How did Obama rise so far and so fast? Has anyone else in our history done the same?

[jackson_dem]

Four years ago no one knew who he was. The moment he entered the Senate in 2005 he was given media attention probably third among Democrats in the Senate to Hillary Clinton and Harry Reid. Several other freshmen were elected in 2004 with Obama. They remain unknowns to this day outside of their states. What was even more curious about it was the media attention was all positive, in contrast to the mostly negative coverage of other high profile Democrats like Clinton, Reid, and Murtha. In 2006 he wrote a book and the media couldn't stop talking about it, even though the book contains nothing groundbreaking. That led to calls for him to run for president and we all know the media's support for him ever since. The question is why did this all happen? Has anyone else risen so high, so fast?

[tabatha]

1. Probably because he is different in a lot of ways.

[ProSense]

2. Kerry put him on the national stage at his convention. Unlike when Bill Clinton ran, Obama

has been on the national stage for three years now and Americans are becoming increasingly aware of him during this campaign!

[avrdream]

8. That was the moment when I first noticed Obama.

I wanted him to get a bit more experience before running but he seems to want it this way. Hope it doesn't hurt us.

[Arkansas Granny]

49. That was the first time I had ever heard of him also. I'll admit, he

just blew me away with that speech. I thought to myself then that this could be our first black President, but I didn't expect him to be a candidate this soon.

[caledesi]

53. same here! NT

[bluethruandthru]

61. Exactly my thoughts

I turned to my husband and said "you're looking at our first black president".

[loyalsister]

162. Yep

As a matter of fact, I have a friend who was at the convention, and she said that as he was giving it you could just see Hillary's hopes go down.

[jackson_dem]

20. Look at how many other people have delivered convention keynotes

How many wound up becoming what Obama is? Ford gave it in 2000. He didn't make it to a presidential level in 2004. Does anyone even remember who gave the 1996 keynote?

[stahbrett]

100. Not all speeches are given equally. (eom)

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

125. cause He's Dick Cheney's 8th Cousin and YOU KNOW DICK

:rofl:

[question everything]

134. This is why so many of us were hoping for Mario Cuomo. His 1984 is still the greatest (nt)

[Danger Mouse]

3. I don't know. My friend Alan said that he was destined to be our first black president...

after seeing him speak at the 2004 DNC.
I think part of it might be that he's energized a generation of voters who previously had been mired in apathy about the political process.
2004 was a bitter pill to swallow. Kerry had great credentials, but I had difficulty warming up to him.
I don't really know, though, why Obama has done so well.

[adabfree]

4. What are you suggesting....

He's a plant?

The Manchurian Candidate?

If you ask the questions, come with some possible answers and leave the innuendos out of it...

It's sneaky and underhanded, at least IMO.

[Adelante]

79. Not a Manchurian Candidate

A conspiracy to deprive John Edwards of the presidency :tinfoilhat:

[jackson_dem]

90. Obama has nothing to do with Edwards

"Wes" Dem. "Wes" on the other hand is believed by many to have run solely to split the southern vote with Edwards. I never considered those arguments because it doesn't really matter, especially since Clark quit so soon and didn't affect Edwards in South Carolina, but there are many folks who believe that.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Because he is a fabulous candidate, knows how to run a campaign, and is authentic.

Gobama!

[jackson_dem]

11. That doesn't explain the hype around him from the very beginning in 2005

[AtomicKitten]

16. sure it does

[jackson_dem]

24. He ran against Alan Keyes in 2004

That explains it? Democrat Salazar and rethugs like Coburn won real contests that year.

[karynnj]

72. Did you say the same think in 2004, when one

candidate had about 4 to 5 years as a rather typical freshman Senator, except that he was seen from the beginning as high potential? He was considered by Gore for VP in 2000 - when he had been a Senator, with NO prior public service, for a year and a half.

Obama was already considered to have potential from his work in the Illinois Senate - enough that the Kerry people knew of him and Kerry was sufficiently impressed to ask him to do the keynote speech. You have to admit that he did a better job with his keynote speech than that guy who spoke at Dukakis' convention. Kerry's respect has obviously only grown from the words he said in endorsing him. Obama has a record as a community activist, state legislator and now US Senator.

[jackson_dem]

85. I didn't see that guy on the cover of Newsweek in January of 1999

In fact I don't remember seeing him on the cover of Newsweek until the end of 2007.

Edwards was an unknown outside of North Carolina in the public eye until 2004. He ran as a darkhorse last time. You're seriously comparing that to Obama, who became a national celebrity the moment he was elected senator? Obama the celebrity who ran with front runner level media attention and front runner financing right out the box?

Edwards' analogue is Carter.

Sure. I am sure the media reviews the records of everyone elected to Congress and decides who has potential. Well, I guess in a sense they do. ;)

Salazar, Coburn, Demint, and a few others were elected that year. Everyone in the 2004 class remain unknowns. In 2006 we had another group elected included McCaskill, Brown, Casey, and Webb. Webb is the only member of the 2006 class of any national prominence and that is in part because of his record during the Reagan years and the peculiarity of a Reagan appointee turning out to be the man who gave the Democrats the Senate two decades later. He didn't completely come out the blue. Who got elected in 2002? Does anyone remember? 2000? Two folks in recent elections became national figures, Obama and Webb. Webb is at a completely different level than Obama the rock star celebrity. For instance, did Webb make the cover of Newsweek in his first month in the Senate?

[Dogmudgeon]

67. "Authentic"

I con understand a lot of things about Barack Obama that are both talking points and the plain unvarnished truth, but I've never understood how a politician can be "authentic". It's like the idea that you have to be able to drink beer with a candidate.

George Lakoff used the term when he was trying to marginalize Hillary, but that was reframing. It was pretty ham-handed, but then, Lakoff is not all Obama supporters, so I don't consider it definitive.

What makes Obama "authentic"? And what is "authentic".

:shrug:

--p!

[AtomicKitten]

77. straightforward, honest, direct

[woolldog]

160. What makes a candidate authentic?

Remember when they asked the democratic candidates "what their weaknesses were?"

Remember Obama's answer versus Clinton and Edward's answers? That's what people mean when they say he is "authentic."

[Bread and Circus]

6. Kerry picked him for the keynote speech in 2004 and he nailed it.

My wife then told me he was the one to watch. I blew her off. I was wrong.

[TheDonkey]

7. Kerry invited him to speak in Boston. People there knew history was being made

and that Obama would someday be President.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

9. I think Hillary Clinton has a lot to do with Obama's popularity.

But this is hardly unprecedented. Clinton did the same thing in 1992.

[Blue-Jay]

26. How's that?

(not snark*, but I'm honestly interested in your opinion.)

*Isn't it odd that I feel the need to add a disclaimer like that?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

33. Clinton's terrible.

Seems obvious.

[Independent-Voter]

42. Clinton should send Perot flowers every year

There's no doubt that Perot snagged voters from Bush in both 92 and 96.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

47. Bush didn't run in 1996, silly.

And Clinton beat Dole handidly. No need to invoke Perot.

[Independent-Voter]

66. Drrr - Should have said Dole!

point being, Perot still pulled about 8-something percent in 96. Dole lost by 8 million, or just under what Perot pulled, FWIW.
http://www.presidentelect.org/e1996.html

Bill pulled less than 44% of the popular vote in 1992, and although we won the EC handily, it was made much easier with Perot pulling votes from Bush, IMO.

Whatever, really.

[Catherine Vincent]

82. You're an independent voter? nt

[hell-bent]

139. And what evidence can you supply

us with to support that idea that Perot pulled votes exclusively from Bush? Link? Is that you seventhson?

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

128. oh, yes and then there IS that

:rofl:

[frazzled]

10. It must be a conspiracy

with all the usual suspects pulling the strings: Trillateral Commission, the Carlyle Company, AIPAC, China, NATO, Osama bin Laden, BCCI ... and Oprah. I think that should do it.

[adabfree]

15. You forgot

Skulls and Bones, and the creator of the Backyardigans.

[anamandujano]

12. "Obama's rise to national prominence and presidential viability,

Helman discovered, depended significantly on PAC and lobbyist money."

I posted this in another thread but it also belongs here.

As Los Angeles Times reporter Dan Morain explained, "some of the most influential players, lawyers and consultants among them, skirt disclosure requirements by merely advising clients and associates who do actual lobbying, and avoiding regular contact with policymakers. Obama's ban does not cover such individuals."

Thus, to give one example, Obama received $33,000 in the first quarter of 2007 from the Atlanta-based law firm Alston & Bird, which maintains a large lobbying division in Washington. Obama's $33,000 came bundled from a number of "consultants" employed by the firm.

Also deleted from Obama's "ban" are state lobbyists. Obama took $2000 from two Springfield, Illinois lobbyists for Exelon, which spent $500,000 to influence policy in Washington in 2006 and gave $160,000 directly to Obama (Morain 2007).

An especially big dent in the armor of Obama's effort to sell himself as the noble repudiator of lobbyist, PAC, and special interest money generally was inflicted in early August of 2007. That's when the Boston Globe published a widely circulated article titled "PACs and Lobbyists Aided Obama's Rise: Data Contrast With His Theme." Globe reporter Scott Helman reviewed campaign finance records to find that a "more complicated truth" lurked "behind Obama's campaign rhetoric." Obama's rise to national prominence and presidential viability, Helman discovered, depended significantly on PAC and lobbyist money, including large sums from "defense contractors, law firms and the securities and insurance industries" to his own powerful PAC "Hopefund." Of special interest was Helman's determination that Obama was retaining close and lucrative funding relationships with leading Washington-based lobbyists and lobbying firms while technically avoiding direct contributions from those key campaign finance players (Helman 2007)<2>.

http://www.blackagendareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=463&Itemid=34

[Stephanie]

13. Bill Clinton

[jackson_dem]

25. Bill Clinton was governor from 1978-1992

With a two year interlude when he lost. Clinton worked his way up the ladder the old fashioned way.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

38. Obama was a state senator in Illinois for nine years

...prior to beating Keyes.

That actually gives him more time in office than Hillary Clinton.

[jackson_dem]

48. How many folks go from state legislator to president in four years?

Bill Clinton's path resembles that of most of our presidents and party nominees. Obama's is a freak case. The only example people can point to that is even remotely similar is from the mid 19th century and that was with a new party and starkly different times.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

54. Are you saying a U.S. senator has lower profile...

then Clinton did as governor of Arkansas? Because that would mean you're grasping at straws.

[jackson_dem]

59. Obama the freshman

He came from nowhere to be made someone of national importance in a matter of months. He was given national hype when he became a senator, as in right off the bat. Remember who graced the cover of Newsweek the first month of 2005? What other freshman senator does that...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

62. And Bill Clinton had 0 years in the senate.

Yet he came from nowhere to have 8 fairly good years as president.

Do you still think your whole argument carries any weight? Because you seem to have painted yourself into a corner.

[jackson_dem]

70. Look at our history

Let's stick to recent presidents to save time.

Bush: got there as son of a president but even he was not hyped until he ran for president after six years.
Clinton: Worked his way up from state attorney general in 1976, governor in 1978, to president in 1992. It took him 14 years to go from governor to president.
Bush 41: The ultimate example of someone who worked his way up the party ladder
Reagan: political shill for two years, governor of the biggest state for 8, 2 more years as an unelected national leader, ran for president in 1976, four more years as a leader until becoming president in 1980. It took him 14 years to go from governor to president.
Carter: governor of a big state for 4 years, 2 years of non-stop campaigning in Iowa. It took him 6 years to go from governor to president.
Nixon: Elected to Congress in 1946. It took him 14 years to become the party nominee and 22 years to become president.
LBJ: Elected to Congress in 1937. It took him 27 years to get elected president.
JFK: Elected to Congress in 1946. It took him 14 years to become president.

Obama began running for president after TWO years. More importantly, he became a national figure 2 minutes after becoming president. Everyone else on the list worked their way up into the national spotlight. They had to have achieved things to get there.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

78. Well now you're just being obtuse...

Obama was elected state senator in 1997, worked there for nine years before winning a seat in the U.S. senate in 2006, he's been there for two years now, and I'm sorry to inform you this... but he'll be sitting in the oval office in eleven months.

Get over it.

[jackson_dem]

81. state senator!

You're comparing that to the climb the others on the list made? No one goes from state senator to president and there is a reason for that. Modern presidents have either been senators or governors. Obama got to the senate and in 2 years managed to do what took LBJ 27, Nixon 22, JFK 14, and his hero Reagan 14 years to do. Please...

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

83. Yes.

State senator is on par with governor, and 2 years in the state senate trumps governor.

Far more people have known who Obama is over the last two years then knew Clinton over the 2 years preceding his presidency.

"his hero Reagan 14 years to do."

Ah, so you really are that desperate. I tell you what, Jackson, you might be fooling yourself, but you're not fooling anybody else.

[jackson_dem]

88. "state senator is on par with governor"

:wtf:

Name one state senator who went straight to the White House. No one outside of Obama's supporters views it on par with being a governor or US senator. I'll name you a few governors: Bush, Clinton, Reagan, Carter.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

91. Jackson...

Obama's not going straight to the white house.

He's a U.S. senator now, then he'll be in the white house.

I'm so sorry for you and yours.

[jackson_dem]

96. in 2 years

That is without precedent since TR and Lincoln and one was a war hero and the other was able to do it with a new party he helped create and during a national crisis.

The media foisted him on us. Was it because they just liked him? For ratings? Or do they believe he will serve the interests of the corporations that own them?

[Uzybone]

145. State senator = governor

is probably the most ridiculous thing Ive read on this board. Most people have no idea who the state senators of thier state are. C'mon.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

166. Sure.

And most people have no idea who the governor of Arkansas is.

Do you without looking it up?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

123. Clinton was the longest serving Governor in the US, a nation that favors Governors for President

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

140. And yet nobody had heard of him until Gennifer Flowers.

[blm]

147. In Arkansas where his career was bankrolled by Jackson Stephens including his PRIMARY campaign

for president.

Only the guy who BROUGHT a bank named BCCI into this country and who needed BCCI report deep-sixed for himself and his longtime partner GHWBush who expected to be impeached if he won - so he made sure he didn't by running the worst campaign in history.

[blm]

76. Except it was Jackson STEPHENS bankrolling Bill's political career and primary campaign

because Poppy Bush expected to be impeached after Kerry's BCCI report was released in Dec 1992.

So Poppy ran the worst campaign in history and Jackson Stephens boy got in and proceeded to cover up all the outstanding matters in BCCI throughout the 90s for Stepens and Poppy.

Bill's protection led directly to Bush2, 9-11 and this Iraq war.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

132. Bill should have quit while he was ahead

Bill Clinton made the mistake of not quitting while he was ahead.

He loved being president so much that he was willing to run for surrogate president.

He is losing popularity day by day for every minute that he tries to get back into the white house.

Like good professional athletes, its better to go out at the top of your game.

[BigDDem]

14. I think people started to notice when

he beat Alan Keyes.

[Big Blue Marble]

19. Hilarious!

Best comment of the thread.

[Occam Bandage]

17. Lincoln did. William Jennings Bryan rose almost as quickly.

[Exultant Democracy]

21. Yep, Lincoln.

[jackson_dem]

31. That was in 1860

No one else since then?

Lincoln's situation was much different. First a new party had formed and he was instrumental in creating it. The party didn't have an established hierarchy. There was a life or death issue for the union at stake then and Lincoln rode being on the right side to the top. This doesn't compare to Obama 2004-2005. Compare Obama's convention speech to Lincoln's famous house divided speech. The latter addressed the major issue of the day. Obama's speech contained Democratic boilerplate.

[Occam Bandage]

Bill Clinton rose to nearly as fast, and had he run in '88 as he was planning, would have been

even faster (if we're just counting time in the national spotlight)

[Faygo Kid]

144. You got the answer - Lincoln - that is the correct one to your question.

So what if it was 1860? Lincoln was a one-term congressman in the 1840s, then leader in the Illinois state Senate. But he was unknown nationally until the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. The parallels are there, and strong as hell (better than average speakers, too, as most will admit).

It's called the truth. You'll take it and like it.

[Exultant Democracy]

18. If you were on DU back then, then you know even while he was running for his seat

in 2004 many people were already getting very excited about him. It was this excitement among many members of the party that drew Kerry's attention and landed him his famous keynote address to the convention.

Lincoln also had a similar meteoric rise, I guess it is just hard to hold real talent back.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

22. Kind of like your post count over the last 2 months. Wow!

[Straight Shooter]

23. Who chose Alan Keyes to run against him?

It was a tough fight, being in Illinois, all that Repub corruption, but Alan Keyes? That guaranteed a win for Obama.

Makes me wonder if the Repubs and the Dems made a little deal on the side. They knew the odds were slim of getting a Republican president, so the Repubs settle for someone willing to make nicey-nice with the Repubs, someone who hasn't felt the relentless attacks and thinks they can be reasoned with.

They're still betting on the Dems not having a majority in Congress, but that remains to be seen. How well are Obama's coattails doing down-ticket for Senate seats that are up for grabs? That's what we've got to watch. There will be nothing more painful than watching Obama fumble for approval with the Repubs blocking everything the Dems try to do, as they're doing now.

I'm waiting for DeLay to round up his team and come after Obama. And you know he will.

edit to add, when I say majority in Congress, I mean overwhelming majority, not this "majority" we have now.

[Occam Bandage]

30. The Republicans did. Obama was looking unstoppable, and after Ryan went down in scandal

nobody was willing to sacrifice their career to be Barack's punching bag. Much like Clinton's "race" against Lazio, Keyes was the only one willing to get out there and fight.

[Straight Shooter]

51. I wasn't clear. I'm asking which Republicans, who are the power brokers.

It's hard to believe Repubs would just roll over and die. They wanted to make Obama look good? They should have put someone there who could put up a real fight, especially if they're sending in someone from another state. Alan Keyes is a joke. Everywhere else it was a real fight, no matter who the opponent was. But not in Illinois. That is strange.

[Occam Bandage]

60. Well, like I said. It wasn't a matter of "rolling over and dying." Obama had a huge

fundraising lead, and a 20- to 30-point lead in the polls. Sure, they could have found someone who would have lost by a closer margin--but who? The Illinois GOP was desperate. It was hilarious. Nobody was willing to be Barack's punching bag. Nobody was willing to take the loss. Only crazy Alan Keyes valued the free air time more than the loss of dignity.

Plenty of elections go uncontested. The Republicans put up punching bags for Ted Kennedy every six years. Last time, they put up Kenneth Chase; polling showed most Massachusetts residents were unaware that he was even running for the Senate.

[Straight Shooter]

63. "Only crazy Alan Keyes valued the free air time more than the loss of dignity."

I think that's the answer in a nutshell. Thank you.

[jackson_dem]

37. Great question, why didn't they put up a real candidate against him?

[Occam Bandage]

41. They tried, once, with Jack Ryan. He went down in scandal. By the time he withdrew,

Obama had an insurmountable lead. Nobody was willing to challenge him.

[Straight Shooter]

57. How much of his insurmountable lead was due to Jack Ryan's scandal?

If Ryan hadn't buried himself, would Obama have had a real fight on his hands?

I'm just asking rhetorical questions, because we'll never know, and I don't follow Illinois politics too closely, but even I was aware of what was going down in Illinois as far as Ryan was concerned. Salacious news travels very fast, and is very damaging.

[Occam Bandage]

64. Obama had a 20-point lead before the scandal broke, and led from the moment he was nominated.

He never once trailed, as far as I know.

[papau]

87. several news columnists and editorial writers during GOP primary were told to & did chase Ryan on

his divorce papers (the judge was a Daley fellow - Daley promoted Obama against the Hynes machine -in the primary - and against Ryan in the general (and of course against Keynes when he was used as the throw away candidate)

If the Daley judge had not ordered the release of the sealed by mutual agreement divorce pleadings, Obama would have lost, despite his, in that race as in this, his "solidifying his base black vote in Chicago" - there aren't enough to win - also a lack of college towns outside of Urbana, and a lack of wealthy liberals outside of Chicago. The ploy just doesn't work in Illinois in the general for a Federal Senator election.

It is good to be Mayor and have Judges as your friend.

It is good to have the Mayor as your friend.

[Occam Bandage]

92. Obama would have lost? Unlikely. He had strong statewide support,

largely because he had spent the last few weeks of the primary campaigning downstate, since he had no real competition. He had a twenty-point lead the week before the scandal broke. Twenty. Points. He was raking in cash, while Ryan was self-financing.

He would have won anyway, and won big.

[Withywindle]

156. No, he would have beaten Ryan easily.

IL is a pretty blue state, and Ryan was an empty suit with a negative charisma rating. Obama was never behind him in the polls.

[Recursion]

165. They could have if Ryan hadn't been dragging 7 of 9 to sex parties

Another example of GOP sexual repression helping our party

[Cleita]

27. I thought Bill Clinton did as well.

He seemed to come in from nowhere as well to rise to the front runner. I thought this was why the Washington insiders hated him so much because he was an outsider.

[jackson_dem]

34. No. Clinton was first elected governor in 1978 and didn't become president until 1992

He moved up like most of our presidents and nominees did.

[Occam Bandage]

39. But was not well-known outside Arkansas at all; he really only started picking up attention in 88.

[fishwax]

133. and his national debut, so to speak, was not nearly as well-received as Obama's

His speech at the '88 convention was, I think, when he started to get national exposure.

[TwilightGardener]

28. I don't know! He must be .. (Duh-Duh-Duuuuhhhhnnnn) ...the Anti-Christ!!

[jackson_dem]

35. Paging ClericJohnPreston

[Mags]

45. If you hear that quote again, remember you said it first.

[THUNDER HANDS]

29. Lincoln rose faster

Lincoln spent less time in the state of Illinois and less time in congress than Obama has.

[Mags]

32. I have been voting for nearly 40 yrs. and I have never seen

with so little background in public service move up so fast. It's as though there is a wizard pulling the strings.
Scary to me.

[End Of The Road]

36. Jimmy Carter moved up pretty fast.

I think he was only a one-term governor, wasn't he? And a one-term pres as well, of course.

[Occam Bandage]

43. True, Carter as well.

[jackson_dem]

44. Four years as governor and 2 years as a candidate. Obama moved up in 6 minutes

He was made into someone of national importance the moment he became a senator. Remember the cover of Newsweek that month? Name another freshman senator who in his first month gets on the cover of Newsweek or Time...

[Occam Bandage]

46. That's because Obama was, and is, something special. Most first-term Senators

couldn't manage to get half the party in their camp for a Presidential run.

[anamandujano]

52. He's a puppet, like W.

No other way it could happen. He is not that special.

[WCGreen]

55. He was also a state senator...

[BOSSHOG]

40. Kennedy comes to mind

He did a helluva lot in his 46 years. He went real far real fast I think. Not an unknown but did a helluva lot.

[jackson_dem]

50. JFK took 14 years in Washington to get to where he got

The same as Nixon, only JFK won and Nixon lost.

[nomorewhopper]

56. I saw his speech at the convention...

and was blown away. The entire Fleet Center was as well. he blew the roof off of that place and ignited some serious excitement. at the time he was running for his senate seat in (from what i am told) a fairly tight race. kerry chose him to give the keynote address at the convention

Keep in mind that the convention is hours upon hours of speeches, and the huge crowd tends to fade out a bit during some of the less inspiring speeches.

i rmeember thinking to msyelf

* did he just say he was the son of a goat herder or something like that?
* wow, who is this guy?!
* damn, he should run for president!

[andym]

58. Meteric rise at the national level

Republicans:
Lincoln
Teddy Roosevelt (NY Governor for 2 years)

Democrats:
FDR (4 years of NY governor 1928-32, vice presidential candidate in 1920)
Carter (no national exposure before taking primaries)
Clinton (had more national exposure than carter, but still not a powerful national figure)

Each of these had very little national level political experience, although both Roosevelts were Asst Secty of Navy.

FDR is the most interesting, since his campaign is most similar to Obama's. He campaigned in 1932 and was very short on specifics.
In fact, Eleanor Roosevelt wrote about 1933 that they had to make up what to do as they went along. The key to FDR's success was threefold:
projecting hope and confidence in the future, identifying the critical problems to solve and willingness to experiment to try to find solutions.

[jackson_dem]

65. Compare them to Obama

Lincoln was addressed upthread.

Roosevelt is a valid example but he rode fame as a war hero. What did Obama do to warrant going for an unknown to national superstar in a few months?

FDR: look at the chronology. 1920, VP candidate. That was 12 years before he became president. That is a normal process.

Carter: Six years as an important figure and moved up like many others moved up, although I will say his rise was very fast but I don't think it compares to Obama's. Obama was made a national figure in six minutes.

Clinton: Moved up the ladder like many others (Carter arguably although as I said Carter was kind of unusual. Nixon, LBJ, JFK, Truman, FDR, Bush 41, etc. all moved up this way). Most folks rise to the top of their state political system, then build a national profie and then run for president.

[Occam Bandage]

69. I like WIlliam Jennings Bryan, too. Four years in the House. Oh, and Woodrow Wilson,

who only had two years as Governor.

[paulk]

68. the media pushed him as "our first black President" since

his convention speech in 2004.

It may even come true.

Obama owes his rise to the media's desire for a horserace in the primaries when it looked like Hillary would run away with the nomination. The press has given him the kid glove treatment from day one, as recent media studies have indicated.

-----------

Part of the reason the media is in love with Obama is because the majority of his support has come from the 18 to 32 demographic, which is the prime demographic that advertisers target. He's bringing a lot of younger people into the process - and those people are paying attention to and watching the race. This is good for the networks.

[Jed Dilligan]

71. It's just so easy to stand out in the mob of dullards

our "leadership" has become. People started paying attention to him when he spoke at the 04 convention.

[jackson_dem]

74. What did he say at the convention that no one else said?

There were other prime time speakers in 2004. There were prime time speakers in 2000, 1996, 1992, etc. Why didn't Harold Ford become heralded as a national person a few months after his 2000 speech? Ford is now working for an activist group. He is lower on the political ladder than Grover Norquist now.

Few people watch conventions. What helped Obama was the media hype about his speech, which contained Democratic boilerplate and fuzzy generalities about "hope" and "unity".

[Jed Dilligan]

80. He spoke to us. That's all it took.

The previous generation of "leaders" scorn ordinary people so much that they don't even bother to try to talk to us.

[Occam Bandage]

84. His '04 speech was brilliant. Sorry.

[NoBorders]

73. I admit it - it was ME! Mwahahahahahahaha

My secret plan is working! Soon, you will all be under the spell of my Obamaton, and I will rule the earth!!!!

[jackson_dem]

75. Maybe it was the corporations who own the media?

[Occam Bandage]

86. The corporations and lobbyists who have given more money to Clinton than to Obama?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

89. Chimp.

[jackson_dem]

93. Son of a president

There is an explanation for the pResident's rise. What is behind Obama's?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

98. Cousin of a VP.

[jackson_dem]

99. 14th cousin. get real. The analogue to Bush 43 is Hillary or John Q. Adams

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

103. Chester A. Arthur.

[Occam Bandage]

106. Woodrow Wilson.

[Occam Bandage]

107. William Jennings Bryan.

[Occam Bandage]

108. Grover Cleveland.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

109. Damnit!....I was just going there!

[jackson_dem]

110. We know the deal with him. The New York machine put him on the ticket as Veep and then Garfield died

But you are right. Arthur rose as quickly as Obama, although he rose quickly to VP on merit and then lucked into the presidency. We know the deal with him, though. The New York machine of Conkling wanted a crony on the ticket and he was tapped. Whose interests is Obama serving, if any? Who are Obama's Roscoe Conkling's?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

111. Had you ever heard of him before that?

[Occam Bandage]

113. Plus, I've noted he keeps dodging Wilson and WJB.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

119. I'm sure he/she/it'll get to it.

[jackson_dem]

115. No, came from nowhere to serve the interests of the New York machine

Whose interests is Obama serving? Who are his Roscoe Conkling's behind the scenes?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

118. Ah, Roscoe Conkling.

He died walking in a blizzard. :rofl:

[jackson_dem]

120. Karl Rove

What influence did he ever have over his puppet? ;)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

122. Mike Huckabee.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

124. Paul Tsongas.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

126. Mike Dukakis.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

127. Ross Perot.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

129. Charles C. Pinckney.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

130. Peter Cooper.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

131. John Anderson.

[robbedvoter]

94. W did the same. Money and media - could make me a star too - maybe even faster

[jackson_dem]

102. You are smart. What do you think is in it for them?

Is it about ratings? Do they just like Obama so much? Or do they expect him to serve their interests?

[Occam Bandage]

104. Hilariously, you disagree with the same assertion just one post earlier.

[robbedvoter]

142. It was known a woman candidate would be in - one that they absolutely didn't

want. So, out comes, another historical one - people thought they'd counter with Condi, but they made one up in our primary.
From then on, it's like they manipulated Fla in 2003 - get a man to push Janet Reno off, then turn on him and get Jeb - whom you really wanted in the first place.
All that big money from the starters the intensive cheer leading from unlikely sources - it all points in one direction: avoif the GOP-er having to fight a Clinton - they tend to win!
I still stand by my sig line - and not saying Obama is in on the plan - but nevertheless, this IS the plan.

[libbygurl]

95. This may give you some ideas:

http://www.thecityedition.com/Pages/Archive/Winter08/2008Election.html

Very plausible, don't you think?

[jackson_dem]

105. Look at who the rethugs and "independents" vote for in the exit polls

It does seem possible. Obama's slim delegate lead is from rethugs and indies. Hillary is winning among Democrats.

[libbygurl]

114. Precisely. Among genuine Dems, she leads. 'Uniter', my foot! Not with the enemy! nt

[stevietheman]

159. Independents are not the enemy -- many of them are progressive! n/t

n/t

[libbygurl]

161. I worry a great deal about the Repubs-suddenly-turned-Dems, who ...

...are gaming the primaries, and will very likely not vote for the Dem nominee in the General Election.

[onenote]

97. John Edwards.

Edwards had never held elected office before winning his senate seat in 1998. He was already signalling his intent to run for president in 2000 (appearing several times in Iowa). He announced his candidacy in 2003 -- after less than five years in public office.

He didn't end up getting the nomination, but I'd say that was as fast or faster a rise as Obama.

[jackson_dem]

101. Edwards is similar to Carter, not Obama

In fact I don't remember seeing him on the cover of Newsweek until the end of 2007. Obama was on the cover right away, as in his first month in Washington! Edwards was an unknown outside of North Carolina in the public eye until 2004. He ran as a darkhorse last time. That doesn't compare to Obama, who became a national celebrity the moment he was elected senator. Obama the celebrity who ran with front runner level media attention and front runner financing right out the box. Edwards' analogue is Carter.

[onenote]

121. no two situations are alike, but edwards was being dubbed a "rising star" in the national media

as early as 2000: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1080732

[onenote]

136. and you're wrong about Edwards not being in the public eye until 2004

It was widely reported that Edwards was on Gore's "short list" for VP in 2000 and Edwards got a lot of national publicity at that time. Its what launched him towards his run in 2004 -- which began when he started giving speeches in Iowa in 2000.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

137. Oh is Jimmy Carter running again? I guess he could

I would be all for that.

[David Zephyr]

112. As hard as you continue to try, you can not diminsh Barack Obama.

But go ahead, keep trying. It is amusing to watch you engage in such petty and low behavior.

[jackson_dem]

117. Chester Arthur

How did he go from nowhere to the ticket? Was it "diminishing" him to state the obvious? Everyone knows he was tapped because the New York machine wanted a crony on the ticket to protect their interests. He became veep and lucked into the presidency when Garfield was shot. Are we to hide and just "hope" there are no Roscoe Conkling's behind Obama's rise? No special interest he was sent to preserve? We need to ask now when there is time to choose an alternative.

[MyNameGoesHere]

116. Well the hula hoop and frisbee come to mind..Oh and Tamagotchi

But those just end up in a closet gathering dust, i mean fads never really last.

[onenote]

135. The 2004 "Freshman" class had only one other Democrat - Salazar

And you're right, he is still relatively unknown nationally (and apart from Vitter,for the wrong reasons, none of the repub freshman from 2004 are national figures).

However, from 2006 -- Webb was a national figure the moment he was elected as Virginia's freshman senator

Also, if Mark Warner had decided to make a run for the presidency I guess we could be discussing whether he fits the come from out of the blue model -- four years as governor to national prospect?

[jackson_dem]

150. Look at 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006

Of all those freshman classes only Obama and Webb became national figures and Webb is nowhere near the level of Obama. Webb is not a celebrity. Obama is.

If is the key word. OI am sure Warner decided not to run because he knew he would have lost. Warner did rise to prominence because of a record of accomplishment as governor of a major state, although it would still be a quick rise. I guess Virginia is unique since it is close the the capital and all the power brokers know the governor and senators of that state. Look at the quartet of Webb, Warner, Webb, and Allen. You could argue that Kaine will be on that list too.

[Life Long Dem]

138. Who was Bill Clinton? Who was Howard Dean? And the beat goes on!

Obama is a senator in congress! :bounce:

[robbedvoter]

143. Multiple term GOVERNORS in their state with a record of accomplishments

[jackson_dem]

151. Yup. What did Obama accomplish in the first months of 2005?

Already he was campaigning for other Democrats around the country. Clearly folks knew how much of a draw he was. What did he do to deserve it? Don't tell me the msm had no role in making him a national celebrity. Few people even saw his convention speech. What most folks saw is the media hype the next day.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

141. Oh That's Easy. Answer's Right Here:

[DS1]

146. Fred Thompson did, but then he fell asleep

[WinkyDink]

148. THIS? Has been my question for a while. Thanks for having the guts to post it.

[jackson_dem]

152. It definitely is strange

The only precedents are Lincoln and TR and the latter was a war hero and the former did it under completely different circumstances. Obama did it in normal times.

[onenote]

153. again, I would submit that Edwards is a pretty close parallel

Indeed, unlike Obama, who had a record as an elected official at the state level, Edwards first foray into electoral politics was in 1998 and within two years he was being touted as a "short lister" for VP and was already being touted by the national media as a rising star. He was "campaigning" in Iowa almost as soon as the 2000 election was over and was a declared candidate for president within five years of the first time he ever ran for anything.

[Tropics_Dude83]

149. OK....I'm going to get killed for saying this

OK, First of all, I'm not a troll. Please please know that. You don't know me so don't accuse me of it. I am a superstitious guy first off though I will admit. Anyway, I watched the "Left Behind" movies with Kurt Cameron over the summer, which was about the antichrist taking over the world. His name was Niculae. Anyway, his rhetoric was there is no religion, there is only humsnity, we are all one and he was much beloved by the world. Only a few people knew the truth about what he was up to. Obama's rhetoric about "we are all one, we are the United States of America, not red states or blue states" strikes me as awfully close to what Niculae's was in the Left Behind series. So, I have to say that I'm a little troubled by this and troubled by how he rose so fast and out of nowhere.

I love Obama and support him. I just wish I could meet him, shake his hand and look him directly in the eyes. Michelle Obama's amazing interview on Larry King Live made me feel a lot better about him though - doting father, husband, etc.

Then again, he could be the re-incarnation of Lincoln. Born in Illinois, rose much the same way in American politics and same type of appeal.

It's just that Obama is just off the charts phenomenal. If he's what he says he is and seems like, we have ourselves the best president of the United States that we will ever have, He will do great things and renew America. We are truly talking about a presidency that will be off the charts great.

I don't think that he's some type of corporate plant. No way. But if you want to look at two otherworldly scenarios for his rise, which is admittedly unprecedented, those are the two most likely.

Of course, he's probably just a regular guy with amazing political skills and good oratory. But if you want to get really creative, those 2 are the scenarios I have laid out in my head.

[Withywindle]

157. OMG you're drawing on 'Left Behind'?!?

:rofl:


Don't get me wrong. I like science fiction and fantasy. But I think I have better taste, those LB guys can't write for shit. Give me some time and I'm sure I could come up with a better parallel from a GOOD SF/F writer, like Terry Pratchett or Philip K. Dick or somebody like that.

[Eurobabe]

154. Your sour grapes are

turning into bad whine. But when DefCon is lifted, you happily return to my ignore list. C'ya!

[jeffrey_X]

155. People in Chicago/Illinois have known about him well before the 2004 speach.

His first book was published in 1995. I remember seeing a lot of people reading that book on the train in 2001 and 2002.

[workinclasszero]

158. Its his time...

The man fits this time in history I guess.

These times demand someone like Obama and here he is!

Together we will heal America of the Bush plague and become the great nation we once were.

GOBAMA!

[Jennicut]

163. Because people are tired of our "experienced" politicians letting us down

I really think there are alot of people who are sick of lifetime Washington politicians or governors thinking they know what is best for us. As if the fact that we were never in government means we have no clue and we need to be led by "those in the know". What happened to the idea, the dream, that anyone in the United States can rise up and become our president? And why does someone who rises up with good ideas and a good feel for what many people in this country want have to stick around D.C. for 10 or 15 years until all their passion and desire to make a difference is sucked out of them and beaten out of them so they "learn" how to play the game of politics? Its such a ridiculous argument. Look at Al Gore. Once he got out of Washington he became much more passionate and much happier in general as he finally didn't have to be "handled" anymore to fit into the ideas of what the party wanted or what the press said you should be. My only fear is that if Obama does become the nominee ahd beats McCain for president that he will enevitably change after 4 years in office. Hopefully that won't happen. We shall see.

[suston96]

164. How did Obama rise so far and so fast? I have read through all the posts here....

....and so far no one has answered the question.....