Getting Some Jabs In

In November 2008, when then-Senator Barack Obama was elected president, the state of the union was not strong.

The economy was in shambles, unemployment was rising, two ongoing wars in the Middle East were unpopular, and plenty of social issues clamored for attention.

In his inaugural address, the new president called for change to come from the bottom up, “For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.”

Tomorrow night, when President Obama gives his final State of the Union Address, he’ll stake claim to a surging economy, a 5 percent unemployment rate, and a host of domestic and foreign policy accomplishments since he took office.

Most recently he’s stirred up the gun issue and spoken of his hope to close the Guantanamo Bay prison before he leaves office.

Congressional Republicans have warned the president to leave contentious issues out of his SOTU address.

Some GOP supporters have already complained about the president’s plan to leave an empty seat in the first lady’s box to honor gun violence victims.

For all it’s honorable intent, the empty chair is no doubt a bit of a dig at an infamous incident during the 2012 Republican National Convention. Clint Eastwood brought an empty chair onstage and spoke to it as though it were an imaginary Mr. Obama. His rambling speech was critical of the president and his policies.

Four years later, the president is not shying away from getting some jabs in at his opponents before he leaves office.

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For a compelling history of the 2008 campaign, as told by news media, politicians, and ordinary people, see King's Dream: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States of America.

Dixville Notch

In 2008, New Hampshire's Dixville Notch delivered a landslide for Barack Obama. With 100% of registered voters casting ballots, they delivered 15 of 21 votes for the Senator from Illinois.

It was the first time since 1968 the village had gone with the Democratic candidate.

On November 6 2012, just after midnight, CNN reported live as they counted their 10 votes. It was a tie between President Obama and Mitt Romney. The village voter registrations revealed 2 Democrats, 3 Republicans, and 5 Independent or Others.

Obama Announces Grandmother Dunham's Death

The day before the 2008 election, his voice cracking, Barack Obama told the crowd gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina that Madeline Dunham had died.

"Some of you heard that my grandmother, who helped raise me, passed away early this morning. And look, she is going home. And she died peacefully in her sleep with my sister at her side, and so there is great joy as well as tears."

I’m not going to talk about it too long, because it’s hard a little to talk about."

Hi described his grandmother as a humble, plainspoken women who lived through the Depression and two World Wars. She raised her baby and worked on the bomber assembly line while her husband was off to war. She was one of America's quiet heroes who worked hard and sacrificed so her child and grandchildren could have a better life.

Mr. Obama also thanked John McCain for his gracious condolences and praised his continuous honorable service to his country.

Last Visit with Grandmother Dunham

Senator Barack Obama left the campaign trail October 23 and 24, 2008 to spend time with his grandmother Madelyn Dunham. Mrs. Dunham was reported to be gravely ill and not expected to live until election day.

Madelyn and Stanley Dunham raised grandson Barack Obama during the many periods Mr. Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, was working overseas. She died in 1995.

The news media followed Mr. Obama during that trip. When asked about his decsion to halt his campaign, Sen. Obama told CBS: "My grandmother's the last one left. She has really been the rock of the family, the foundation of the family."

Hey Joe

In 2008, the third presidential debate was held on October 15. It was fast-paced and sometimes heated. Joe "The Plumber" Wurzelbacher was in the audience and John McCain took advantage of the opportunity to speak to him directly: "Hey Joe, you're rich. Congratulations."

McCain was referring to the encounter Wurzelbacher had had with Barack Obama regarding Obama's tax plan which called for tax hikes on those making more than $250,000 per year.

During all of the debates with McCain, Obama remained "cool under pressure, smiling through the attacks. That's the demeanor Obama's had throughout the three debates that has served him well," as noted by George Stephanopoulis of ABC News.

After the first presidential debate of 2012, Obama was widely criticized for his lack of energy and his demeanor. The second debate is tomorrow night, where most expect Obama to be back on his game.

Talking Loudly

During the second presidential debate on October 7, 2008, Barack Obama stated: "If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think we have to act and we will take them out. We will kill bin Laden; we will crush Al Qaida. That has to be our biggest national security priority."

John McCain responded that his hero Teddy Roosevelt used to say talk softly but carry a big stick. "Senator Obama likes to talk loudly," said McCain.

As it turned out, President Obama also carried a big stick. The president did indeed make the hunt for bin Laden a national security priority, and the world's most wanted terrorist was killed by a U.S. special forces unit on May 2, 2011.

Politics of Fear

In an October 10, 2008 campaign event now thought to depict John McCain in a good light, a woman in the audience said she could not vote for Barack Obama because "he's an Arab." McCain shook his head and said, "No ma'am, he's a decent family man, a citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that's what this campaign is all about." Later, however, McCain brought up Obama's alleged association with William Ayers, a 1960's radical. So much for Mr. Nice Guy.

Yesterday, in a column for Huffington Post, Robert Reich says "The biggest motivator in this election isn't enthusiasm about either of the candidates. The Republican base has never particularly liked Romney, and many Democrats have been disappointed in Obama. The biggest motivator is fear of the other guy."

Reich goes on to say, "Republicans are well-practiced in the politics of fear and the logistics of the big lie. The challenge for Obama and Biden and for the rest of us over the next four weeks is to counter their fearsome lies with the truth."

The Choice

On October 8, 2008, BartCop.com commented on the second presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain held a day earlier: "Did you hear grumpy old Gramps call Obama "that one," last night? He treated Obama like an object - because he's half-Black?"

Mr. Obama has battled "the other" label throughout his life. Award-winning documentary producer Michael Kirk delves deeper on this topic in The Choice 2012, a PBS-Frontline presentation that premieres Tuesday, October 9, 2012. As noted in promotion for the program, the documentary "journeys into the places, people, and decisive moments that made the men who are competing for the presidency."

"Embarracuda"

"... what a desperate empty embarrassment the McCain campaign has become."

Time Magazine's Joe Klein echoed the sentiments of much of the news media on October 6, 2008, about one month before the election.

As had many, Klein referenced the 'palling around with terrorists' and ever-handy Rev. Jeremiah Wright 'God damn America' memes. He related stories about Sarah Palin and Jews for Jesus, and Todd Palin's Alaskan Independence Party.

He also mentioned Fox News show host Hannity's complicity with a lesser known "Jew-hater" who'd been publicly "exposing" Sen. Obama as a Muslim. Klein cited this piece from the Washington Times:

In 1986, when Mr. Martin ran as a Democrat for Connecticut's 3rd Congressional
District seat under the name "Anthony R. Martin-Trigona," his campaign
committee filed papers saying its purpose was to "exterminate Jew power in
America and impeach U.S. District Court of Appeals judges in New York City."

 In January 2011, Pew Research listed these religious affiliations in the 112th U.S. Congress:

304 Protestant
156 Catholic
39 Jew
16 Other or No Declaration
15 Mormon
3 Buddhist
2 Muslim

Throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks doesn't seem to have subsided in the 2012 presidential race. Conservative meme topics describing President Obama include foreign born, Muslim, felonious, lazy, welfare President, to name a few.

Winning, Losing

At this time in 2008, the Obama campaign was surging, Wall Street was in crisis, and the McCain/Palin campaign was desperately attacking Obama's character and personal contacts ("palling around with terrorists"). It was beginning to look like the end for McCain.

Today, Mitt Romney is hoping to move up in the polls after a strong debate performance against an inexplicably "passive, distracted" Barack Obama on Wednesday night. But Nate Silver's Five Thirty Eight forecast still shows Obama with a strong lead in the electoral vote and an 87% chance of winning.

Fargo, Yes; West Wing, No

In 2008, the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin was held in St. Louis on October 2. Howard Fineman, writing for Newsweek, initially thought it would be the longest 90 minutes of Palin's life. But after acknowledging that she did not win the debate, he noted that his original assessment was "ridiculously wrong" and that the debate was no fun for Biden. "Palin grew up a hunter in Alaska. ... She learned to stalk and bag her prey. Here ... she was stalking a pinstriped senator."

As preparations continue for tomorrow's presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, pundits are already predicting winners and losers. Roger Simon of Politico offers this: "There are three things Mitt Romney must do to win the first presidential debate on Wednesday. Unfortunately, nobody knows what they are."

The Grouch

In 2008, John McCain was struggling in the Iowa polls as the presidential race wound to the finish. McCain stopped by the Des Moines Register for a lengthy chat on the last day of September. As reported by The Washington Monthly, "It didn't go well. ... the transcripts alone don't convey just how angry and sarcastic McCain became when challenged."

Today, there is no end to the advice presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are receiving in advance of Wednesday's first debate. Many say that style will be more important than substance: looking and acting presidential will be paramount.

In a recent The Huffington Post article, political strategist Hilary Rosen offered this advice for President Obama: "Stay nice. ... One of the greatest gifts America has is a president who is kind and warm with a big smile and compassionate heart.  That is the president who will win the first debate."

So Long, Cowboys

On September 29, 2008, Howard Fineman - writing for MSNBC - declared that "the Obama administration began at midnight Sunday."

Over that weekend, the deal had been struck for a $700 billion federal takeover of "the carcass of Wall Street." Noting that regardless of whom were to win the election, Fineman predicted that years of greed-fueled capitalism would no doubt be replaced by regulation and government intervention in the markets. He also pointed out that Obama "believes it is the role of government to help people and regulate the markets. ... He doesn't frankly, know much about economics or the profits - those were not his specialties in law or life."

In February 2012, the Christian Science Monitor reported: "Not since the Roaring '20s has the income gap between rich and poor been as wide as it is today in America."

Debating Expectations

In 2008, TIME columnist Mark Halperin graded the first Barack Obama / John McCain presidential debate, giving Obama an "A-" and McCain a "B-." Halperin said Obama was solid and consistent and that he "avoided mistakes from his weak debate performances during nomination season."

The first debate of 2012 comes this Wednesday, October 3. Both candidates are furiously lowering expectations. The Obama campaign notes that Mitt Romney has been sharpening his skills through 20 recent GOP primary debates. The Romney campaign cites Gallup polling showing that Obama was the clear winner of all the 2008 presidential debates.

The debate will be held in Denver, Colorado. Jim Lehrer of PBS will moderate.

Debate No. 1: Change v. Maverick

Jim Lehrer moderated the first 2008 presidential debate, held on September 26. While intended to cover national security and foreign affairs, the U.S. financial crisis weighed heavily during the opening questions. Lehrer's attempt to encourage eye contact during the opening was somewhat futile.

Senator McCain hammered Senator Obama on earmarks and pork barrel spending. Obama chastised McCain's complicity during an orgy of spending under President Bush. "You voted for almost all of his budgets. To stand here and say that after eight years you're going to lead on controlling spending and balancing our tax cuts for middle-class families ... it's kind of hard to swallow."

On foreign policy, McCain cited his reputation as a maverick, particularly when it came to banning torture. McCain touted his many foreign travels and relationship with foreign leaders, and claimed Obama's views on foreign policy to be naive.

Obama challenged McCain's effectiveness. "Over the last eight years, this administration, along with Senator McCain, has been solely focused on Iraq. That has been their priority. That is where all their resources have gone. In the meantime, Osama bin Laden is still out there. He is not captured. He is not killed. Al Qaeda is resurgent."

By 12:22 a.m. on September 27, MTV News published a comprehensive debate report on their website. Spirited commentary ensued.

Respectful Suspension

The morning after a brief blackout during Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, news media covered the story. 

On September 24, 2008, Stephen Colbert had purposefully suspended his show, casting the set into darkness for a few seconds to display his respect for the financial crisis.

Mr. Colbert, referring to John McCain's surprising announcement, opined during the show's segment: "There is nothing more presidential than suspending your presidential campaign.''

Check out the website, King's Dream: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States of America, for info on where to purchase the book, the Writers' list, Endnotes, the editors' personal election photo diary, and more.

Who Spiked the Metamucil?

John McCain suddenly cancelled his appearance with David Letterman just before show taping on September 24, 2008. He personally told Letterman he had to rush back to Washington because the economy was "about to crater."

As reported in the NY Times, Letterman was not so pleased. “'When you call up at the last minute and cancel, that’s not the John McCain I know.' He repeated that 'something smells right now' and he suggested 'somebody must have put something in his Metamucil.'"

Letterman quickly substituted MSNBC's Countdown show host Keith Olbermann. In a surprise move during their discussion of the McCain situation, The Late Show cut away to a live shot of Katie Couric's set where the makeup attendant was prepping Sen. McCain for an interview on Couric's CBS News show.

Then came the famous Letterman snarkquery: “Hey, John, I’ve got a question: You need a lift to the airport?”

Quizzed by Letterman on whether he thought the cancellation was unavoidable, Mr. Olbermann replied:  “He ditched you.”


Check out the website, King's Dream: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States of America, for info on where to purchase the book, the Writers' list, Endnotes, the editors' personal election photo diary, and more.

Rocky Mountain Vie

Political analysts tagged Colorado as one of the big five swing states in the 2008 presidential election and a predictor of how the nation would vote. An Obama win in the state could denote a shift in the Electoral College count seismic enough to deny McCain the presidency.

Polls through September 11 showed the Illinois Senator up by 3 points. Besting Senator McCain's national trend, Mr. Obama was winning men 49 to 46. His appeal to upscale whites, Hispanics, Boulder liberals, and swing suburbanites was considered a threat to the one-time Republican state.


After revealing a 5 point lead in early August 2012, polls conducted September 11-17, 2012 showed Republican challenger Mitt Romney trailing President Barack Obama in Colorado by one point, 47 to 46.

The President gained ground on Mr. Romney on the issue of the economy.

Come Together

In September 2008, the Barack Obama presidential campaign was foundering - taken off-guard when John McCain's VP pick Sarah Palin began to dominate the news. With prominent Democrats fretting over tight poll numbers, Mr. Obama paid a visit to the master.

Bill Clinton had been a fiercely vocal opponent of Obama during Hillary's run at the nomination but - with the party's best interests in mind - the two former rivals met for lunch and chat at Clinton's office in Harlem on September 11, 2008.

At the Democratic National Convention last week, the Obama campaign once again called on Clinton, who gave a rousing speech in support of Obama that has been lauded by both left and right. Yesterday, Clinton spoke to voters in Florida, and plans additional speeches in other swing states.

Clinton is the only Democrat to serve two presidential terms since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. President Obama hopes to join the club in November.

Change Happens

On September 11, 2008, Barack Obama and John McCain participated in a candidates forum on service. Host Judy Woodruff of PBS asked about Republican presidents who promoted service initiatives.

Mr. Obama noted that Teddy Roosevelt was his "hero" and that Roosevelt understood how to mobilize citizens.

"And that's why, you know, one of the premises of our campaign from the start has been that change happens from the bottom up. It doesn't happen from the top down. It happens because the American people look up and say, we imagine a world not as it is but as it should be, and we are willing to roll up our sleeves and put in the hard work to change this country, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, state by state," said candidate Obama.

As a candidate and as president, Mr. Obama has consistently and repeatedly made the case that change comes from people who stand up. He returned to the theme (and was mocked by some) in his convention speech last week: "You are the change," he said.

Interestingly, one of the most marked examples of bottom-up change is the development of the Tea Party in the years after Obama's election in 2008. A few people imagined a world as they think it should be, put in the hard work to run for office and get elected, and continue to promote their view of the world.