2008 Woodie Awards
Obama promotes inspiring wave of change
The Democratic party taking proper steps to victory
Kaan Ekiner
Issue date: 4/17/07 Section: Editorial
It started in Springfield, Ill., on the morning of Feb. 10, 2007. Amid below-freezing temperatures and a crowd of thousands huddling to stay warm outside the Old Capitol, one man spoke. That man, Barack Obama, announced to his supporters what they had anxiously been waiting to hear for months - his bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election.
Obama inspired the crowd to stand up and take part in American democracy with one of his trademark uplifting speeches.
"This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, it must be about us, it must be about what we can do together, right here, right now," Obama said.
Although Obama's campaign officially began that chilly morning, his proverbial movement started years ago. He initiated his policy of change when he moved his office from Springfield to Washington, D.C. There, he formulated perceptions and goals as he worked his way up the difficult hierarchy in the nation's capital.
As a state Senator from 1997 to 2005, Obama focused on welfare reform, health care for uninsured children, tax relief for low-income workers, death-penalty reform and a state-wide ban of racial profiling.
However, gaining unprecedented political momentum as a young and outspoken politician, Obama made an improbable bid in 2004 for the vacated United States Senate position in Illinois. He stuck to the ideals and policies that made him a successful state senator and remained confident in the face of adversity. In 2003, he launched his campaign as the only major candidate running for the seat who was opposed to the War in Iraq. He won in a landslide victory, although he was outspent by his opponents by a margin of 6 to 1.
During his brief Senate career, Obama has dealt with critical issues involving our nation overseas, planning an end to the war in Iraq, universal Medicare by 2012, finding sufficient alternative energy methods, improving secondary educational programs and keeping weapons from terrorists.
Obama inspired the crowd to stand up and take part in American democracy with one of his trademark uplifting speeches.
"This campaign has to be about reclaiming the meaning of citizenship, restoring our sense of common purpose, it must be about us, it must be about what we can do together, right here, right now," Obama said.
Although Obama's campaign officially began that chilly morning, his proverbial movement started years ago. He initiated his policy of change when he moved his office from Springfield to Washington, D.C. There, he formulated perceptions and goals as he worked his way up the difficult hierarchy in the nation's capital.
As a state Senator from 1997 to 2005, Obama focused on welfare reform, health care for uninsured children, tax relief for low-income workers, death-penalty reform and a state-wide ban of racial profiling.
However, gaining unprecedented political momentum as a young and outspoken politician, Obama made an improbable bid in 2004 for the vacated United States Senate position in Illinois. He stuck to the ideals and policies that made him a successful state senator and remained confident in the face of adversity. In 2003, he launched his campaign as the only major candidate running for the seat who was opposed to the War in Iraq. He won in a landslide victory, although he was outspent by his opponents by a margin of 6 to 1.
During his brief Senate career, Obama has dealt with critical issues involving our nation overseas, planning an end to the war in Iraq, universal Medicare by 2012, finding sufficient alternative energy methods, improving secondary educational programs and keeping weapons from terrorists.
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