ABSTRACT

Before the 2008 primary season began, the generally acknowledged frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for President was Senator Hillary Clinton, the junior senator from New York State and spouse of former President Bill Clinton. People had heard of the even-more junior senator from Illinois, Senator Barack Obama, in part because of the rousing speech he gave at the 2004 Democratic Convention. But his reputation wasn’t widely known, and many viewed his candidacy as the aspiration of an upstart, running before he’d put in his due time at a lower-level of the political ladder.