Obama becomes rising star among Democrats

The Democrats' first nominating contest, the Iowa caucus, finally comes in January 2008. Barack Obama pulls a stunning upset. A state that is overwhelmingly white goes for Obama.

OBAMA: You came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents to stand up and say that we are one nation, we are one people, and our time for change has come.

The critical New Hampshire primary comes next, and Obama is poised for back-to-back victories and an early knockout punch against Hillary Clinton. Pollsters and pundits show Obama with a big lead. But when the votes are counted, Clinton wins decisively.

TERRY McAULIFFE, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER: A lot of people, Andrea, said it was gonna be a blowout, it was on TV all day, 10-15 points. We knew that wasn't the case. It's now a one-on-one race. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, as we go forward. We're excited...

After a year of campaigning, the race between Clinton and Obama is far from over. As they head into Nevada, South Carolina, and Super Tuesday, the stakes couldn't be higher.

OBAMA: I am still fired up and ready to go... (cheers)

We've been asked to pause for a reality check.  We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

After his first loss to Sen. Hillary Clinton in the New Hampshire primary, Barack Obama picks up and continues his ambitious quest to become president of the United States. 

CRAWFORD: I always learn more about politicians when they lose. (LAUGHTER) And when Obama lost New Hampshire, I paid very close attention to how he handled himself. He didn't like it.  I think he went into Nevada with a kind of a peevish attitude, having lost New Hampshire, that put him off his game.

While campaigning for the next contest in Nevada, Obama sits down with the editorial board of the Reno Gazette-Journal.  During the interview he makes glowing references to the legacy of former president and Republican icon Ronald Reagan.

OBAMA: I think Ronald Reagan changed the trajectory of America in a way that, you know, Richard Nixon did not and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He tapped into what people were already feeling which was. We want clarity. We want optimism.

Obama's remarks about Reagan are not overlooked by his Democratic opponents. 

JOHN EDWARDS, FORMER DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He created a tax structure that favored the very wealthiest Americans and caused the middle class and working people to struggle every single day. This president will never use Ronald Reagan as an example for change.

CRAWFORD: There were really two parts to that that got lost.  There was one part where he talked about Reagan and he seemed to diss Bill Clinton which is what aggravated Bill Clinton. When Obama talked about in that interview that the Republican Party was the party of ideas in the last ten to 15 years, he wasn't talking about Reagan. Reagan had been gone in the last ten to 15 years.

After a week of intense campaigning in Nevada, Hillary Clinton wins with 51 percent of the vote there but ironically, Obama wins one more delegate than Clinton.   

WOLFFE: Losing Nevada was a disappointment. They thought they could stop the Clinton momentum right there.

The heat intensifies between Clinton and Obama as the South Carolina primary approaches.  There's a lot anticipation for the South Carolina debate.

Obama predictably finds himself defending his Reagan comment from a few weeks earlier.

OBAMA: So I want to be clear. What I said had nothing to do with their policies.  I spent a lifetime fighting against Ronald Reagan's policies.

CLINTON: I did not mention his name.

OBAMA: Your husband did.

CLINTON: I'm here, Not my husband.

OBAMA: I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes.

DONZIGER: I was like, oh my God, that's not what he's about. That's not what this is about.  It shouldn't be like this.  And I just feared it was going to work, you know, against him.

Clinton continues the verbal sparring by accusing Obama of associating with a Chicago slumlord, referring to one of Obama's Chicago fundraisers, Tony Rezco, who is indicted on federal fraud and corruption charges.

CRAWFORD: When Sen. Hillary Clinton raised the issue of Rezco and called him a slum lord, having associated with Obama, was born out of the Clinton campaign's frustration that the media had simply not pursued what should have been, in their view — just a standard routine scrutiny of a presidential candidate.

Obama attempts to downplay his relationship with Rezco but after the debate he vows to give all campaign contributions received from sources associated with Rezco to charity.

In that same week, Obama wins in South Carolina his first primary victory since Iowa.

DONZIGER: It really showed that, you know, he's got a broad based coalition behind him and people don't want to stand for that kind of stuff any more.  And I think in many respects that was a turning point.

CRAWFORD: The Clintons have traditionally been popular with the African-American voters and been able to count on a lot of their support. Obama once and for all proving in South Carolina that he owns that vote really changed the dynamics of the campaign and forced the Clinton campaign into Plan B, C, and D.

Obama continues to gain momentum after the South Carolina win.

He gets a major boost when Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy, and Sen. Ted Kennedy announce their support for Obama.

SEN. TED KENNEDY, D-MASS.: I feel change in the air! What about you?

But even the Kennedys can't guarantee a win for Obama on Super Tuesday.  With 22 states voting and John Edwards no longer in the race, Obama and Clinton go head to head. 

The day after Super Tuesday, there is still no clear frontrunner. Obama wins more states but Clinton gains more delegates.

CRAWFORD: Super Tuesday was a loss for Obama. That was an opportunity to lock down this nomination. He needs to prove that he can win a big wide-open primary in a populous state that Democrats need in the general election.

Obama wins the Maine caucus, throwing the Clinton campaign for a loop.  This is a state Clinton had expected to win.

OBAMA: We won by a sizable margin in Maine and I want to thank the people of Maine.

On the same night, Obama celebrates another victory. He's awarded his second Grammy. It's for the audio version of his book, "The Audacity of Hope." In an extra twist he beats the other Clinton, Bill who had also been nominated in the same category.

By the end of the Potomac contests Obama racks up 8 straight wins, giving him a slight lead in delegates and a taste of frontrunner status. His challenge: to maintain the momentum of his campaign.

CRAWFORD: A movement campaign like Obama's has to win.  You have to keep winning. Many of Obama supporters haven't been in campaigns before.  And too many losses — supporters like that can go away.

WOLFFE: He is still a new name. People don't know a huge amount about him. The longer he can talk to people about himself, about his campaign, the better it is for him. 

Regardless of whether Barack Obama becomes the next president of the United States, he's made an undeniable impact on the political landscape.

OBAMA: This is our time.

CRAWFORD: You know, this campaign is a no-lose proposition for Barack Obama. And if he doesn't win this nomination, he's won the hearts and minds of so many people either way, Democrats are going to put forth a nominee who, if elected, is gonna change history and redesign how things are done in Washington.

KELLMAN: It speaks of us as a nation.  That we're ready to be fair and to be open in ways that we haven't- we haven't been previously up until now.  And we feel better about ourselves, I think, because of it.

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