ABSTRACT
For Barack Obama, the general election campaign began on June 3, the day he secured more than the 2,118 delegates needed to capture the Democratic nomination. It began again on August 28; resumed on August 29; and resumed once more on September 24. These dates mark the day he gave his acceptance speech before 80,000 packed into the Invesco Field in Denver; the day that McCain announced the selection of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate; and the day that the financial meltdown burst onto the public consciousness with a sharp drop in the stock market and a temporary suspension of McCain’s campaign. These dates compartmentalize the general election campaign into four distinct periods-one lasting less than fourteen hours-in which the campaign’s strategy adapted to changing conditions.
