by Michael Kenney - December 3, 2007
Everybody knows his background by now.
Black Kenyan father, white American mother, parents divorced when he was 2, grew up in Hawaii, spent a few years in Jakarta, moved back to Hawaii where he spent some time bouncing around. It was during this time, according to him, that he enjoyed smoking pot and (when finances allowed) snorting a little bit of cocaine. Occidental College for 2 years, Columbia undergrad 1983. Worked as a Chicago community organizer for a bit. In 1988, he entered Harvard Law, ultimately becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in its 104 year history. 
Graduated magna cum laude, and went to work as a civil rights lawyer. He became an Illinois State Senator in 1997, and stayed there until 2004. Wife Michelle, two kids Malia and Saska. Member of the United Church of Christ.
He exploded onto the national scene when he delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. It was also in 2004 that Barack Obama became the Junior Senator from the State of Illinois, filling the seat of Peter Fitzgerald. This was a notable achievement when one considers that in '04 the Republican party was still gaining seats, and Fitzgerald was (and still is, I guess) a respected Republican.
Obama is the author of 2 books, 'Dreams From My Father' which discusses his childhood and his views on race, and 'The Audacity of Hope' which covers his view of the American political scene. Both of them are Best Sellers.
Now, he's one of the Democratic front runners for the office of President of the United States. As of this morning, he's leading Hillary Clinton in the polls heading into the Iowa caucus.
Yeah, I guess you could say this guy's been on a bit of a roll for the last 10 years.
The meteoric rise of Barack Obama on the American political scene is unlike anything I've ever seen. (Have you seen the Obama Girl?)
He's been my Senator for 3 years and yet,...I still find myself wondering who the hell this guy is.
I recall seeing signs for him on people's front lawns back in '03, and wondering 'What the hell is a Barack Obama?' He was running against a guy named Blair Hull in the Dem primaries, and hoping for a shot at Fitzgerald's about to be empty Senate seat (Fitzgerald decided to retire due to his inability to work with the Republican party in Illinois.) Blair Hull was leading, right up until the time his ex-wife began spouting stories to the Chicago media about Blair slapping her around. Next thing we knew, Hull was out of the picture, ultimately losing to Obama by 20 points.
Then came the general election, and Obama was going up against a guy named Jack Ryan. Ryan was a polished Republican politician. Dartmouth undergrad, Harvard Law, and a successful law career before he retired from that, and took a job as a teacher at Hales Franciscan High School. In addition to being rich and successful, Ryan also had the distinct pleasure (I'm sure) of being married to Jeri Ryan from 1991-1999, which meant that for a couple of years, Jack could say he was sleeping with Seven of Nine from Star Trek: Voyager.
It seemed like it might be an interesting race, with a couple of slick Harvard dudes hoping to be my US Senator.
Then....a judge in California ordered the Ryan's divorce records unsealed. This revealed accusations by Jeri that during their marriage, Jack had taken her to various sex clubs in New York, New Orleans, and Paris. She described one as 'a bizarre club with cages, whips and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling.' I remember thinking, 'Man this dude couldn't be content to be alone with Seven of Nine?' That's a sad state of affairs when Jeri Ryan isn't exciting enough.
Although he denied the allegations, Jack decided to drop out 3 months before the election. After a bunch of names being floated by Illinois Republicans, including (I'm not joking) Mike Ditka, they finally settled on Alan Keyes from Maryland. Keyes took an apartment in Chicago to meet the residency thing, and immediately launched his campaign. Within a few days, people from Illinois decided that Alan Keyes is a loon.
Obama won his US Senate seat with 70% of the vote, the largest spread in Illinois history. (Keyes got 27%, despite being a loon, despite entering the race 90 days before the election, despite being a Maryland Republican, and despite not being married to Seven of Nine.)
Almost immediately, people from Illinois began to discuss the possibility of an Obama run for the White House.
When Barack appeared on Oprah's show last year, she asked him if, when he was ready, he'd be so kind as to come back and announce his official candidacy for president on her show. Obama said...'You know you're my girl Oprah.' She looked more excited than Tom Cruise. While she didn't jump on the furniture, I thought she was going to have an orgasm right then and there. That was the first indication that Obama had some very powerful friends.
He's hit some speed bumps along the way, such as his loss in the 2000 election seeking Gus Savage's US House of Reps seat. That didn't slow him down.
He's had some shady Hyde Park real estate dealings with a guy named Tony Rezko, now under indictment. Rezko is the Illinois version of Jack Abramoff. A real sleaze-ball, and not the kind of guy you want in the team picture when you're running for president.
When asked about the deal with Rezko , Obama always gives the same answer 'It was perfectly legal, but it was a mistake.'
He has that ability. I'm beginning to think the guy is impervious to attack. He just disarms people with his answers. It was that way back in '03 when he was asked about his drug use as a teenager. 'It was a stupid thing to do. I thought it was fun at the time, but it was a big mistake. I was trying to hide from myself, and who I was. I certainly don't touch the stuff anymore. Next question.'
It's still unclear where the road is going to take Barack Obama, nor where he intends to lead us if he gets elected president. That's a bit of a concern for me. But considering I didn't know what a Barack Obama was 5 years ago, and I'm still not sure what he has done as my Junior Senator, I'd say he's come a long way in a short time. And he's got Oprah on his side.
Michael Kenney is a Chicago contractor, living in Park Ridge, Il.