obama campaign 2008

Barack Obama, the junior United States senator from Illinois announced that he would be running for president. At first many people really questioned him running for president because he did not have much expirence and they did not know if he was going to be capable of taking on this big role. Obama's main point was that there is only one America and we should not be separating people based on race and political view. Obama also visited a lot of Republican states to spread his ideas and maybe turn them into democratic states. Obama was the first African American nominated for a major party. After a lot of campaniging, he was named 44th president of the United States on November 4th 2008, beating John McCain.

Barack Obama vs. Hillary Clinton

In the 2008 Presidential Election, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York was, by far, the favorite to win the Democratic primary. Because of this, she had spent little time and effort raising funds for the primary election, focusing instead on the bigger prize, the presidency. So, when Senator Barack Obama of Illinois shot up from out of nowhere, she was completely unprepared. While many liked Hillary because she offered a new perspective as a woman, Obama gave this same factor as an African-American. For this reason, many groups who didn't normally vote, like minority groups or younger generations, showed up in spades to the voting booths. This gave Obama the boost he needed in the polls to spur ahead of Hillary, first beating her in Iowa, and, while still close, eventually beating her in a lead of 2,272 to 1,978 delegate votes. In general, Hillary's strategy was to go for the biggest areas, New York, Florida, etc., who would provide the most votes, whereas Obama focused on hitting every single state, big or small, which eventually meant that the people were more in touch with him and voted for him when it came down to it.

The Impact of Focusing on Younger Voters

During the 2008 election, 66% of voters under the age of 30 voted for Obama. They staunchly advocated for him during his candidacy and turned out at the poles in greater numbers than in previous years. The younger demographic were more racially diverse and more liberal. Their view points aligned mostly with the Democratic Party. During his candidacy, Obama appealed to younger voters, a previously neglected demographic as they were thought of as politically passive. However, this tactic proved incredibly effective in securing his presidency.





in Former President Obama's success.

Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin was the 9th Governor of Alaska and was appointed as running mate for John McCain in the 2008 election. McCain believed picking Palin to run with him and be vp would give him a boost with Hilary Clinton just falling out of the election. Before picking her to run with him, McCain had only met Palin once. After being picked by McCain, on September 3rd, 2008 she gave a 40 min speech that over 40 million people watched. Over time people questioned Palin because when giving a speech she would give it really well, but when asked a question lived she had trouble answering. People didn't know how trustworthy she would be.

The Adult Perspective:Young People Have Lost Their Way

Adults nowadays think that young people these days are too immature, reckless, irresponsible and bad behaviors. The adults think that young kids should go back to the old ways of how adults live their teenage lives. Back then there was a "code" in the movie theaters saying that they couldn't make out for that long and if there was a bedroom scene, they would have followed "two feet on the floor" rule. Old generations think that their generation is better than the current generation.

Successful Tactics of Obama's Campaign

The overarching theme of the Obama-Biden campaign in 2008 was America's need for change. They played to the fact that there was a need for new ideas and a fresh administration after the wildly unpopular Bush administration. The theme was simple, and inclusive and enticed Americans across party lines. Obama's call for change in public policy including health care and economic reform garnered much support during the period that American's were still feeling the effects of the recession. Another way that Obama gained support was by raising his own campaign funds and rejecting public funds. This made him appear more intend with the American people, it gave him a grassroots feel that Americans found refreshing.

The Impact of US intervention in Iraq on the Middle East

After Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled, there no longer was a Sunni majority political power. During the first democratic elections, the Shiite minority took the opportunity to vote in candidate who would represent their interest as they knew that Sunnis would be boycotting the election. As a result, the tensions between the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq were exacerbated. This was the first time that Shiites had risen to this level of power in the Middle East, which upset the Sunni majority and led to a destructive civil war with a high civilian death toll.

Out of the end of the Hussein regime also emerged several extremist groups such as Al-Qaeda. The groups was suppressed by the regime, but soon gained recruits and influence. Their violent tactics pushed away Sunnis, who the group claimed to comprise of. Al-Qaeda planned and executed attacks against opposing Sunnis, Shiites, as well as government officials.

With the fall of the previous government, also came the closest to statehood that the Kurdish people have ever had. The new Iraqi constitution declared an area in Iraq that had rich resources as well as its own forces. The Kurds have long been ostracized and pushed out of countries in the Middle East and been denied statehood. They occupy areas in Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran, however this was the first time they had been granted a region of their own.