Talk:2004 United States Senate election in Illinois

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NPOV[edit]

This article has serious problems with WP:NPOV#Undue_weight, in that it overly focuses on Alan Keyes and the Keyes campaign, relative to Obama and the various other aspects of the campaign. Wasted Time R 23:12, 9 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I have to agree. Moreover, it is obviously written by a Keyes partisan. I would point out that Obama carried some counties which had last gone for a Democratic senatorial candidate when Stephen Douglas beat Abraham Lincoln in 1856. Jhobson1 23:44, 16 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Did obama just sit back and ride his cool-guy image?? This article deserves to be blanked, for good. Or completely re-written, but I'm sure there is little information available other than election statistics. Seriously though, something should be done. This article is utterly disappointing. s. stallings 02:58, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, but your solution - to remove large blocks of material regarding the Keyes campaign - has overdone it. Some of what you removed were highly publicized, well-documented moments in the overall election period that were important in giving Obama his huge win. Wasted Time R 21:30, 2 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Taking off neutrality flag[edit]

I see no reason to keep the neutrality flag on this article because

  1. The NPOV sweep I just did uncovered little that was non-neutral
  2. No effort has been made by the flagger to fix problems s/he has flagged.
  3. No suggestions have been made on the talk page to fix these alleged problems.

Unless I hear otherwise, I'm removing the neutrality flag. I'll give everyone two weeks.

JakeZ (talk) 07:35, 7 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Ben Wallace-Wells is not a reliable source[edit]

Rolling Stone contributing editor Ben Wallace-Wells' inaccurate, misleading, speculative second-hand account of a campaign he didn't cover in his April 1, 2007 New York Times Magazine profile[1] of David Axelrod is not a reliable source for this article:

David Mendell, the reporter who covered the 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Democratic primary campaigns and then Obama's 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate general election campaign for the Chicago Tribune:

  • and: "revealed, near the bottom of a long profile of Hull, that during a divorce proceeding, Hull’s second wife filed for an order of protection."
  • and "later acknowledged in print that the Obama camp had 'worked aggressively behind the scenes' to push the story."
  • devoted a dozen chapters (156 pages; pp. 147–302) in his 2007 biography of Obama to the 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate campaign.
    • Mendell, David (August 14, 2007). Obama: From Promise to Power New York: Amistad/HarperCollins ISBN 0060858206 (hardcover):
    • Mendell, David (April 15, 2008). Obama: From Promise to Power New York: Amistad/HarperCollins ISBN 0060858214 (paperback):
      • including this paragraph on pages 212–3 of Chapter 15. Hull on Wheels:

        Nevertheless, Hull's ads were working. And when Hynes quick hit of television had no effect, the Hynes brain trust began worrying even more about Hull. Hynes's campaign spokesperson, Chris Mather, stepped up her phone calls to me and other reporters in hopes of slowing the Hull momentum. However, the intense lobbying effort actually had the opposite effect with me. Hynes's obvious fear gave Hull even more credibility. At about this time, I met with a Hynes operative for lunch. When I had gone to meet Mather earlier in the campaign season, we convened near Hynes's office. But this operative wanted to come to me, so we gathered at a North Michigan Avenue restaurant just a couple of doors from the Tribune Tower. Before I had taken a bite of my grilled chicken sandwich, I was handed a folder of opposition research on Hull. Among the papers was a copy of the outside sheet of the filing of one of Hull's two divorces in Illinois. Hull, in fact, had been divorced three times. He was married to his first wife for nearly thirty years, raising three children with her. After moving to Chicago, he then twice married and divorced the same woman. The rest of the divorce file had been sealed, and this vague court order was the only document publicly available. The order contained only one salient fact: Hull's second wife, Brenda Sexton, had once been granted an order of protection against him.

Newross (talk) 01:04, 20 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I've added a second footnote to support what the NY Times Magazine reported.Ferrylodge (talk) 01:21, 20 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Changing position[edit]

The cited source says: “Obama reversed his position on Republican rival Jack Ryan's divorce file Friday, calling on fellow Democrats to refrain from trying to inject it into the campaign.”

Therefore, it seems accurate to say that Obama changed his position on this. Is there any source to the contrary? It seems that, prior to the reversal, Obama declined to discourage fellow Democrats from injecting it into the campaign.Ferrylodge (talk) 21:15, 3 June 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I'm having trouble using this interface to comment. However the lack of honesty here is striking. The primary turning point in this race was when Blair Hull's divorce records were unsealed. This strategy regardless of your partisan/legal opinions was vital in this race, and repeated itself in the statewide race vs. Ryan. The "landslide" was surprising if one examines the race from the outset. It is not so "surprising" when you realize Hull was a strong favorite, and given his vote totals his supporters had to vote for someone, because they clearly did not vote for Hull. This info is in the Blair Hull wiki page, but not here. This isn't a political point it's an "article legitimacy" point. The unsealing of Hull's divorce record, and his subsequent attempts to counteract this (advertisements with his daughters" is of vital importance to understanding the campaign. This has been removed or omitted by partisans. This absence goes to the heart of the wiki-project as an honest/open/truthful/uncenaored movement. It needs to be in there, despite it might appear unseemly. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.132.134.171 (talk) 22:14, 12 December 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Were there any issues in this race?[edit]

Did either side have a platform or issues they would have liked to address? No evidence of that from the article, which seems odd to me. 138.162.128.53 (talk) 05:54, 22 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Assessment for WP:WikiProject Barack Obama[edit]

I've rated the importance of this article to the project as High, as a major election and turning point. The quality clearly meets each of the six criteria for B-class - although I agree with the previous poster that it is short on coverage of the issues, the circumstances of the Ryan withdrawal appear to be of higher priority. I think there will need to be considerable fleshing out of such details before Good Article status is reached. Mike Serfas (talk) 04:32, 30 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Keyes refusing to concede to Obama[edit]

I KNOW I have a reference to this in one of my Obama books, but I don't have it right in front of me. When I get home I'm gonna look in Audacity of Hope, because I think there's a reference to Keyes not conceding or calling Obama to congratulate him. Jennifer (talk) 20:34, 9 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

A rising star in the national Democratic Party[edit]

Obama's landslide victory in the March 2004 U.S. Senate primary election is biographically important for making him, overnight, a rising star in the national Democratic Party, because being a rising star in the national Democratic Party assured Obama a speaking role—and put him on the shortlist (along with other rising stars in the national Democratic Party like first-term Governors Jennifer Granholm, 45, of Michigan, Janet Napolitano, 46, of Arizona, Bill Richardson, 56, of New Mexico, all elected in 2002; first-term Governor Mark Warner, 49, of Virginia, elected in 2001; and second-term Governor Tom Vilsack, 53, of Iowa, re-elected in 2002)[2] to give the keynote address—at the 2004 Democratic National Convention put on by the national Democratic Party.

This was not sufficiently sourced (only seven reliable sources were cited) in the 2004 U.S. Senate campaign subsection of the Barack Obama article where only freely-available articles were cited, so additional contemporaneous news articles available in paid archives of newspapers are being cited in this article and talk page to provide sufficient sourcing:

post-March 16, 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Democratic primary election landslide victory:

  1. Mendell, David (March 17, 2004). Obama routs Democratic foes; Ryan tops crowded GOP field; Hynes, Hull fall far short across state. Chicago Tribune, p. 1.
  2. Fornek, Scott; Herguth, Robert C. (March 17, 2004). Obama defeats Hull's millions, Hynes' name; Consistent effort results in landslide for Hyde Parker. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 2.
  3. Brown, Mark (March 17, 2004). Voters warmed to Obama, the next hot politician. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 2:

    By running away with the election, Obama showed a broad-based appeal to Democratic voters that would have seemed impossible not that long ago in a race-conscious state. He drew votes from one end of Chicago to the other, from one end of the state to the other.
    If he is elected in November, Obama will immediately replace Colin Powell as the person most talked about to be the first African-American elected president of the United States. That's a heavy load to put on any 42-year-old. Everybody who goes to the U.S. Senate thinks he's going to be president someday. Obama is one of the handful who really could be.

  4. Wills, Christopher (Associated Press) (March 18, 2004). Republican Ryan trying to battle new Democratic star despite questions. Times-Courier:

    Barack Obama crushed his opponents to capture the U.S. Senate nomination and establish himself as a new Democratic star in a race with national implications.

  5. Mendell, David (March 18, 2004). Ryan, Obama enter new ring; Democrat carries high hopes of blacks with him to center stage. Chicago Tribune, p. 1:

    Obama's ascension to political star is being watched nationally, in large part, because of the symbolism of his candidacy and what it means to black Americans.

  6. Sweet, Lynn (March 18, 2004). Senate Democrats race to raise cash for Obama. The Obama campaign energized voters. The Ryan election did not get people to the polls. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 43:

    There is one stunning statistic from Tuesday's statewide voting.
    Voters streamed to the Democratic primary ballot almost 2-1 over Republicans. With 98 percent of the vote counted, about 1.2 million voters cast a ballot in the Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday compared with about 640,000 Republicans. Obama won with more votes —about 642,305—than all eight GOP hopefuls combined.
    The Obama campaign energized voters. The Ryan election effort did not get people to the polls.
    With this high Democratic turnout, Obama won an impressive, majority victory over six rivals.
    Ryan's victory came only in a plurality vote in an eight-man GOP primary that did not generate turnout.

  7. Krol, Eric (March 18, 2004). Campaign starts early for Ryan, Obama; Senate hopefuls already trying to define each other. Daily Herald, p. 1:

    And they'll be mulling that over that while state Sen. Obama, already billed by Democrats as a new national star, tries to build on the strong showing he made across the state in a seven-way primary full of top-shelf candidates.

  8. . (March 18, 2004). Illinois primary victor is Party's Senate hope; Democratic leaders see the state as a key battleground in their effort to regain control. Los Angeles Times, p. A25:

    Hours after his overwhelming primary victory, Barack Obama got a phone call that in many ways signaled his arrival as the new Democratic star in a Senate race with national implications. The man on the phone Wednesday morning was Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry, who called to congratulate the Ivy League-educated state senator and former civil rights lawyer for his victory.
    Although 34 Senate seats are up for grabs in November, Democratic leaders have targeted Illinois as a key battleground in their effort to regain control. Obama is seeking to become the third black U.S. senator since Reconstruction. Illinois is widely seen as leaning Democratic, and has voted Democratic in the last three presidential elections.

  9. Tilove, Jonathan (Newhouse News Service) (March 18, 2004). Barack Obama: Black Senate candidate a rising star. Mobile Register, p. A06:

    With his smashing victory in Tuesday's primary to become the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, the 42-year-old state senator and University of Chicago law instructor stands poised to enter the national stage, and history. If elected—and the odds now favor him—he would be only the third black senator since Reconstruction.

  10. Davey, Monica (March 18, 2004). "As quickly as overnight, a Democratic star is born." The New York Times, p. A20:

    But Mr. Obama, a state senator from Chicago, awoke Wednesday to a deluge of national attention, a result of his overwhelming victory the night before by margins unforeseen by any polls or guesses. John Kerry called. So did Senator Tom Daschle and Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic national chairman. And the phone kept ringing.
    Overnight, Mr. Obama, a former civil rights lawyer, has become a treasured commodity in the Democratic Party nationally, in part because Democrats see the Illinois seat as one they may easily snatch back from Republicans in November, and in part because Mr. Obama would be the only black member of the Senate.

  11. Howlett, Debbie (March 19, 2004). "Dems see a rising star in Illinois Senate candidate." USA Today, p. A04:

    Today, three days after his landslide victory in that crowded field, the self-described "skinny guy with the funny name" is the odds-on favorite to win in November and become the only African-American in the Senate and only the third black senator since Reconstruction. Partisans in Washington consider him a shooting star in the November elections. A few whisper about a presidential future. "He's the real deal," says Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
    Illinois, which leans Democratic in federal elections, could be pivotal. Republicans control the Senate 51-48, with one independent who often votes with the Democrats.

  12. Harwood, John (March 31, 2004). Presidential politics overshadows rise of state-level stars. The Wall Street Journal, p. A4:

    Barack Obama is a Third Culture Kid—born in Hawaii of a Kenyan father and white American mother, raised in Indonesia, educated in New York and Cambridge, Mass. Now he's favored to win a Senate seat in Illinois.
    Every four years, the focus on presidential politics obscures the rise of new talents. Twenty years ago a mentor of Mr. Obama's, Paul Simon, won an Illinois Senate seat as Ronald Reagan won a second term; by 1988 Mr. Simon was running for president himself.
    Mr. Obama breaks the mold simply by running. Only two blacks have been elected to the Senate in the past 100 years; neither had an African surname.

  13. Romano, Lois (April 10, 2004). Kerry sprinkles jobs message with attacks on Iraq policy. The Washington Post, p. A4:

    Joined by Illinois Senate nominee Barack Obama, one of the Democratic Party's rising stars, Kerry attacked President Bush for cutting $1.8 million from Illinois' federal allocation for job-training programs.

  14. Fornek, Scott (April 12, 2004). Obama's poll puts him far ahead of Ryan. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 7:

    To some degree, the numbers mirror the primary results. Obama, 42, a state senator from Hyde Park, won a majority of 53 percent against six Democrats, while Ryan, 44, a Wilmette investment banker-turned-schoolteacher, won his eight-way nominating contest with a plurality of 36 percent. Vying to become only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate in the last 100 years, Obama has enjoyed mostly positive media coverage since his victory, with party leaders and pundits invariably dubbing him "a rising star." Last week, a CNN reporter dubbed Obama a "rock star-esque candidate."

  15. Kuhnhenn, James (May 24, 2004). With seven retirements, control of Senate is at stake in election. The Philadelphia Inquirer, p. A02:

    Both candidates have impressive resumes—the Democrat is Barack Obama, a Harvard Law graduate, state senator and rising Democratic star. If elected, he would become the only African American in the Senate.

  16. Scheiber, Noam (May 31, 2004). Race against history. Barack Obama's miraculous campaign. The New Republic, pp. 21–22, 24–26 (cover story).
  17. Finnegan, William (May 31, 2004). The Candidate. How far can Barack Obama go? The New Yorker, pp. 32–38.
  18. Dionne Jr., E. J. (June 25, 2004). In Illinois, a star prepares. The Washington Post, p. A29.


post-June 25, 2004 withdrawal of March 2004 Illinois U.S. Senate Republican primary election winner Jack Ryan:

  1. Kinzer, Stephen (June 26, 2004). Candidate, under pressure, quits Senate race in Illinois. The New York Times, p. A8:

    Its task is complicated by the fact that the Democratic candidate, State Senator Barack Obama, has a comfortable lead in the polls and is widely regarded as a rising Democratic star.

  2. Schoenburg, Bernard (June 26, 2004). Ryan quits Senate race; State GOP braces for a tough fight against popular Democrat. Peoria Journal Star, p. A1:

    Rising star
    On Friday, Obama was featured in a Washington Post column by E.J. Dionne Jr., titled, "In Illinois, a Star Prepares." "Already there's speculation that he may be the first African-American president of the United States—and he's only a state senator," Dionne wrote.
    In another sign of national Democrats' belief that Obama is a rising star, he will deliver the Democrats' national weekly radio address today.

  3. Friedman, Stefan C. (June 27, 2004). Dems boost rising black star. New York Post, p. 13:

    In a sign that national Democrats are making a serious push to pick up a soon-to-be vacant Senate seat in Illinois, candidate Barack Obama yesterday delivered his party's response to President Bush's weekly radio address.

  4. Mendell, David (July 7, 2004). Fundraising has set record, Obama says; $4 million raked in in the last quarter. Chicago Tribune, p. 1 (Metro):

    Obama's financial success is due in large part to his image as a rising star among national Democrats.

  5. Healy, Patrick (July 13, 2004). Kerry hones campaign themes; With the big event two weeks away, picks up pace, cash. The Boston Globe, p. A3:

    The Kerry campaign plans to release the themes and speakers' list for the July 26-29 convention at a news conference today in Washington, and aides said to expect a featured speaking slot for a rising African-American star in the party, US Senate candidate Barack Obama of Illinois.

  6. Sweet, Lynn (July 14, 2004). Dems plan to showcase Obama, Reagan. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 26:

    Past presidents, Democratic rising stars and John Kerry's and John Edwards' families will be showcased when the Democrats meet in Boston later this month to nominate Kerry for president. On Tuesday, Democratic planners doled out details of the convention in order to keep interest up—leaving out some names, like Ron Reagan's, for later announcements. Prime time speaking spots will be prized because the three major broadcast networks plan to show only an hour of the convention each night. One prominent time has been reserved for Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate candidate from Illinois, though the day and slot have not been finalized.

  7. Lannan, Maura Kelly (Associated Press) (July 14, 2004). Will Ditka tackle run for Da Senate? Tough-talking former Bears coach says he is considering it. Herald & Review, p. A1:

    The party's top choices have refused to run, leaving leaders scrambling to find a replacement with the money and recognition to beat a Barack Obama, a state senator and rising star in the Democratic Party, with less than four months to campaign.


post-July 14, 2004 announcement of Obama to give the July 27, 2004 keynote address at the Democratic National Convention:

  1. Zuckman, Jill; Mendell, David (July 15, 2004). Obama to give keynote address. Chicago Tribune, p. 1:

    Accelerating his rapid ascent in national politics, state Sen. Barack Obama has been chosen to make the case for John Kerry's presidential candidacy as the keynote speaker at the Democratic convention here in two weeks, a position historically reserved for party elders or rising stars.
    For the Kerry campaign, the choice of Obama has great meaning as officials try to dispel criticism that they have done a poor job of reaching out to African-American voters. Kerry began to focus on Obama, the Democratic candidate for Senate in Illinois, for a role at the convention after meeting him for the first time and listening to him speak at a gala fundraiser in Chicago in April. As Obama addressed the donors in the ballroom of the Hyatt, national finance Chairman Louis Susman told Kerry and David Wilhelm, the Midwest finance chairman, that "this guy will be on a national ticket someday." To that, according to the aide, Kerry replied, "Well, I have a way in mind for him to be at the national convention this year. He should be one of the faces of our party now, not years from now."
    The selection of Obama, announced Wednesday by the Kerry campaign, represents another measure of the extraordinary trajectory of his political career, and along with it, outsized expectations for a state senator, albeit a candidate for U.S. Senate.
    The keynote speaker slot has been a decidedly mixed blessing for other aspiring politicians. In 1984, New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's stirring address catapulted him to national fame. In 1988, Texas Treasurer Ann Richards earned raves for her mocking speech when she said then-Vice President George Bush was born with a silver foot in his mouth. In 1996 in Chicago, then-Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh's speech was a benign event, as was Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr.'s speech in 2000. Obama's address, however, may not be viewed as widely as his predecessors. The broadcast television networks have said they will not show the convention on the night he speaks, a Tuesday, the same night Teresa Heinz Kerry will address the convention.

  2. Krol, Eric (July 15, 2004). Convention spotlight to shine on Obama. Daily Herald, p. 15:

    Confirming his status as a rapidly rising star in the Democratic Party, U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama will give the keynote address at his party's national convention in Boston later this month. Democratic presidential challenger Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts picked Obama Thursday to deliver the primetime address on July 27, the second night of the convention. The state senator from Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood will have a national cable audience even if the broadcast networks don't carry it. Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill said Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards wanted to showcase the party's future and Obama is a "new leader on the stage." "He really leapt out as someone people would want to see," Cahill said.

  3. Healy, Patrick (July 15, 2004). Kerry takes steps to attract African-American voters. The Boston Globe, p. A3:

    The convention lineup is becoming crowded. Along with Obama's speech July 27, Teresa Heinz Kerry will introduce herself and the Kennedy family will be honored with an address by Senator Edward M. Kennedy that some Democrats are calling a keynote. Christie Vilsack, wife of Iowa's governor, will also speak that night, as will Ron Reagan, the son of the late president. Reagan will champion stem-cell research.
    ABC, CBS, and NBC have decided to skip live coverage of the convention that night, citing a lack of news, but campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill told reporters yesterday that she hopes Obama's keynote address will prompt them to reconsider.
    In asking Obama to speak, Cahill said that Kerry wanted to "showcase tomorrow," or one of the future leaders of the Democratic Party... Cahill yesterday called the new keynote speaker "an optimistic voice for America."
    Obama, 42, is widely favored to win the US Senate seat being vacated by a Republican.

  4. Lambrecht, Bill (July 15, 2004). Democrats give Obama keynote slot at convention. St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A4:

    His speech in Boston on July 27 isn't scheduled for prime-time viewing in the television networks' reduced convention coverage. Nonetheless, it is a highly prized slot awarded every four years to rising political stars. Obama is the third African-American to receive the keynoter opportunity since 1976; Barbara Jordan, the late Texas congresswoman, delivered the speech in 1976, and Rep. Harold Ford Jr. of Tennessee in 2000.

  5. Kurtz, Howard (July 15, 2004). Kerry invests $2 million in ads to court black voters. The Washington Post, p. A8:

    They also announced that Barack Obama, an African American favored to win a Senate seat in Illinois, will deliver the keynote address July 27 at the Democratic convention. The 42-year-old state senator and Harvard Law graduate, praised by Kerry as "an optimistic voice for America and a leader," is considered one of the party's hottest young stars and would be the third black U.S. senator in a century.

  6. Gibson, William E. (July 18, 2004). Parties prep for prime time, but networks cut coverage of conventions. South Florida Sun-Sentinel, p. 1A:

    A rising star still unknown to most voters nationwide, Barack Obama, age 42, has dazzled Democrats during his U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois.

  7. Lannan, Maura Kelly (Associated Press) (July 22, 2004). Times get tougher for Ill. GOP. The Philadelphia Inquirer, p. A03:

    Whoever steps in will face Democratic State Sen. Barack Obama, who is considered a national rising star in his party and will give the keynote address at next week's Democratic National Convention.

  8. Zeller Jr., Tom; Truslow, Hugh K. (July 25, 2004). Democrats, lend me your ears. The New York Times, p. 12 (Week in Review):

    Mr. Obama, who stands a good chance to be the next United States senator from Illinois, remains something of an unknown quantity in set-piece oratory, but it is safe to say a nationally televised prime-time keynote speech is a whole new kind of scrutiny for him. Keynotes are frequently showcases for the party's promising new faces and come with high expectations. They can articulate broad themes of the party, but in the main seek to energize and unify the faithful. Already seen as a rising star within the party, Mr. Obama could win wide acclaim or dim his fortunes.

  9. Paulson, Amanda (July 27, 2004). Showcasing a coterie of new Democratic stars. The Christian Science Monitor, p. 10:

    Even if Mr. Obama weren't giving the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, there would be little doubt about his future in the Democratic Party.
    With Obama running unopposed (until state Republicans choose a successor to former candidate Jack Ryan), pundits have stopped writing about the Senate seat, and begun looking farther down the road, even speculating about his potential as a someday presidential candidate.

Newross (talk) 02:37, 14 December 2009 (UTC) Newross (talk) 02:16, 29 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Dreams from My Father[edit]

On March 16, 2004, Obama won the Democratic primary by an unexpected landslide—receiving 53% of the vote, 29% ahead of his nearest Democratic rival, with a vote total that nearly equaled that of all eight Republican candidates combined—which overnight made him a rising star in the national Democratic Party, started speculation about a presidential future, and led to the reissue of his memoir, Dreams from My Father.

  • Turow, Scott (March 30, 2004). The new face of the Democratic Party -- and America. Salon.com.
  • Merli, Melissa (July 18, 2004). Obama book a reflection on family, race, identity. The News-Gazette, p. E7:

    Barack Obama was 33 years old and had not yet entered politics when he finished writing his memoir "Dreams from My Father: A Story of Inheritance and Race."
    It's devoid of politics per se and reads like a novel. "It's more of reflection on family and race and identity," the rising star in politics said Wednesday.

    The Chicago Tribune reported that John Kerry has picked Obama to be the keynote speaker at the Democratic convention in two weeks in Boston, a position historically reserved for party elders or rising stars.

    "Dreams from My Father," ... will be reissued in August. Obama recently wrote a new preface for the reissue.

  • Cader, Michael (July 30, 2004). Publishers eyeing Obama. The New York Sun.
  • Leroux, Charles (August 6, 2004). The buzz around Obama's book. Chicago Tribune, p. 1 (Tempo):

    After it hit bookstores in 1995, the book did well but was no blockbuster. Two years later, it was out of print. Until now.
    Three Rivers Press, a subsidiary of Crown Books, has republished "Dreams" in paperback. It will be on sale Tuesday.
    As this is being written, Obama's memoir is No. 14 (based on presales) on the amazon.com top 50 list, four behind "My Life" by Bill Clinton.
    It is No. 9 on the barnsandnoble.com biographies list.

    "I read the book in March, just after he won the Illinois Democratic primary by such a wide margin, (53 percent in a seven-candidate race)" said Rachel Klayman, senior editor at Crown Books, which inherited the rights to the book.
    "As an editor, it struck me that a lot of people who write professionally don't write as well as he does.
    We decided the primary victory presented a good opportunity to take a wonderful book and find a new readership for it."
    Klayman said her company has printed 50,000 copies, and she's certain that they'll be printing more.

    After Obama gave the keynote address (which he wrote) to the Democratic National Convention earlier this month, copies of the original hardcover "Dreams" began to pop up for sale on eBay and other Internet sites.
    As this is written, copies are going for as much as $315.
    At a campaign stop, Obama told The Associated Press that the new edition is coming out "not a moment too soon. I don't want people spending that much for my book."
    But the prices for the rare original do not seem to be declining as the publication of a new edition nears.
    It seems that the people bidding up the value of "Dreams" see it as something wrought by a man for whom they have the highest of expectations.

  • Sisario, Ben (December 20, 2004). Obama gets $1.9 million deal for books. The New York Times, p. E2.
  • Sweet, Lynn (March 17, 2005). Be-bop, Barack and bucks from book; Barack Obama's book has been on the New York Times best-seller list for 31 weeks. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 39:

    The book was originally published in 1995 and went nowhere.
    After Obama's big Illinois primary win a year ago, he signed a deal to reissue the out-of-print volume.
    Propelled by his successful keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, the book rocketed to the top of best-seller lists.

  • Sweet, Lynn (June 16, 2005). Book deals put Obama in millionaires' club; Freshman senator sells Hyde Park condo, moving to Kenwood. Chicago Sun-Times, p. 18.
  • Dey, Jim (August 27, 2005). Bookish Obama writes a new chapter in Illinois. The News-Gazette, p. A6.
  • Scott, Janny (May 18, 2008). The story of Obama, written by Obama. The New York Times, p. A1:

    But within a few years, “Dreams from My Father” was out of print.
    Then in March 2004, Mr. Obama’s political and literary fortunes abruptly shifted.
    His victory in a tightly contested United States Senate primary in Illinois made him an overnight Democratic Party sensation.

    In New York City, Rachel Klayman, an editor at Crown Books, read a Salon.com article on Mr. Obama by the author Scott Turow, an Obama friend, titled “The New Face of the Democratic Party — and America.”
    Ms. Klayman looked up Mr. Obama’s memoir on Amazon.com and found that the rights were controlled by Crown, which now had the Times Books list.
    She sent an e-mail message to her boss, suggesting that Crown reissue the book.
    She contacted Ms. Dystel and asked Mr. Obama to write a new preface, which came in nearly word perfect.

    Then Mr. Obama was chosen to give the keynote speech at the Democratic convention.
    Crown moved up the publication date, Barnes & Noble increased its order to 20,000 copies, and the book hit the top 50 on Amazon before it was even reissued.
    Bidding on eBay for a first edition copy hit $255.
    By December, Mr. Obama was the senator-elect and his book had been on the best-seller list for 14 weeks.

Newross (talk) 05:31, 28 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

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External links modified[edit]

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