Macomb, IL – 12 years ago, Barack Obama was a political unknown. Now, he's poised to be the Democratic Party's nominee for president.
That rise from obscurity to fame is examined in a new book co-authored by Western Illinois University political scientist Keith Boeckelman. He wrote the book with Martin Dupuis, who formerly taught at WIU and is now at the University of Central Florida.
Barack Obama, The New Face of American Politics was released by Praeger Publishers in 2007.
Boeckelman says Obama showed early on that he could play hardball politics. He points out that when Obama first ran for the Illinois Senate in 1996, he knocked opponents off the ballot by challenging petition signatures.
Obama lost a contest for Congress in 2000. Boeckelman thinks that experience taught Obama the importance of being prepared with a well-developed strategy. Boeckelman says that came through during Obama's march to the Democratic presidential nomination.
Boeckelman believes Obama's organizing skills were overlooked by reporters covering the primaries. Those organizing skills helped Obama defeat Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination.