February 10, 2007: Nine Years Later

"On a frigid Springfield day in February 2007, Barack Obama stood before 17,000 supporters 'in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together,' and announced his candidacy for President of the United States.

"It had been less than three years since he became a national figure and he'd spent much of that time building an organization that would spread his message and raise money through cutting edge technology and smart analysis of what it would take to win..."

Excerpt from "Kings's Dream: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States of America"

Today, exactly nine years later, President Obama returns to Springfield to address the Illinois General Assembly to talk about “what we can do, together, to build a better politics - one that reflects our better selves.”

We can't help but appreciate the values displayed by Mr. Obama and his family throughout the past nine years. Especially at a time when the current election is chock full of bombast, dirty tricks, racism and sexism, the contrast between our president and the 'wannabees' is striking.

And we applaud the classiness shown by David Brooks of the New York Times, an opponent of many of the president's policies, in praising Mr. Obama's character and leadership:

"Obama radiates an ethos of integrity, humanity, good manners and elegance that I'm beginning to miss, and that I suspect we will all miss a bit, regardless of who replaces him."

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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.

On January 1, 2008: Milestone Money - The Race is On

As revelers rang in the new year of 2008, Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton had each surpassed the $100 million fundraising mark in their presidential campaigns. According to the Washington Post, this was the first time two candidates had eclipsed that milestone before a single primary/caucus vote was cast.

Today, as the 2016 campaign begins in earnest, no single candidate - Democrat or Republican - has raised $100 million*. Due to the "Citizen's United" ruling in 2010, half of the reported money so far has come from donations to groups like "Super PACs" (that are not subject to limits) rather than to individuals.

Republican Jeb Bush and his PACs have raised the most money so far ($133 million) but he is polling at only 4% in the latest National Quinnipiac Poll. The unlikeliest candidate, Donald Trump, tops the poll at 28%, but has been personally financing his campaign. On the Democratic side, Mrs. Clinton leads rival Bernie Sanders in both money raised ($98 million vs. $42 million) and the latest poll numbers (61% vs. 30%).

Compared to the current presidential campaign, the 2008 election seems almost quaint. Today's dollars are mind-boggling (over $560 million for 23 candidates so far). And although the concept of politics-on-social-media got its start at the turn of the century, today's campaigns live there. Tweets fly and the nightly news is made.

For the rest of this year, we plan to post interesting contrasts and comparisons between this election and 2008. We hope you will follow along.


*Source: Candidate reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on finances through September 30. "Which Presidential Candidates are Winning the Money Race," New York Times, October 15, 2015.

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.

On Saturday, August 23, 2008: Obama Chooses Biden for Veep

Then-Senator Barack Obama announced his selection of Joe Biden to be his running mate via a smartphone text message on August 23, 2008.

The announcement capped months of speculation, including a tip from New York Times reporter David Brooks that "Biden's the one."

And use of the text message foretold the incredible role of social media in politics that we see today.

For a captivating history of the 2008 presidential election, see King's Dream: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States of America, the dynamic story of the campaign as told by both professionals and ordinary people.

Truth and LIes

On September 2, 2008, David Brooks, writing in the New York Times, worried about John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. "She shares McCain's primary weakness - that she has a tendency to substitute a moral philosophy for a political philosophy."

Today, Mitt Romney's GOP running mate, Paul Ryan, is under some scrutiny for misstating the truth in his nomination acceptance speech last week, and for a false description of his running time in a marathon.

The New York Daily News posits: "In his brief period on the national stage, Paul Ryan has demonstrated an uneasy relationship with the truth. His acceptance speech on Wednesday night was one of the most dishonest political speeches in recent U.S. political history. … Ryan’s incessant lying, including about marathon times, is actually pretty important."

Satire Anyone?

On August 31, 2008, political news was abuzz with John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin to be his running mate. In a hilarious New York Times column titled Vice in Go-Go Boots, Maureen Dowd used a chick-flick theme to satirize the GOP ticket, and lamented: "Why do men only pick women as running mates when they need a Hail Mary pass? It’s a little insulting."

Today, political news is abuzz with the GOP-RNC decision to allow actor Clint Eastwood free reign with an empty-chair satire during broadcast TV prime time last night, an odd appearance that is getting as much press as candidate Mitt Romney's convention acceptance speech.

Economic Anxiety

On August 24, 2008, Frank Rich wrote a piece in The New York Times calling on candidate Barack Obama to "rekindle the 'fierce urgency of now'" but not in reference to civil rights or withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Rich urged Obama to move on to "the bigger picture for everyone else" saying "Economic anxiety is the new terrorism."

Four years later, voters are still anxious about the economy and it remains a top campaign issue.

For the Good of the Country

On August 22, 2008, David Brooks of The New York Times wrote that Barack Obama had decided on his vice-presidential running mate. Brooks said he did not know who Obama picked, but hoped he chose Joe Biden. "For the good of the country ... Biden's the one," said Brooks.

On August 18, 2012, Salon's Jonathan Bernstein laid out the reasons why Biden is the "practically perfect" vice president. Read the article here.

Running While Black

On August 2, 2008, Bob Herbert wrote a pointed op-ed in The New York Times declaring, "Spare me any more drivel about the high-mindedness of John McCain. You knew something was up back in March when, in his first ad of the general campaign, Mr. McCain had himself touted as "the American president Americans have been waiting for."

Herbert went on to list a number of attempts by McCain to position Senator Obama as the Other, "certainly not one of us" through ads that were "foul, poisonous."

Noting that "Mr. Obama has to endure these grotesque insults with a smile," Herbert defended Obama's statements to a Missouri audience that caused McCain to cry RACE CARD! See post on 8/1/12. "Senator McCain is the head of a party that has viciously exploited race for political gain for decades. He's obviously more than willing to continue that nauseating tradition," said Herbert.

Breakfast with the Troops

Barack Obama had breakfast with U.S. troops in Kabul as part of his visit to Afghanistan on July 20, 2008. Obama went to an American base in the Afghan capital to dine with soldiers and sailors there. Later that same day, he met with President Hamid Karzai.

In May 2012, Obama and Karzai signed an historic agreement for American and NATO troops to leave Afghanistan by 2014. Karzai will also step down as president the same year.

According to the New York Times, the looming transition is "is causing anxiety among the Afghan elite who have been among the war’s biggest beneficiaries, enriching themselves from American military contracts, insider business deals with foreign companies, government corruption and narcotics trafficking."