CHICAGO (WLS) — Barack Obama’s rise from little-known politician to president of the United States has often been described as meteoric by those closest to him. Yet years before his history-making White House campaign, some people who worked with him believed they were seeing the emergence of a future star.
“It’s true, I don’t have the personal wealth or the famous name of some, but I do have a fire in my belly,” Obama said while campaigning for the U.S. Senate.
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That sense of drive and conviction was evident to supporters well before 2003, when Obama was serving as an Illinois state senator and mounting his bid for the U.S. Senate.
David Axelrod, who later became the chief strategist for Obama’s presidential campaign and served as a senior White House advisor, recalled a remark from political activist Bettylu Salzman dating back to Obama’s time as a community organizer in the early 1990s.
“And she said, ‘He’s running this voter registration drive, but I got this feeling he could be the first Black president of the United States,’” Axelrod said.
Obama’s ascent, however, did not begin with instant success. His first major step came in 1996, when he won election to the Illinois Senate. After two terms there, he took on incumbent Congressman Bobby Rush in the 2000 Democratic primary and suffered a decisive defeat, losing by a two-to-one margin.
“And many people would have quit at that point, and he could have easily done that and folded up his tent, and he came he came back from that,” said former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
And what a comeback it would turn out to be, starting when Obama hit the campaign trail in 2003 in the race for U.S. Senate.
“The main thing you get out of this is the opportunity to enjoy a wonderful day and shake some hands and talk to voters and hopefully they start remembering your name over time,” Obama said.
Obama would win the 2004 Democratic Senate Primary shortly after that getting a life-changing invitation.
“The next senator from the state of Illinois, Barack Obama,” said Sen. Dick Durbin as he introduced Obama.
Obama gave the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention that summer in Boston.
“And as he started to speak, you could see more and more people paying attention, and then people are up on their feet, and I looked around, I saw people with tears rolling down their cheeks,” Axelrod said.
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America; there is the United States of America,” Obama said.
That speech transformed Obama into a political superstar.
“I’d say he hit a grand slam homerun, he has the passion, he has the commitment, he spoke to the American public,” said then-Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
“If you look at all the speeches in terms of that have hit it out of the ballpark, from Jesse Jackson to Barack Obama, it’s always been a speech of unity,” said Political Consultant Del Marie Cobb.
Durbin frequently campaigned with Obama, and in late 2006, said he offered him some advice.
“So, I sat down with him. I said, ‘You ought to run for president. You’re young enough. If you lose, you’ll have another chance, but you got something special, buddy, and I want to help you do it,’” Durbin said.
Obama launched his presidential campaign in February of 2007 on the steps of the old historic state capital in Springfield. His candidacy offered hope with the slogan, “Yes, we can.”
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel served as Obama’s chief of staff and says Obama was the change people were looking for.
“Almost every president scratches the itch that the predecessor leaves,” Emanuel said.
On election night, Obama hosted a watch party in Grant Park, attended by an estimated 240,000 people who witnessed history as America elected its first Black president.
“We are and always will be the United States of America,” Obama said.
“That’s one of the nights I’ll never forget, and just the joy and feeling a part of that,” Duncan said.
Many of those ABC7 spoke to see the opening of the Obama Presidential Center as a crowning moment for his legacy. Obama who, as a candidate made famous the phrase “Yes, we can,” will now be the former president who can once again tell people “Yes, we did.”
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