Obama's Rise To The Top Of The DNC

Barack Obama (photo courtesy of Essence magazine)

An interesting article in the New York Times chronicled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's rise to the top of the DNC. It's a decent read.

It revealed how he ruffled a few Democrats' feathers 8 years ago at age 39 in wanting to rise in the party too fast, then four years later his speech as an unknown. 

Once a Convention Outsider, Obama Navigated a Path to the Marquee

He was drained of money and confidence, fresh from a punishing defeat in a Congressional primary race here. Even the Illinois delegation did not have room at the party’s gathering in Los Angeles for Mr. Obama, then a 39-year-old lawyer, who had annoyed some state Democrats for not waiting his turn to seek a higher office.

Never mind all that. Mr. Obama bought a plane ticket and headed west anyway...

“Nobody knew who I was,” Mr. Obama said this week, thinking back to the last convention. “Even up to the time that I walked on the stage, where they were handing out Obama signs, people were thinking, what is this?”

http://www.nytimes.com