Obama

Portraits of candidates and candid shots of their supporters and detractors have traditionally comprised nineteenth-and twentieth-century photography of presidential campaigns. Through the years, political photography has been used for a variety of purposes—from documenting a candidate’s appeal by showcasing him or her amidst sizable crowds to highlighting their of-the-people appeal through pictures of them eating at mom-and-pop diners or holding babies. We also come to think of family portraits or childhood photos as ways of humanizing those who aspire to lead the free world. These kinds of images can be found in Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs and then some. Yet this collection also shows images of elements unique to Obama’s historic campaign: teeming crowds more notably multiracial than any other campaign’s in recent memory, the appeal to and inclusion of youth in the candidate’s successful bid for the Democratic Party nomination, and the candidate’s use of technology to build support, whether it be a photograph of Obama on a BlackBerry or an image of a campaign staffer who knew particularly well the power of the Internet.

Through 150 photographs, Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs highlights the road to Barack Obama’s groundbreaking nomination as the first black American to lead the presidential ticket of a major party. The images are politically contextualized by the Washington Post’s Kevin Merida, who covered the campaign for the paper. His essay charts Obama’s road to the nomination and places his achievement in the historical context of African American political advancement.

Photography has played a significant role in framing Obama, both as an icon and as a subject of curiosity. This unique collection documents the public and private moments of his campaign and includes photographs by professional photojournalists and portrait photographers as well as by volunteers, rallygoers, and young supporters who used their cell phones and video or digital cameras to capture his image. As a photohistorian, I decided to include images from amateur photographers because Obama’s ability to connect with people of all ages and classes and their desire to preserve his likeness for posterity is essential to the story of his nomination. Their desire to cheer for him, to listen to his every word, to lionize and accord him respect as if he’s already president, is palpable. As is traditional with presidential photography, whether he’s being photographed by a professional or an amateur, the images, at times, look almost biblical. This is not a new trend. As indicated in Lonnie G. Bunch’s The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden: “Presidents inhabit our collective memory in part because of an astonishing array of media. Portraits, photographs, film, television, folk songs, Broadway musicals, advertisements, and souvenirs have all served to celebrate, criticize, satirize, sell, legitimize, exploit, praise, and memorialize the holder of this office.”

I researched thousands of images—from picture agencies, individual photographers, and families who attended parties and campaign events. Many have a spirit of optimism and joy. Public interest in this book was encouraging as more and more photographs were given to me. Many people shared stories about the day they saw him or met him; one story was particularly memorable: Elise Jones Martin. Her son, Montez Martin, sent me a note and a photograph taken during Obama’s visit to South Carolina and enthusiastically gave me permission to use it in this book; Merida discusses it as well (see Begin Reading).

Rather than chronologically following the campaign from the initial announcement, the photographs are grouped thematically based on the subject, from intimate and personal shots of Barack Obama with his family to pictures of the candidate speaking to large crowds in grand public spaces. The book then moves on to images that show how Barack Obama is perceived as an iconic figure who is suspect, praised, and admired. Others show people using popular and material culture, including symbolic trinkets, mementos, T-shirts, and small gifts, such as JFK campaign buttons, a wristband honoring a deceased soldier, commemorative coins, and an Obama necklace made from pieces of a Scrabble game, to express their trust in the candidate. These collectibles reveal “much about changing notions of how a president can or should be remembered,” as described in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.

Annie Leibovitz catches Obama in a contemplative pose, relaxed but in reflection, during a Men’s Vogue photography session.
Barack Obama in his Chicago home office. © Annie Leibovitz/Contact Press Images, originally photographed for Men’s Vogue

Photographers have documented Obama in various candid poses, from talking to one of his daughters on a cell phone or buying a kaleidoscope for his children in a tourist gift shop to imposing and striking portraits of a leader standing high on a flag-draped platform, a handsome, dapperly dressed man who exudes high moral character or the everyman wearing a white shirt with and without a tie. Photographs of the Obama family waving to crowds or with the Kennedys, the Clintons, Oprah Winfrey, and other celebrities and anonymous families are interspersed throughout the book as well as photographs of political leaders and rivals, religious figures, educators, and young children whose faces and bodies are decorated with the Obama logo. There are also photographs of broadcast news coverage of the debates as well as on-camera images before and after press conferences. These documentary photographs transfer inspirational messages from Obama’s campaign to the American Public.

Michelle Obama—wife, mother, and executive administrator—appears smartly dressed and fashionably aware whether in evening attire or everyday dress. She is shown in this book expressing love and respect with humor and support. Hugging her husband with her arms around his back, she exemplifies beauty, strength, and encouragement in one of the series of “fist bump” images that reveal a sense of camaraderie between the two. Viewed outside the stereotypes presented in some broadcast and print news stories, Michelle Obama’s photographs reveal that she is a highly poised woman who is prepared to take on the duties of First Lady.

Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs offers us a moment to pause and consider this campaign, one that instilled a sense of hope, joy, and dignity in unexpected places. The viewer will find ironic and iconic images that will shape the understanding of this landmark political season. The book also helps us understand how image and text are used in presidential campaigns. One revealing slogan shared the podium with Obama at a rally: built to Last.

Since the beginning of photographic history, photographs of presidential campaigns have had a special connection to the viewer. They can be viewed as evidence of a unique moment in the viewer’s history. This book shows us a unique moment in our national history. More, these images show not only the range of his supporters and how support escalated but also how photography was instrumental in galvanizing the public.

The broad array of images is transformative, as they express beauty, pathos, poignancy, emotion, and euphoria about the man Barack Obama and the presidential campaign.

—Deborah Willis

About the Author

Named one of the 100 most Important People in Photography by American Photography magazine, Deborah Willis is department chair and professor of photography and imaging at the Tisch School of the arts, New York University. A 2005 Guggenheim Fellow, a Fletcher Fellow, and a 2000 MacArthur Fellow, she is one of the nation’s leading historians and curators of American photography. Some of her notable books include The Black Female Body: A Photographic History, with Carla Williams; A Small Nation of People: W. E. B. Du Bois and the Photographs from the Paris Exposition; Reflections in Black: A History of Black Photographers, 1840 to the Present; Picturing Us: African American Identity in Photography; and VanDerZee: The Portraits of James VanDerZee. She is also a photographer whose work has been exhibited throughout the United States. She lives in New York City.

Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), his wife, Michelle, and daughters. © Annie Leibovitz/Contact Press Images, originally photographed for Vanity Fair

Obama at his U.S. Senate office, oldest daughter, Malia, at his side, and youngest daughter, Sasha, being held by his wife, Michelle. In the backdrop are photographs of two men Obama admires: ABRAHAM LINCOLN and MUHAMMAD ALI. Obama invoked Lincoln’s faith against impossible odds when he announced his candidacy on February 10, 2007. And it was Ali, like Obama this campaign season, who shocked the world by defeating the seemingly invincible Sonny Liston not once, but twice.

Obama delivers a speech during a rally at the Fort Worth Convention Center. © Vernon Bryant/Dallas Morning News

After an Obama event in Corpus Christi, Texas. © Peter Slevin

A GIDDY GROUP OF GIRLS flaunt their emotion by jumping off a seawall after an Obama rally on February 8, 2008, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Hillary Clinton kept her candidacy alive by winning the crucial Texas primary on March 4. But in the state’s two-step process of awarding delegates, Obama won the Texas caucuses and ended up with more overall delegates, 99 to Clinton’s 94.

Obama returns to his campaign bus on January 8, 2008, after thanking campaign volunteers at the Jewett Street School in Manchester, New Hampshire. After winning the Iowa caucuses, Obama was dealt a setback in New Hampshire.
© CJ Gunther/epa/Corbis

Obama speaks to a group of supporters at the Farmers Public Market Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, March 17, 2007.
© Larry W. Smith/epa/Corbis

During an Obama campaign stop at the Iowa State Fair, a supporter holds up a Newsweek cover featuring the Democratic candidate, who takes notice.
August 16, 2007. © Joshua Lott/Reuters/Corbis

Obama addresses supporters at a town-hall meeting at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, New Hampshire, February 12, 2007.
© Rick Friedman/Corbis

Campaigning in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, Obama displays some of the lucky charms people gave him along the campaign trail. He keeps the assorted trinkets in his pocket.
© Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Obama greets supporters after former vice president Al Gore endorsed him at a rally at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, June 16, 2008. Gore was the last big-name Democrat to throw his weight behind Obama, but by the time he did, the race was decided. Gore stayed neutral and mostly mum during the long Democratic contest, leading to speculation that he might help mediate an end to the nomination battle between Clinton and Obama or somehow emerge himself as the compromise choice at a brokered Democratic National Convention.
© 2008 Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Obama delivers a 2008 FATHER’S DAY SPEECH at Apostolic Church of God in Chicago, highlighting the importance of fathers being involved in the raising of their children. Obama’s own Kenyan father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., abandoned him when the boy was two. The elder Obama left his wife and son behind in Hawaii to study at Harvard and never returned. He later remarried and moved back to Kenya, seeing young Barack (then known as Barry) only once more, during a December 1971 Christmas visit to Hawaii. Barry was ten then. Obama Sr. died in a car accident in 1982. His son has returned again and again to the subject of parental responsibility during his political career. The speech in Chicago, however, triggered a backlash from some African American notables, including Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson and the Reverend Jesse Jackson. Both Dyson and Jackson are Obama supporters.

Obama delivers a speech at Apostolic Church of God speaking about the importance of fathers being involved in the raising of their children. Chicago, Illinois, June 15, 2008. © David Banks/Getty Images

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama jogs off the stage after speaking in Mitchell, South Dakota, June 1, 2008. © Rick Wilking/Reuters/Corbis

Democratic presidential hopefuls Senator John Edwards of North Carolina and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York listen as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois answers a question during the Democratic debate at Saint Anselm College, June 3, 2007. © CJ Gunther/Pool/epa/Corbis

Obama waves to supporters during a rally at Nissan Pavilion, June 5, 2008. © AFP/Getty Images/Mandel Ngan

Obama waves to supporters during a rally that drew more than 10,000 at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia. The rally was the key event in Obama’s launch of his general-election campaign on June 5, 2008, two days after securing his party’s nomination. That Obama chose VIRGINIA indicates the importance the campaign placed on the state, which a Democrat hadn’t carried in the fall election since President Lyndon Johnson did it in 1964. Obama carried the Virginia primary, helped by the early support of his good friend Governor Tim Kaine.

A Native American woman in traditional clothing cheers on Obama at a rally at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls, Montana, May 30, 2008.
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Various campaign buttons for sale at a campaign rally where television talk-show host Oprah Winfey endorsed Obama. Des Moines, Iowa, December 8, 2007. © Michal Czerwonka/epa/Corbis

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama shakes hands at the Clark County Government Center during a campaign stop in Las Vegas, February 18, 2007. © Christopher Farina/Corbis

Supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama cheer as Obama arrives at his South Dakota and Montana presidential primary election night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 3, 2008. © Jason Reed/Reuters/Corbis

Supporters gather for a rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, on the night Obama clinches the nomination by winning the Montana primary and securing enough pledges of support from the party’s “superdelegates.” In declaring that he will become the Democratic nominee, Obama tells the crowd: “AT THIS DEFINING MOMENT FOR OUR NATION, we should be proud that our party put forth one of the most talented, qualified fields of individuals ever to run for this office. I have not just competed with them as rivals, I have learned from them as friends, as public servants, and as patriots who love America and are willing to work tirelessly to make this country better.”

Senator Barack Obama leaves the White House after a meeting with U.S. president George W. Bush and members of Congress, January 5, 2007. © Jim Young/X90065/Reuters/Corbis

Obama boards his campaign plane in San Antonio, Texas, on the day of the Texas primary, March 4, 2008.
© Jim Young/Reuters/Corbis

Michelle Obama attends a fund-raiser for her husband at designer Calvin Klein’s home in New York, June 17, 2008. Michelle proved to be a poised, straight-talking asset for Obama—and also a lightning rod for Republican critics, who portrayed her as angry and unpatriotic. Even the New Yorker, not exactly a GOP organ, clumsily satirized her as a gun-wielding militant. Obama let political opponents know that, while he was fair game, he would not tolerate attacks on his wife. As for her fashion sense, this Ivy League graduate–turned corporate lawyer–turned Chicago hospital executive cohosted The View in a black-and-white leaf-print dress by Donna Ricco. Priced at $148 at the White House/Black Market boutiques, the dress was quickly gobbled up by women everywhere who wanted to dress like Michelle.
Michelle Obama attends a fund-raiser for her husband, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), at designer Calvin Klein’s home in New York City, June 17, 2008. © Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic

Obama supporters rally for their man outside the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California, site of the first one-on-one debate between Clinton and Obama, January 31, 2008. Both candidates paused from their increasingly contentious battle to pay homage to each other and to the Democrats’ history-making season.
Supporters for Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama rally, before the CNN/Los Angeles Times Democratic presidential debate, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood. © Ted Soqui/Ted Soqui Photography USA/Corbis

Barack Obama embarks upon a four-city whistle-stop tour of Pennsylvania, riding on a train between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.
Paoli, Pennsylvania. © Scout Tufankjian/Polaris

Supporters wave as Obama’s train rumbles by during the whistle-stop tour.
Wayne, Pennsylvania. © Scout Tufankjian/Polaris

Obama addresses a town-hall meeting at a high school in Bristol, Virginia, June 5, 2008.
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tears stream down a young girl’s face as she listens to Obama kick off the general election campaign at a rally at the Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia, June 5, 2008.
© Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images

Photograph by Marvin Nicholson from the collection of Seith Mann, February 1, 2008.

Obama delivers campaign remarks to a large crowd inside the St. Pete Times Forum. Tampa, Florida, May 21, 2008. © Charles Ommanney/Getty Images

Supporters of Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) wait for him to arrive at an election night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 3, 2008. © Scott Olson/Getty Images

A woman reaches to take a photograph of Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) as he speaks at a town-hall meeting in a show barn at the Pennington County Event Center in Rapid City, South Dakota, May 31, 2008. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Obama signs an autograph for Kaitlyn Messersmith, 6, of Rapid City, South Dakota, while her family dines at the Firehouse Brewing Company.
May 31, 2008. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Here, Kaitlyn’s autograph is displayed for a photographer.
May 31, 2008. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The amateur hula dance troupe, the Obama Girls, shout “Yes we can!” during a rally to support U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama in Japan’s city of Obama, Fukui prefecture, on May 21, 2008, after Obama declared he was “within reach” of the nomination in the Democratic White House race. © Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images

The amateur hula dance troupe, the Obama Girls, shout “YES WE CAN!” during a rally to support Obama, in Japan’s city of Obama in the Fukui prefecture, May 21, 2008. Obama, the candidate, has been a hit in many parts of the world, borne out by the enthusiastic reception he received during a trip to the Middle East and Europe in July 2008.

Obama waves after speaking at the 2008 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., June 4, 2008. Throughout the campaign, Obama met with Jewish groups, large and small, in an effort to assuage concerns about where he stood on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other Middle East issues. Persistent Internet falsehoods that he is a Muslim, and other rumors, dogged the campaign and created the need to take aggressive countermeasures.
Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) waves after speaking at the 2008 American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., June 4, 2008. © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

More than 20,000 people turn out for a lakeside rally in downtown Austin, Texas, February 23, 2007. Obama was at his oratorical best at big rallies, but criticism from opponents that his eloquence was not matched by substance made the campaign wary of doing too many of them.
Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama speaks to supporters at a lakeside rally in downtown Austin where 20,000-plus people hear him speak. © Bob Daemmrich/Corbis

The Obama campaign office in Vincennes, Indiana, was vandalized at 2 A.M. on the eve of that state’s primary, according to police. A large plate-glass window was smashed, an American flag was stolen, and hate messages were spray-painted on some windows. The messages included references to Obama’s controversial former pastor, the Reverand Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., and to the militant Islamic group Hamas. This photo was taken and provided by Ray McCormick, a farmer and Obama volunteer whom police alerted to the vandalism shortly after it happened. McCormick wanted to notify the media of the incident but was was told by an Obama representative in Vincennes that top campaign officials didn’t want to make a big deal of the crime. He took the photos anyway and shared them with selected news outlets. “The pictures represent what we are breaking through and overcoming,” McCormick told the Washington Post. The Obama campaign struggled with how to deal with the blatant racism encountered by some staff, volunteers, and surrogates for the candidate. Hillary Clinton squeaked out a razor-thin victory over Obama in the May 6 Indiana primary on the same night Obama walloped her in North Carolina.
The exterior of the Farmers for Obama headquarters in Vincennes, Indiana, around 2:45 A.M. on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, after it was vandalized by persons unknown. Windows were broken and “hate messages” were spray-painted on the facade. Photo was taken and provided by a farmer and Obama volunteer who was made aware of the vandalism right after it happened; shortly thereafter it was cleaned up. © Ray McCormick

An Obama supporter pastes up posters outside the Recreational Sports Center at the University of Texas at Austin hours before the debate on February 21, 2008. The poster, now in wide circulation, is the creation of Shepard Fairey, an influential Los Angeles street artist and graphic designer.
© Bob Daemmrich/Corbis

Supporters pass out bumper stickers for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama prior to a campaign appearance at the University of New Hampshire, February 12, 2007. © Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, arrive to vote in the Super Tuesday primary at Beulah Shoesmith Elementary School in Chicago, Illinois, February 5, 2008. © Preston Keres/TWP

Senator Barack Obama signs a copy of Time magazine with his picture on the cover, while visiting KGO studios for an interview on the Ronn Owens radio program, October 25, 2006. © Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis

Obama in a George Washington Carver School classroom, with students and teachers, New Orleans. © David Burnett (Contact Press Images)

Obama on his campaign plane holding forth with the media. The Obama campaign was known for its discipline, which included limited and tightly controlled opportunities for journalists to interact with the candidate.
Aboard private plane briefing reporters en route to New Orleans, Louisiana, February 7, 2008. © David Burnett (Contact Press Images)

A crowd gathers near the state capitol for a Martin Luther King holiday rally in Columbia, South Carolina, January 21, 2008. Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards all took part in the event before heading to Myrtle Beach that evening for one of the feistiest debates of the campaign.
Participants at a rally marking Martin Luther King Day in Columbia, South Carolina. Three Democratic presidential candidates, Illinois senator Barack Obama, New York senator Hillary Clinton, and former North Carolina senator John Edwards took part in the event prior to the South Carolina Democratic debate happening later in the day. © Michal Czerwonka/epa/Corbis

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at a town hall with veterans in San Antonio, Texas. Obama wears a bracelet bearing the name of Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, killed in action on August 2, 2006. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama at a town hall with veterans in San Antonio, Texas, on March 3, 2008. Obama is wearing a bracelet bearing the name of Sgt. Ryan David Jopek, killed in Iraq on August 2, 2006. Early on in the campaign, Obama tried to draw a contrast with his opponents as the only major candidate who had opposed the Iraq war from the outset.

Michelle Obama looks on as Obama gives his Super Tuesday election night speech in Chicago.
Michelle Obama looks on as Senator Barack Obama gives his Super Tuesday election night speech in Chicago, February 5, 2008. © Preston Keres/TWP

Senator Barack Obama holds a rally at the Izod Center in Meadowlands, New Jersey, on the eve of Super Tuesday, February 4, 2008. © Preston Keres/TWP

A Barack Obama staffer displays her necklace of “Obama” in Scrabble tiles at a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, December 15, 2007. © Scout Tufankjian/Polaris

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and wife, Michelle, hold an outdoor primary-night party in San Antonio, March 4, 2008. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama and his wife, Michelle, appearing at an outdoor postelection party in San Antonio on the night of the Texas primary.

Obama holds a rally at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, May 12, 2008. Obama didn’t campaign much in Kentucky prior to their primary and fared poorly, as expected, losing to Clinton by more than a 2–1 margin. Noting that Obama was under fire for his inability to make his case with working-class white voters in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, some Democrats thought it was a mistake for him not to campaign more aggressively in Kentucky, given he was likely to be the nominee. Clinton tried to hammer at this Obama weakness as a justification to nominate her, ultimately to no avail. In Kentucky, exit polls showed Clinton winning 72 percent of white voters, compared with Obama’s 23 percent; and Clinton winning 56 percent of all voters without college degrees, compared with Obama’s 40 percent.

Obama holds a rally at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. © Jahi Chikwendiu/TWP

Obama comes face-to-face with Hayley Mitchell, a high-school junior in Providence, Rhode Island, who was overwhelmed meeting the candidate in person.
March 1, 2008. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama meets Tyrone Seay and his 15-year-old son, Elijah, after a July 3, 2007, speech in Keokuk, Iowa.
© Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama even carries his own pizzas. The candidate makes an unscheduled stop at George’s Pizza & Steakhouse in Fairfield, Iowa, December 9, 2007. Pizza is traditionally the number one campaign food choice for staff and volunteers.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama makes an unscheduled stop at George’s Pizza & Steak, between campaign stops. © Steve Pope/epa/Corbis

Senator Barack Obama greets supporters at Pamela’s P&G Restaurant in Pittsburgh on the day of Pennsylvania’s Democratic presidential primary election, April 22, 2008. © Jahi Chikwendiu/TWP

Michelle Obama with daughter Sasha (7) and the candidate with daughter Malia (10) at the Fourth of July celebrations in Butte, Montana. They attend a parade (along with Obama’s sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her husband, Konrad, and their daughter, Suhalia). Later, they attend a picnic at the Montana Mining Museum, where Obama speaks to the crowd, cooks hamburgers, and does an interview with People correspondent Sandra Sobieraj Westfall.
2008 © David Burnett (Contact Press Images)

2008 © David Burnett (Contact Press Images)

Obama bathed in light as he waits to speak in Aberdeen, South Dakota, May 31, 2008.
Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama waits to speak in Aberdeen, South Dakota. © Rick Wilking/Reuters/Corbis

Obama at a rally in Washington, D.C., September 18, 2007. Behind him, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty applauds.
Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. senator Barack Obama holds a rally. © Melina Mara/TWP

A woman holds a child at a Houston rally for Obama two days prior to the Texas primary and caucuses, March 2, 2008. © Bob Gore

Obama supporter Chalonda Marcus of Forney cries as the Democratic presidential hopeful delivers a speech at a rally at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, February 20, 2008. © Vernon Bryant/Dallas Morning

Stevie Wonder performs at a rally hosted by Michelle Obama for her husband, Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama, at the Pauley Pavilion at UCLA, as guest speakers (3rd left to right) Oprah Winfrey, Maria Elena Durazo, and Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of JFK, listen, February 3, 2008. © Ted Soqui/Ted Soqui Photography USA/Corbis

Obama watches a video question during the CNN/YouTube debate at the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, July 23, 2007.
© Tannen Maury/epa/Corbis

A familiar ritual: the post-debate autograph and picture-taking session. Obama wipes sweat from his brow following a Democratic debate at Howard University in Washington, D.C., June 29, 2007. The debate was orchestrated by commentator Tavis Smiley, who would later come under fire from African Americans for his criticisms of Obama and resign from The Tom Joyner Morning Show.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama wipes sweat from his brow as he signs autographs after taking part in the Democratic presidential debate at Howard University. © Kevin Lamarque/Reuters/Corbis

Hands of supporters reach out to touch Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama during the final election-night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the end of the 2008 Democratic party primaries, June 3, 2008. © Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Candidates always spend time working the rope lines after speeches. That is a requirement of presidential politics. No candidate saw more HANDS REACHING OUT TO TOUCH HIM during the 2008 campaign than Obama. Here he is being congratulated in St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center (St. Paul, Minnesota) on the final election-night rally of the primary season.

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama signs autographs following a Democratic debate with New York senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, held at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University, February 26, 2008. © David Maxwell/epa/Corbis

Supporters listen to Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, as he campaigns at Pennsylvania State University’s Greater Allegheny campus, April 21, 2008. © Matthew Cavanaugh/epa/Corbis

The Obama campaign was able to effectively use the Internet to organize young people. Some who came to this Iowa State University rally on February 11, 2007, agreed to volunteer for Obama and were brought together through Facebook.com.
A look at how younger people use the Internet to organize and gather political support for presidential candidates. Specifically, we focus on participants in Facebook.com at Iowa State University who volunteer for Barack Obama’s campaign rally and others who just come. Students, teachers, and locals alike clamored to get a handshake and autograph from Obama after the speech. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama shakes hands during a Broward County campaign rally at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, May 23, 2008. Students, teachers, and other locals clamored to get handshakes and autographs from Obama after his speech.
People shake hands with Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. senator Barack Obama (D-IL) during a Broward County campaign rally at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, May 23, 2008. © Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Seven months before announcing his presidential campaign, Obama speaks to a crowd of supporters in a New Orleans church. Led by former North Carolina senator John Edwards, Democratic candidates highlighted the response to Hurricane Katrina as a failure in leadership by the Republican administration.
Presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to a crowd of supporters in a church in post–Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, July 21, 2006. © Will Steacy

Obama holds a town-hall meeting at the Aberdeen Civic Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota, May 31, 2008.
Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) holds a town-hall meeting at the Aberdeen Civic Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota, May 31, 2008. Obama later held a news conference to discuss the DNC’s decision to seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan at the national convention and to talk about his family’s resignation as members of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

This fist bump Michelle initiated with her husband in celebration of his clinching the Democratic nomination became the subject of rampant, misguided commentary. One Fox News anchor called it a “terrorist fist jab.” Huh? As almost everyone with even a C average in hipness knows, that kind of “pound” or “dap” is as American as the iPod—and with greater longevity. Folks have been fist-bumping for years on basketball courts, at corporate water coolers, in barbershops, and at country clubs.
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrate during his election-night rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota, at the end of the 2008 Democratic Party primaries, June 3, 2008. © Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

The crowd of 75,000 at Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, on May 18, 2008, seemed to keep flowing and winding and spilling over as far as the eye could see. This aerial photograph gives some sense of the magnitude of that event.
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and his wife, Michelle, greet the crowd during a rally at Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, May 18, 2008. © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Obama talks on the phone with his family during a campaign bus trip, near Sioux City, Iowa, December 18, 2007.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama talks on the phone with his family during a campaign bus trip near Sioux City, Iowa. © Carlos Barria/Reuters/Corbis

A young supporter looks on as Obama speaks to a crowd during a rally at Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, May 2008.
Obama became the candidate of young people this campaign season. Here, a young supporter looks on as the candidate addresses the largest rally of his campaign, at Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon, May 18, 2008. © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

After conceding defeat in the New Hampshire primary, Obama and wife, Michelle, wave to the crowd during a rally at Nashua South High School in Nashua, New Hampshire.
Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, acknowledge the crowd during a rally at the Nashua South High School in Nashua, New Hampshire, after Obama conceded in the New Hampshire primary, January 8, 2008. © CJ Gunther/epa/Corbis

Obama posing for pictures in front of a Tulane University basketball mural.
Senator Barack Obama campaigns in New Orleans, Louisiana, speaking at Tulane University. Afterward, posing for pictures in front of a Tulane basketball mural, February 7, 2008. © David Burnett (Contact Press Images)

Basketball was a favorite campaign exercise and release for Obama, who played on his high-school team in Hawaii. During the campaign, he played pickup games with military men, reporters, and members of the North Carolina Tar Heels. He also shot games of P-I-G with teenagers. Here, he is in a 3-on-3 game in Kokomo, Indiana, on April 25, 2008. One of his constant b-ball partners is aide Reggie Love (not seen), who played both football and basketball for Duke University.
U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama plays in a 3-on-3 basketball game with his staffer Reggie Love (not seen) looking on. © Yana Paskova

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama appears with Massachusetts senator John Kerry during a rally at the College of Charleston. © Erik S. Lesser/epa/Corbis

Obama appears with Massachusetts senator JOHN KERRY, the 2004 Democratic nominee, during a rally at the College of Charleston on January 10, 2008. Kerry was among a long list of highly sought after public officials who endorsed Obama at critical moments during the campaign. That said, even with the backing of Kerry, Senator Ted Kennedy, and Governor Deval Patrick, Obama still couldn’t carry Massachusetts.

Obama greets former president Bill Clinton on March 4, 2007, after a reenactment of the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery. Relations between OBAMA AND CLINTON would grow much chillier than this photo conveys. Clinton became an aggressive surrogate on behalf of his wife, going after Obama when others were reluctant to, a strategy that ultimately backfired. Several of his comments drew an angry backlash from African Americans, who had long supported him. Among those comments: Clinton called Obama’s opposition to the Iraq war “a fairy tale” and seemed to dismiss and racialize Obama’s overwhelming victory in South Carolina by saying Jesse Jackson won that state too. House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), the highest-ranking African American in Congress, was so incensed by Clinton’s campaign tactics that he pointedly told the ex-prez to “chill out.”

Presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (L) greets former president Bill Clinton after a reenactment of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march. © Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Obama at a rally at Washington Square Park in New York City, September 27, 2007.
© Terrence Jennings

(Left to right) Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and John Edwards together after a televised debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, January 5, 2008.
© Stefan Zaklin/epa/Corbis

No endorsement was bigger this campaign season than SENATOR TED KENNEDY’S. Here, Obama is seen with Kennedy backstage before a rally to unveil the endorsement at American University in Washington, D.C. Also backstage is Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late president John F. Kennedy. She also endorsed Obama and later was named to the committee overseeing his search for a vice-presidential running mate. Most of the Kennedy clan, though not all, fell in line behind Obama and campaigned tirelessly for the senator. Senator Kennedy had been courted heavily by both Obama and Clinton, and was said to be disappointed in some of the negative campaign tactics employed by the Clintons.

Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama with Senator Ted Kennedy backstage before a rally at American University in Washington, D.C. Also backstage is Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, daughter of the late president John F. Kennedy. Senator Kennedy announced his endorsement of Senator Obama for president, January 28, 2008. © Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Barack Obama rallies New York at Washington Square Park.
Barack Obama rallies New York at Washington Square Park, September 27, 2007. © Terrence Jennings

Obama flashes a big smile as he greets supporters on March 18, 2007, after speaking before an enthusiastic Denver crowd that paid $100 each for a chance to hear what one of the front-running Democratic candidates had to say.
© 2007 Marc Piscotty

Obama hugs a resident of Albia, Iowa, during an unplanned campaign stop on November 8, 2007.
© Michal Czerwonka

Barack Obama at Time Warner’s Conversations on the Circle in New York.
Barack Obama at Time Warner’s Conversations on the Circle, July 24, 2007. © Timothy Greenfield Sanders

Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come (separately) to Selma to commemorate the civil rights movement and reenactment of the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, March 4, 2007. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come separately to Selma, Alabama, to commemorate the civil rights movement and march across the EDMUND PETTUS BRIDGE, where civil rights activists were badly beaten by police during an attempted march in 1965. One of those beaten was Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), the former Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) leader who was aggressively courted by both candidates. Lewis, after much deliberation, endorsed Clinton but later switched to Obama after the tide in the campaign shifted. Lewis came under fire in Atlanta after Obama carried his congressional district overwhelmingly on Super Tuesday. Like many black politicians who supported Clinton this year, Lewis found himself harassed and threatened with reprisals. However, despite challenges to his congressional seat, Lewis had no difficulty defeating his opponents.

Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut and Obama react to audience members after the Iowa Brown & Black Forum in Des Moines, December 1, 2007. Dodd was one of the early dropouts in the Democratic race, and the first to endorse Obama after abandoning his own bid.
Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd and Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama react to audience members after the Iowa Brown and Black Forum. © Steve Pope/epa/Corbis

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith warms up the crowd at an Obama rally at Reunion Arena in Dallas, February 20, 2008.
Former NFL Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith speaks about Democratic presidential hopeful Senator Barack Obama during a rally at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. © Larry W. Smith/epa/Corbis

Apparently with visions of a “dream ticket,” one person holds up pictures of Clinton and Obama during a Clinton campaign event at the University of Miami, May 22, 2008.
A person holds pictures of Democratic presidential hopefuls Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barack Obama during a Clinton campaign event at the University of Miami, Florida. © Carlos Barria/Reuters/Corbis

Obama strides toward the stage for a rally at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia, June 5, 2008.
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama makes his way onto the stage for a rally at Nissan Pavilion in Bristow, Virginia, June 5, 2008. © Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Obama campaign communications director Robert Gibbs (left) and chief strategist David Axelrod (right) talk to reporters on the campaign plane en route to a rally, June 3, 2008.
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Ariel Ritchin, a citizen outreach canvasser for Grassroots Campaigns, raises funds and registers volunteers for the Democratic National Committee at 12th Street and University Place in downtown Manhattan.
July 3, 2008. © Katherine S. Carey

Obama, holding youngest daughter, Sasha, during a 2007 campaign appearance in New Hampshire.
© Thomas Dworzak/Magnum Photos

Obama peers through a kaleidoscope while shopping for gifts for his wife and daughters at Prairie Edge in the downtown shopping district of Rapid City, South Dakota.
May 31, 2008. © Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Obama cleans a table in the home of John Thornton while working with Pauline Beck (not pictured) during the Walk a Day in My Shoes program in Oakland, California. Obama spent the morning of August 8, 2007, with Beck, a home health-care worker, first meeting her at her home in Alameda and then going to her job site, where she cares for Thornton. The program is part of an effort by a local union to have presidential candidates walk in voters’ shoes for a day.
© Lea Suzuki/San Francisco

Obama fund-raising reception at a Park Avenue apartment in New York, March 27, 2008. Here, Margarett Cooper and Lizzy Cooper Davis meet Barack Obama up close.
© Gordon J. Davis

Father Michael Pfleger (left) and the Reverend Jesse Jackson (right) attend an anti-gun rally outside the manufacturing facilities of D. S. Arms in Barrington, Illinois, August 28, 2007. Both Pfleger and Jackson, Obama supporters, would become problems for the candidate. Jackson challenged Obama’s emphasis in some speeches on promoting faith-based social services and personal responsibility. “The message to black America has to have broader application so that it doesn’t appear to be limited in scope,” Jackson said in an interview. Pfleger was admonished by the Obama campaign and the Catholic Church for a sermon in which he promised to expose “white entitlement and supremacy wherever it raises its head.” He also mocked Hillary Clinton as someone crying over “a black man stealing my show.” Obama declared that he was “deeply disappointed” in Pfleger for his “divisive, backward-looking rhetoric.” Pfleger’s guest sermon, delivered at Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, appeared to be the last straw in what had become for Obama an uneasy relationship with his home church. On May 31, 2008, not long after Pfleger’s sermon hit YouTube, Obama and Michelle announced they had left Trinity.
Father Michael Pfleger (L) and the Reverend Jesse Jackson (R) attend an anti-gun rally outside the manufacturing facilities of D. S. Arms in Barrington, Illinois, August 28, 2007. Pfleger is under fire for mocking Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) during a racially charged speech at Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) Chicago church. © Scott Olson/Getty Images

The Reverend Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., speaks at the NAACP’s 53rd Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan, April 27, 2008. No one caused Obama more heartache this campaign season than Wright, his longtime pastor who married him and baptized his children. A series of controversial remarks, caught in snippets and often distorted on YouTube, ultimately led Obama to sever ties with Wright. The final trigger was Wright’s defiant appearance at the National Press Club in Washington on April 28, 2008. In resigning from Trinity, the Obamas noted the sadness of their decision. But in their letter to the Reverend Otis Moss III, the head pastor, the couple also noted how relations “have been strained by the divisive statements of Reverend Wright, which sharply conflict with our own views.”
The Reverend Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr., speaks at the NAACP’s 53rd Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan. © Jeff Kowalsky/epa/Corbis

Fund-raiser for Obama in Princeton, New Jersey, at the home of Paula and Noel Gordon. (Left to right) Jeff Palmer, Obama, Deborah Brittain, and Willard Brittain.
May 14, 2007. © Chris Williams Photography

Obama delivers the commencement address at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, May 25, 2008. He stepped in for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who was diagnosed the same week with a cancerous brain tumor.
© Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey lends her prestige to Obama, addressing a campaign rally at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, December 9, 2007. Winfrey is not known to get involved in electoral politics, so this was a real leap for her. Though she smoothly handles the duties of talk-show host, she acknowledged she was nervous on the campaign stage.
Oprah Winfrey speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama at the 11,000-seat Verizon Wireless Arena. © Jodi Hilton/Corbis

So what else is new? Standing in long lines to get into a Barack Obama event is customary, whether it be a rally at a local high school or a swank fund-raiser. In Washington, D.C., the line is long outside the Avenue nightclub. But patrons are patient as they wait to mix and mingle at a campaign fund-raising party.
The crowd waiting in line at the Avenue nightclub to get into a fund-raising party for the Obama campaign, September 28, 2007. © Michel du Cille/TWP

The May 19, 2008, cover of Time magazine features a portrait of a smiling Obama accompanied by the caption “And the Winner Is…(Really, we’re pretty sure this time).” The cover infuriated Clintonites, who cited it as more evidence of the drumbeat by the media establishment and Democratic leaders to ease their candidate out of the race.
The cover of Time magazine features a portrait of American politician and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama accompanied by the caption “And the Winner Is…(Really, we’re pretty sure this time),” May 19, 2008. © Callie Shell-Aurora/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Obama senior campaign spokeswoman Linda Douglass (center) reviews the news of the day with Obama and his wife, Michelle, in a private room after a speech in Columbus, Ohio, June 13, 2008. Douglass left ABC News to join the campaign and travel with the candidate, adding media experience to the communications operation.
© Phil Masturzo/TWP

Obama during a town-hall-style meeting at Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) during a town-hall-style meeting at Kennedy High School with the residents of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 11, 2007. © Jason Reed/Reuters/Corbis

For more than thirty years, Elise Martin served as poll manager in Columbia, South Carolina. She had thought of retiring from that job at the end of 2007. However, when she heard Obama was running, and that her granddaughter was working in the campaign, she decided to stay on through the primary, held on January 26, 2008. On primary day, Obama dropped by the polling place she managed at Benedict College. A friend came over to get her. As the picture was being taken, she told Obama that she had originally planned to retire from poll work but decided to hang in there for one more campaign. “I AM A 93-YEAR-OLD WOMAN WORKING THE POLLS BECAUSE YOU ARE RUNNING,” Martin told Obama. “Never give up because I know you can win.”

Chris Hughes, 24, a founder of Facebook, left the company to develop Senator Barack Obama’s Web presence.
July 7, 2008. © Peter Wynn Thompson/The New York Times/Redux

Barack Obama with some campaign essentials: the Secret Service, traveling aides, and his BlackBerry.
July 7, 2008. © Doug Mills/The New York Times/Redux

A fan snaps a photo of Obama while he signs autographs at a town hall with veterans in San Antonio, Texas.
March 3, 2008. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama and Clinton talk on the plane en route to their Unity rally in Unity, New Hampshire, June 27, 2008. After a bruising battle, questions of how to unify the party remained. Some of Clinton’s supporters were having difficulty accepting Obama as the presumptive nominee. Other issues lingered: Would the Obama campaign incorporate into its operations top Clinton staffers? (Yes, a few, including Clinton’s chief speech writer and her onetime campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle.) What role would Clinton play at the Democratic National Convention and in the fall campaign? (She would give a major address on the convention’s second night and pledge to campaign tirelessly.) And, most significant, would Obama choose Clinton as his running mate? (No.)

Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton talk on the plane on their way to the Unity rally in Unity, New Hampshire. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama draws a small crowd on a block in West Philadelphia on the day of the Pennsylvania primary, April 22, 2008.
© Jahi Chikwendiu/TWP

Obama holds a baby for the classic American political photo op in Westerville, Ohio, March 2, 2008.
Supporters fawn over Barack Obama as he holds a baby for its mother’s photo op. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama gives keynote speech and receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Howard University’s 140th opening convocation in September 2007. Flanking Obama are Southeastern University president, Dr. Charlene Drew Jarvis (left), and Howard’s president, H. Patrick Swygert (right).
© Michel du Cille/TWP

Obama answers a question before the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). Both Obama and McCain addressed the group. Both have assiduously courted Latino voters. Polls have indicated Obama has the edge over McCain with Latinos, despite Obama’s problems making inroads during the Democratic primaries because of the strong loyalty the Clintons commanded.
Senator Barack Obama answers a question during the Q & A portion of the NALEO program, June 28, 2008. © Linda Davidson/TWP

Obama stands with his powerhouse Massachusetts support group, which includes at least two people mentioned as possible cabinet members in an Obama administration: John Kerry as secretary of state? Deval Patrick as attorney general?
Senator Barack Obama stands with his Massachusetts support group, February 4, 2008. © Preston Keres/TWP

Chelsea Clinton and her father, former president Bill Clinton, look on as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton greets supporters who packed the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The suspension of her campaign brought together close friends and many luminaries from the Clinton White House years, as well as feminist pioneers such as Gloria Steinem.
Chelsea Clinton and her father, former U.S. president Bill Clinton (L), look on as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) greets supporters at the National Building Museum, June 7, 2008. © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (right) and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean (left) listen during a news conference at DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., June 10, 2008. Some Democrats worried that the protracted presidential campaign fight slowed efforts to establish a coordinated Democratic fall campaign that would extend down the ballot from the top of the ticket. Pelosi and Dean, though publicly neutral, came under fire from some Clinton supporters who believed the two party leaders were partial to Obama and had tried to hasten Clinton’s departure from the race.
U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean listen during a news conference at DNC headquarters in Washington, D.C., June 10, 2008. © Alex Wong/Getty Images

Clinton throws her support behind Obama at an EMOTIONAL RALLY at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2008. Clinton staff and volunteers traveled from across the country to say farewell to their candidate, who fell just short of making history herself. Clinton promised to do everything she could to send her rival to the White House.

Senator Hillary Clinton speaks to supporters at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., June 7, 2008. On Saturday Clinton threw her full support and energy behind Barack Obama, as she endorsed the Democratic White House nominee and vowed to do all she could to send him to the White House. © Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and the Illinois senator take the stage during a rally near the Iowa state capitol building in Des Moines, Iowa, May 20, 2008.
© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Obama looks to the crowd after delivering a speech in Plainfield, Indiana, March 15, 2008. As usual, the cell phone photographers are always in abundance.
© Frank Polich/Reuters/Corbis

Obama holds a copy of his book The Audacity of Hope after speaking at a rally at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
© Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Obama and former vice president Al Gore appear onstage together after Gore publicly endorsed him at a rally at Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit, Michigan, June 16, 2008. After Gore won an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Prize for his environmental work, some Democrats thought he might be a better candidate this time around than he was in 2000. But Gore chose to sit this one out.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and former U.S. vice president Al Gore appear onstage together after Gore endorsed him at a rally at Joe Louis Arena © Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Kenya’s newspapers are displayed in the streets of Nairobi with headlines claiming Obama as a native son and trumpeting his achievement in securing the Democratic nomination. Obama has maintained ties to family members in Kenya, following a 1987 pilgrimage to the country to untangle the mystery of his father and discover his roots.
Kenya’s newspapers are displayed in the streets of Nairobi on June 5, 2008, after Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama’s nomination victory places him a heartbeat away from the White House. © Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama with his vice presidential nominee, Senator Joe Biden, after Biden addressed the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.

February 10, 2007, Senator Barack Obama waves to spectators as he arrives to announce his candidacy for president of the United States at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. © Associated Press