Obama rises from political obscurity to verge of history
By CHARLES BABINGTON, Associated Press WriterWASHINGTON -
The amazement was on their faces. Hundreds waited for Barack Obama on that evening in South Carolina, 15 weeks ago, to claim victory — a surprising victory, surprisingly large. And amazing it was. It made it possible for him to stand today on the verge of being the first black person ever nominated for president by a major party. One could guess the thoughts of the blacks and whites in that crowd: Can you believe that our state — South Carolina, first to secede and first to open fire in the Civil War — is now catapulting a black man to the front of the presidential contest in a year that bodes well for Democrats? "Race doesn't matter," some began to chant. "Race doesn't matter!" The cry soon gave way to more familiar chants of "Yes we can," and everyone in the auditorium surely knew that race does still matter in so many ways. But in a pinch-me moment, they seemed to realize that a barrier had been broken with a swiftness and certainty that even they had not foreseen. Even more astounding, the man vaulting ahead of the universally known former first lady, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, had been a state legislator only four years earlier — a lawyer with no fame, wealth or family connections. Now, the entire nation and countless foreigners are absorbing a moment that had seemed decades away, if possible at all. Smart strategists and rank-and-file voters ponder how Obama rose so far so fast, and theories abound. Historians will sort it out someday, but Obama's blend of oratory, biography, optimism and cool confidence come to mind most immediately. It's not just about him, of course. If America can seriously think of putting a black man in the White House, surely it must also profoundly rethink the relevance of race, the power of prejudice, the logic of affirmative action and other societal forces that have evolved slowly through the eras of Jim Crow, desegregation and massive immigration. Maybe the toughest question is this: Is Obama, with his incandescent smile and silky oratory, a once-in-a-century phenomenon who will blast open doors only to see them quickly close on less extraordinary blacks? Or is he the lucky and well-timed beneficiary of racial dynamics that have changed faster than most people realized, a trend that presumably will soon yield more black governors, senators, mayors and council members? Presidential campaigns have destroyed many bright and capable politicians. But there's ample evidence that Obama is something special, a man who makes difficult tasks look easy, who seems to touch millions of diverse people with a message of hope that somehow doesn't sound Pollyannaish. Rep. Elijah Cummings, a black Maryland Democrat who endorsed Obama early, says the Illinois senator convinces people of all races that Americans as a society, and as individuals, can achieve higher goals if they try. "He says we can do better, and his life is the epitome of doing better," says Cummings, noting that Obama was raised by a single mother who sometimes relied on food stamps. "He convinces people that there's a lot of good within them." And why should they believe such feel-good platitudes? "Because he's real and he has confidence in his own competence," Cummings says. Without question, Obama is an electrifying speaker. At virtually every key juncture in his trajectory, he has used inspirational oratory to generate excitement, buy time to deal with crises, and force party activists to rethink their assumptions that a black man with an African name cannot seriously vie for the presidency. A prime-time speech at the Democratic convention in Boston catapulted him to national attention in 2004. When his presidential campaign badly trailed Clinton's high-flying operation, he gave it new life with a timely Iowa speech that outshone her remarks moments earlier on the same stage. And a heavily covered March 18 speech about race relations calmed criticisms about his ties to his former pastor, although Obama had to revisit the matter when the minister restated incendiary remarks about the government. Obama has a compelling biography, too. The son of a black African father he barely knew, and a white Kansan mother who took him from Hawaii to Indonesia, he was largely raised by his white maternal grandparents. He finished near the top of his Harvard law class, then rejected big firms' salaries to work as a community organizer in Southside Chicago, where he found a church, his wife and a place that felt like home. But all those attributes don't explain the Obama phenomenon. Other great orators have fallen short of the presidency, including Daniel Webster and William Jennings Bryan.
Plenty of brilliant people have tried and failed, too. Bill Bradley was a Princeton graduate, basketball star and Rhodes Scholar. Intriguing biographies aren't enough, either. John Glenn was an astronaut and American hero, but he couldn't get off the presidential launchpad. Jim Margolis, a veteran campaign strategist now working for Obama, thinks it is his blend of all these traits, wrapped in "authenticity," which makes Obama's message of hope and inclusion seem plausible, not pie in the sky. Margolis interviewed many of Obama's Harvard classmates for TV ads and documentaries. They told him Obama "was wise beyond his years, and never talked down to people," Margolis said. "He has this amazing ability to connect with people and understand their problems," he said. "And through it all, there is this optimism." For a politician with only four years of experience at the federal level, Obama also has spot-on instincts, associates say, and a steely confidence in his convictions, in good times and bad. His roughest patch came after Clinton revived her campaign with wins in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and a renewed uproar over Obama's former pastor threatened to consume his campaign. Obama rejected advice to criticize Clinton more fiercely, and went back to his themes of political and racial reconciliation. His solid win in North Carolina and near miss in Indiana confirmed his judgment. Obama and his small core of longtime advisers also outsmarted the vaunted Clinton team by focusing early on small caucus states, where he racked up important wins. His fundraising has been nothing short of astounding, with millions of dollars pouring in via the Internet from people who never gave a politician a dime. Obama fans often search for words to express their attraction.
"He just really electrifies you when you are listening to him," said Lena Bradley, 78, a beauty salon owner in Washington. "He has something that's leading him." As ephemeral as "something that's leading him" sounds, it's hard to explain in more clinical terms his impact on people. But it's there. As recently as June 2006, a lone reporter could travel with Obama in cars and small planes as he campaigned for other Democrats in state after state. On one such visit to Massachusetts and New Jersey, his charm was on full display before crowds of various size, age and ethnic makeup. He made teenagers guffaw by saying people pronounced his name "Yo Mama." He quoted scripture in a black church, and set every head nodding. On a plane ride he talked with the reporter for an hour, on the record, with barely a hint of the nervousness or hedging that most politicians understandably display to someone with a pen, pad and tape recorder. Before an audience of 300 people in East Orange, N.J., Obama spotted local resident and famous singer Dionne Warwick. He smiled impishly and sang, "If you see me walking down the street," the opening line of her hit, "Walk on By." The crowd roared its approval of his on-key ad lib. Some veteran politicians also see "something that's leading" Obama, whether they can explain it or not.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a longtime friend and supporter, said "nothing was ever the same" after Obama's Boston speech. Durbin recalls pulling Obama into a vacant meeting room in Chicago's Union League Club, where both had spoken on a Friday afternoon in November 2006. He felt it was time for his young colleague to decide whether to run for the White House. "There are moments in life when you can pick the time," Durbin said he told Obama. "But when it comes to running for president, the time can pick you. You've been picked. This is your moment." A short time later, Obama launched his candidacy
Obama's political team out-organized Clinton
By Nedra Pickler, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON
Call them Kool-Aid drinkers. Political romantics. Starry-eyed dreamers. But as the marathon Democratic primary campaign nears an end, Barack Obama's staff is on the verge of vindicating its belief that the eloquent black freshman senator from Illinois was a unique candidate who could win the Democratic nomination in one of the biggest upsets in presidential politics.
The band of Obama loyalists who imagined that could happen have stunned even themselves with their success against Hillary Rodham Clinton, who appeared to have wrapped up the nomination last year, before any votes were cast. Now, they face a new challenge with the impending nomination and campaign against Republican John McCain.
If they succeed, many team members could be helping run the country eight months from now. Presidents often appoint campaign advisers to top administration jobs.
The team was led by calm and focused campaign manager David Plouffe; their strategy was inspired by the candidate's experience as a community organizer. They built a campaign designed to accomplish what other political sensations like Gary Hart and Howard Dean failed to do — turn the energy and excitement of the Obama phenomenon into long-term results.
"I think everyone knew realistically that he was starting as an underdog," said longtime friend and adviser Valerie
Jarrett. "But I don't think he would have started down this path with a team that didn't think he would win. It was
going to be an uphill battle, but in the end I think we were all confident that it could be done and that he could
do it."
Matching Obama's organizing background, the team has roots in conducting on-the-ground congressional campaigns across
the country. Many top aides were groomed by former House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt and former Senate Democratic
Leader Tom Daschle instead of by the Clinton wing of the party. Clinton's team was built with Washington and New York
operatives.
From its experience in congressional races, the Obama team understood firsthand the extent of Clinton fatigue in the
heartland and the lesson of the 2006 midterm elections: America wants change.
Obama's chief directive for hiring the more than 700 staff members who eventually came to work for him was: No Drama
Allowed. Obama's even demeanor is reflected in the advisers closest to him. While Clinton's campaign divided into
conflicting power centers whose emotional disputes leaked publicly, any fights in the Obama campaign were kept in the
family.
Plouffe embodies Obama's vision — a steady and unemotional number cruncher averse to the limelight, able to tune out
noise and focus on the moves needed to reach the end game. Plouffe was the mastermind of Obama's long-range campaign
plan that looked beyond the Feb. 5 Super Tuesday primaries that Clinton had predicted would deliver the nomination to
her. He dispatched staff to states that Clinton's campaign overlooked, particularly small caucus states where
intensive organization produced wins that swelled Obama's delegate lead.
A Gephardt guy, Plouffe had worked on campaigns that went broke, so he was notoriously cheap. Obama attracted a talented staff willing to work for much less than they could have made with Clinton. Plouffe carefully minded the bank account to preserve enough money to keep running after the wildly expensive Super Tuesday contests while Clinton's campaign went broke. She had to lend it $11.4 million to stay afloat.
In the month after Super Tuesday, Obama won 11 straight contests and took a delegate lead that Clinton has not been
able to erase.
That's not to say Obama's campaign plan worked flawlessly. The initial plan was to turn a win in Iowa into a win in
New Hampshire that would make his nomination unstoppable, but Clinton defeated him in New Hampshire and the campaign
dragged on for months.
Now the team must reunite the fractured party and introduce Obama to a whole new swath of voters as he takes on a
well-known war hero with bipartisan appeal. The campaign is rapidly adding new people, like experienced communications
strategist Anita Dunn, who is married to campaign general counsel Bob Bauer and recently joined Obama's inner circle.
Obama's other closest advisers:
* David Axelrod, a former newspaper columnist who shares Obama's talent with words, is the most experienced and
visible political strategist. An idealist who exudes enthusiasm for his candidate, Axelrod helps buck Obama up on
the road. Also from Chicago, he can play down-and-dirty politics with a Midwestern smile.
• Jarrett, who has helped guide Obama's entire political career, brings blunt assessments only a longtime friend can
provide. Jarrett has known the Obamas since before they were married, when she hired Michelle to work for Chicago
Mayor Richard Daley. Known to be cool under pressure, she stepped up her campaign role last fall when Obama was a
distant second to Clinton. Bringing a fresh outsider perspective, she held staff accountable.
• Pete Rouse, who has run Obama's Senate office, is known for loyalty and a self-effacing manner. Rouse brings expert
knowledge of Washington to a team based in Chicago. He protects Obama's standing in the capital city and has brought
in other D.C. operatives, particularly from the Daschle fold where he used to run things.
• Robert Gibbs, who has been at Obama's side since his Senate campaign, is communications director. A Southerner and
tough fighter, Gibbs is a passionate defender and can channel the candidate's thoughts. He's also among a few who can
frankly tell Obama what needs to improve.
• Michelle Obama, the candidate's wife, is his closest confidant. She often says, "I'm not his senior adviser, I'm
his wife." But she also talks about how dinner conversations about their family are what's in his mind when he's
crafting policy. She's the ultimate truth teller to the candidate; he calls her for feedback after debates.
She has led the campaign's outreach to female voters: As a lawyer and hospital executive, she provides evidence that
Obama respects strong women even as he's campaigning against one.
Another crucial adviser is Steve Hildebrand, who oversaw state-by-state efforts to run up Obama wins. Other key team members are finance chairwoman Penny Pritzker, finance director Julianna Smoot, policy director Heather Higginbottom, scheduling director Alyssa Mastromonaco, deputy communications director Dan Pfeiffer, economics adviser Austan Goolsbee and foreign policy aides Anthony Lake and Susan Rice.