Why do obama want to be president

But he faced continuing difficulties winning white working class votes against Clinton in the primaries, and some doubted that he could win their support in the general election against the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona. Partly to expand his appeal to working-class whites, and partly to offset his own modest foreign policy credentials, Obama named Senator Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate on August 22, two days before the opening of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Biden had grown up in blue-collar Scranton, Pennsylvania, and during his thirty-six years as a senator from Delaware, had risen up the seniority ladder to become chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. In his acceptance speech on the last night of the convention, Obama outlined the issues of his general election campaign.

Obama left Denver on August 29 enjoying a small lead over McCain in the polls. Palin of Alaska as his running mate. Palin balanced the Republican ticket in some obvious ways: young rather than old Palin was forty-four, McCain was seventy-two , a woman rather than a man, a governor rather than a senator, and a social conservative rather than a national security conservative. Her rousing acceptance speech at the convention helped to propel the Republican ticket into a small lead over Obama and Biden in early September.

McCain maintained his narrow advantage in the polls until mid-September, when the nation's financial sector, heavily invested in risky mortgage-backed securities, went into a sudden tailspin. In the three nationally televised debates between the presidential candidates that took place from September 26 to October 15, Obama's calm, confident, and competent demeanor impressed voters who were looking for both reassurance that all would be well and a change in the nation's direction.

By eschewing federal campaign funds, Obama was also able to outspend McCain substantially on media advertising and grassroots organizing. In addition, Biden impressed most voters as a much more qualified choice for vice president than Palin, whose unfamiliarity with national and international issues was revealed in a series of television interviews.

And, much to his credit, McCain refused to revive concerns about Obama's long association with Reverend Wright for fear of inflaming racial tensions. Obama was elected handily on November 4, He defeated McCain by 53 percent to 46 percent in the national popular vote.

Exit polls revealed that the two candidates broke even among voters who had participated in the election. But Obama built his majority among first-time voters who surged to the polls in , many of them young or African American. In the Electoral College, Obama prevailed by a margin of to Election night inspired gracious oratory by both candidates.

We both realize that we have come a long way from the injustices that once stained our nation's reputation. Politically, the strategy bore fruit in the midterm elections. And it says: 'Continued on the next bumper sticker. Looking at the stubbornly high unemployment rate Obama inherited on taking office, many voters refused to accept the president's argument that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had kept joblessness from rising even higher.

The new grassroots conservative Tea Party movement fueled a surge in turnout among Republican voters in even as participation among Obama's core constituencies in —young and African American voters—declined. On election day, the Republicans gained 6 seats in the Senate, reducing the Democrats' majority in that chamber from 18 59 to 41 to 6 53 to The GOP added 63 seats in the House of Representatives, enough to gain control of the House by a to majority in the th Congress.

With George W. In return, the GOP accepted President Obama's proposal to extend unemployment benefits for jobless workers for a longer period, and both parties embraced a one-year reduction in social security taxes for everyone who pays them. Republicans feared that federal courts were about to order immediate integration of homosexuals into the armed services.

General Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, persuaded them that the military was prepared to accept the change if allowed to implement it gradually. President Obama entered the election year with job approval ratings that were dangerously low roughly 40 percent and an unemployment rate that was dangerously high more than 8 percent for an incumbent seeking reelection.

But, like Bill Clinton in and George W. Bush in , Obama benefited enormously from not having to fight for his party's nomination. Gerald Ford in , Jimmy Carter in , and George Bush in had to wage such battles, and each of them was defeated by his general election opponent in November.

In contrast, Obama was able to use the first eight months of to raise money, rebuild his campaign organization, develop lines of attack on his likely Republican opponents, and launch his general election campaign from a united, enthusiastic Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Caroline, in September The pragmatic Biden has pledged to heal the bitter schism between red and blue states.

He could well be just the kind of Republican leader that Joe Biden is going to need on inauguration day and other key moments to signal normalcy after the deranged presidency of Donald Trump. Other commentators suggest that Obama could be a valuable bulwark for the moderate Biden as he faces pressure from his left flank on issues such as police reform and the climate crisis.

He is about to discover whether, even with the powers of the presidency, he can truly emerge from it. But given the multiple crises he faces from the moment he steps into the Oval Office, it could prove a nice problem to have. He knows who he is and frankly he loves and admires Barack Obama.

This is not even on his radar screen. This period in the Senate was key to his future successes, as he would be judged on his time their by the voting public. Yet although this is a good voting record, it was not unprecedented, for example Senator Ken Salazar, who was elected to the Senate at the same time as Obama. However this mind-set would soon change.

The focus of this chapter is the three year period between and Throughout this period Obama changed as a man and a politician. He went from an unknown Illinois State Senator to announcing his candidacy for the Presidential Election. In analysing how he became President in four short years, it is important to understand why Obama decided to run. The two most important moments during the three year period were the Democratic Convention and the Midterm Elections.

These events, and their aftermath saw the American voting public and press begin to ask whether this young Senator could be their next President. The importance of the Keynote Address is that it set Obama aside. It set him aside from other traditional African American politicians.

Obama understood the need to represent a new era of politics. From reports it is clear that Obama appealed to an audience of mixed racial and economic backgrounds. In particular he appealed to whites, a demographic group that historically African Americans politicians have struggled to appeal to.

By quoting the Founding Fathers of the country with admiringly, rather than facetiously, Obama appealed to the white audience. Sharpton spoke to his audience about the failings of Lincoln, the Civil Rights movement and the reparations owed to African Americans.

Sharpton focused on the trauma of African Americans explicitly in front of a mainly white audience, failing to take into account that they could well be feeling the aftershock of their own traumas.

Though somewhat extremely, Sharpton epitomises the traditional view of the African American politician. Obama, who is very much part of the new generation of African American politicians, reflects an ability to integrate competing visions of reality, instead of placing himself within a black tradition Frank, pp Instead he chose to cite his unusual racial and cultural backgrounds in his Address, enabling himself to come across as diverse.

It allowed the audience, in particular the working class audience, to perceive Obama differently. It allowed him to appeal to white voters. Typically many working class voters would be wary of African American candidates, feeling that they promote black interests at the expense of their own interests. The Keynote Address is important to understanding how Obama became President, because this is where he was able to show the nation that he was different, which played a large part in making him so universally likeable and interesting.

And thus many people of diverse backgrounds across the country began consider whether Obama might become their President. Moreover he had only been a Senator for two years. Therefore many would argue that Obama had far too little experience of national politics to be able to launch a credible campaign for the Presidency, particularly in comparison to previous contenders Clayton, pp Yet by the idea of Obama running for President had gained a hint of plausibility, as the political playing field had been seen to shift dramatically, and so had the mood of the country.

This played a large part in securing a resounding victory for Democrats in the midterm elections, where they won the House for the first time in twelve years as well as enough Senate races to control that chamber for only the second time in twelve years. The election had swept many Republicans from office, and this change had left voters hungry for more change.

Without this hunger for change the idea of an Obama candidacy would arguably not have taken off. Signs were showing that America was ready for change, due to disenfranchisement with ideological bankruptcy, and not necessarily the incompetence of President Bush. This is why Obama announced his candidacy in The election had shown that America was ready for change.

Obama was very much still the outsider, yet this would end up benefiting Obama more. Obama had to strike whilst the iron was hot. If he was not to run in he would have to wait four to eight years before being able to challenge for the Presidency and by then he may not have been as popular or relevant.

That is why after the midterms Obama was to meet with a proposed team and his family in Chicago to decide whether he should run. The main focus of this chapter has been to introduce Obama, most importantly highlighting two key moments within the early stages of the four year period. The DNC address and the midterm elections serve this purpose well as they are both very much starting points. The DNC address introduced Obama to the world and saw him and begin to gain his attraction.

The Midterm elections were another beginning as Obama began to decide that he should run for president. In the second chapter I will be analysing how the Obama campaign was able to overcome the Clinton campaign. It will explore the Obama Phenomenon and how Obama was able to take advantage of grassroots campaigning as well as low level fundraising to reduce the gap with Clinton in the early stages of the campaign.

The contest between Clinton and Obama during the Democratic Party primaries not only produced record voter turnout numbers but fuelled a voter mobilisation movement CSAE, The high turnout reflected the excitement generated by each of the candidates, with one vying to be the first African American President and the other the first female President McVeigh, pp The campaign trail would see each of the candidates push each other well beyond the limit to achieve victory.

One of the main areas that would seemingly separate the two candidates, and arguably one of the most important over the course of the Democratic primaries was the branding of Obama. The success of the Obama brand can be identified as one of the reasons that Obama was to beat Clinton. Social psychologists have recognized a link between appearance and impression formation.

The differences and contrast between the candidates become apparent almost immediately Figure Two , Obama offers a striking contrast to Clinton, a women who at the time was in her late fifties; In fact, she was made to appear more youthful, in an attempt to appeal to the younger vote, a demographic that both candidates would heavily target.

Therefore by Obamas application of a grassroots brand interlinked with social media Obama was able to become very much the candidate of the people.

By taking advantage of social media resources available to them, Obama was able to get ahead of Clinton during the primaries by tapping into the Web 2. This is where the Obama campaign were able to be strategic and smart, constantly making sure their message of change was being heard where people were already assembled.

By the end of the first quarter of , the impact of the online grassroots campaign base was beginning to show, with over , people having signed up to the Obama campaign online Plouffe, pp Although Clinton had raised more capital than Obama, which was expected, what was not expected was the amount the Obama campaign would raise.

It transcended race, it ran deeper than the vagaries of daily campaigning, and it represented a generational and cultural shift occurring during this time. The importance of the Democratic Primaries can be seen on two levels, the first being that it was the first time since that no incumbent president or vice president was in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Therefore the victor is going to have to bridge these gaps to secure the nomination. It was by bridging these gaps that Obama was able to secure the nomination in From the first days, the Obama campaign was a hybrid of corporate management and community organising, drawing half its drive from an executive boardroom and half from the street politics of its young staff Wolffe: pp Upon entering the primaries it became clear that the real choice in this election would lie between conventional Washington thinking that prizes posture and positing and real change in the form of Obama that put judgement and honesty first Luce, This allowed Obama to group Clinton with the Bush administration, implying a vote for Clinton, would be a vote in the wrong direction.

It was to be differences like this that were to separate the two candidates. However, what is just as striking is the support that came from voters who were not Democrats. Although it is clear that Obama was rightfully the Democrat who had the most appeal to voters outside the Democrat party, unless these supporters were to register with the party they would not be able to help Obama in this contest.

However these numbers can be interpreted as positive, as if Obama was to clinch the nomination it would be these disgruntled Republican votes that could help Obama to win the general election.

Here we have an indicator of how Obama won Iowa. And so one can understand why Clinton, although she was to hold the greatest amount of support, was not the leading candidate amongst caucus attendees ibid. This is paramount, as Obama held the greater support amongst caucus attendees, gaining support among the most educated and wealthy Democrats, as well as the young and those opposed to the Iraq war. This would motivate and encouraged swing voters along with voters who rarely came to the polls to hand Obama a nine point victory in early January His vision was vague enough to attract a diverse range of followers that were seeking various kinds of change.

Supporters were able to have faith in the idea that almost anything was possible. This range of supporters would let the Obama campaign actively to encourage broad participation. Bligh, pp The last Democratic candidate to win the Iowa caucus that did not go on to win the Democratic nomination was Tom Harkin in Therefore the Obama campaign was in a strong position entering the New Hampshire primary.

However it was here that Obama would face his greatest setback as Clinton was to clinch victory taking Ultimately the Democratic Party primaries reflected a David vs Goliath contest. On one side you had David Obama and on the other you had Goliath Clinton.

The reason for such strength lay in the team assembled by Obama. By having such renowned political strategists as David Plouffe, David Axelrod, Steve Hildebrand and Paul Tewes, the campaign was able to build a strong foundation of trust.

This contrasts with Clinton staffers and consultants whose infighting and division ate away at the Clinton campaign, exposing its weaknesses, whilst Obama was insistent there was to be no drama within his campaign. By having such a strong team of political strategists at his disposal the campaign managed to master some of the most arcane rules in politics.

They out-manoeuvred and out spent Clinton, the candidate that had every advantage at the start of the contest. It almost appears, when scrutinising the Clinton campaign, that there was never any plan B, to fall back on.

Ultimately, gender was to also play a role in why Clinton was to lose to Obama. One gets the impression that America was far more ready for an African American President than a women president. Although she came very close, Obama was to secure the Democratic Nomination, having run a better campaign, with a better message, a message of change.

The focus of this chapter is to explore the three month period in the lead up to the presidential election. These are important to analyse as they were both to affect the outcome of the election.

In the presidential election both the Republican and the Democratic candidate were to make interesting choices in their selection of running mates.

Although it is regarded that. Vice presidential candidates have no influences or no impact on a campaign; in this was not to be the case Romero, pp Obama selected Joe Biden, a six term senator from Delaware, best known for his expertise on foreign affairs.

In contrast, McCain was to court the shock factor in choosing his running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin; this was the first time that a female candidate had been placed on the Republican ticket. As a poll conducted by Gallup on the 30 th August showed, seven out of ten Americans had never heard of Palin Newport, For that reason there must have been something McCain saw in Palin that others did not. Retrospectively the qualities that McCain saw in Palin are apparent.

Firstly the selection can be seen as an attempt to steal the thunder from the Democrats, in the wake of Obama accepting the Democratic nomination. With this being the case, why select a politician who had only served as governor one month longer than Obama had been running for President? It simply does not make sense, and appears more of a political stunt than a sound reasoned decision.

The election would ultimately be won on the economy. Throughout elections, in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States, there is by and large widespread public consensus on the aims of public policy. The classic example is the economy, as just about everyone supports the aims of a vibrant economy characterised by low rates of inflation, unemployment and growth Scotto, pp The result of the election in America reflected a nation that had the state of the economy on its mind.

In this election Obama played upon this idea. This is why President Bush was able to secure a second term as President in , as things were going well. On the other hand by , the country was headed into recession, the economy was in turmoil and growth in terms GDP had sunk as low as The Obama campaign could have never anticipated the crisis.

Drum, In the run into the Election Day McCain was not to make up the ground he had lost, as McCain struggled to install confidence among voters that he was right candidate for the task at hand. By the time of the third debate in October, it was clear that McCain was falling behind. In a time where America needed a strong leader to step up and take control, Obama was able to connect with the electorate on a personal level during this time of uncertainty to reassure the American people brighter days are ahead.

On the 4 th November , the American electorate was to elect the first African American president. Although most polls had predicted that Obama was to win the election few predicted the extent of the victory.