2004 Keynote Speech

After he became a candidate in 2007, I started attending Obama grassroot campaigns and ultimately became a Precinct Chair in 2008 during the Texas primaries.

Been a fan ever since

[Tiggeroshii]

14. That speech

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

15. Early 2000s

A friend talked about him a fair bit, thought he would run for mayor of Chicago when Daley Jr. finally fucked off.

[panader0]

16. I had heard his name prior to the Keynote speech

but the speech itself.....
I knew, when I saw that speech--I told my kids, "That man will be the President
someday." I just didn't think it would happen so quickly. Obama has been the best
POTUS of my life. To go from the intelligence and grace of BHO to Trump overnight
is surreal.

[HipChick]

17. At DC airport...Trying to get on a flight to Chicago...

I was at the gate, giving the agent a hard time, because she could not confirm my first class upgrade

I used to fly 2-3 per week, heavy duty frequent flier and if I didn't get my upgrade, I was a regular asshole..

Anyway, the agent is flustered and I'm pissed....all of a sudden, this tall, thin man stepped up the desk, and started to ask what was going on and how could he help.

I turned around, and started to tell him who the hell did he think he was, sticking his nose in my business...but was struck and stopped by how handsome he was, and the pin that he was wearing in his lapel. He was still a Senator back then, and introduced himself as Barack Obama, and then proceeded to negotiate a deal between me and the agent, where if I could not get my upgrade, I could have hi, and I calmed down. Deal? He asked, I said sure, and then jested with me about my last name.. In the end, the agent was able to confirm my upgrade..He did that little wink/smile thing that he does, to suggest that we all A-OK good now, and I nodded back a smile and a thumb up. Started reading up on politics and followed his career ever since...I only fly for leisure now, and no longer an asshole...lol!

[Historic NY]

18. Yup that speech......

funny kid with a funny name.

[nevergiveup]

20. I was at the 2003 Chicago Gay Pride Parade

and he had local supporters in the parade passing out little 4" square "Obama" stickers. I knew very little if anything about him at the time but I took one of the stickers and it is still on my refrigerator.

[Boomerproud]

21. My dad was in the nursing home and I was eating dinner with him every night

and we watched the 2004 Keynote speech together. Dad pointed his finger at the screen and said "There's your first black president right there." He died three weeks later.

[Blue_Roses]

22. That speech.

I was spell-bound after that.

[denbot]

23. Same here.

The next day I told my co-worker that he was being groomed for the Presidency.

[Demsrule86]

24. The speech...amazing one.

[oberliner]

25. I remember an NPR story about him lamenting that his name was similar to Osama

And what he would have to do during his Illinois campaign to address that.

Then of course Rush Limbaugh and others would deliberately mix up the names.

[Freedomofspeech]

26. 2004 Keynote Speech...

My husband and I were on vacation in Cape May, NJ. We looked at each other and said...He needs to be President. Fell in love with him right there and then.

[Chemisse]

27. I didn't see his convention speech, years ago.

But my husband did, and he kept raving about Obama, and saying he should run fro president, long before he did.

[beachbum bob]

28. when he first came into public office in state legislature and then when my wife and I

worked on his senate campaign. We met the obamas. No doubt in my mind he would eventually become president one day.

[Vinca]

29. The 2004 speech. I knew this was a guy who was going to be POTUS.

[helpisontheway]

30. DNC speech! Thank you Kerry! I knew immediately that h that Obama would be president

However, I thought it would be years later. I did not think the country would elect an African American president. Glad I was wrong.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

31. 2004. I remember him being interviewed on Randi Rhodes at the convention.

Back when I loved listening to Randi.

She had to cut his interview a little short because Bill Clinton was calling in.

Crazy how I was listening to a cavalcade of Presidents at the time and didn't even know it.

[NCTraveler]

32. Same time for me.

I think we already have a number of excellent choices being discussed. I'm really looking forward to our next primary.

[Lee-Lee]

33. Same for me

And I kept thinking "why the hell haven't I heard of this guy before now!"

[Orrex]

34. First I heard of him was when Sharpton referred to him as "Obama Barack"

[karynnj]

35. On the day of the Illinois primary for Senate

My husband and I were taking our middle daughter, then a junior in high school, to look at the University of Chicago and Northwestern. We stayed with my sister and her family.

They were extremely excited about Obama as a candidate as we're many people we met, especially at the University of Chicago.

[AngryAmish]

37. I had to go to a lot of fundraisers back in the 90s so I guess then.

Thank God I was finally able to beg off of them.

[mopinko]

38. i remember the night of that speech on du. it lit up.

we may have had tp go to defcon 3.