Thank You To Those Who Made Yes We Did out of Yes We Can

Thanks yous for a bottom-up campaign start at the bottom and this includes over 17,000,000 primary and caucus (especially) voters,  over 1,500,000 donors, hundreds of anonymous paid staffers and tens of thousands volunteers, including precinct captains (in my opinion, the most under appreciated group of this campaign), caucus delegates, phone bankers, canvassers, letter writers, barackobama.com members and bloggers/commenters.  Most of you are proud members of several of these groups.

Thanks yous to the big shots at Obama for America, one of the best run campaigns in history, and including (apologies to those left out):

Barack Obama (best judgment: running in 2008)

Michelle Obama

David Axelrod- Chief Strategist & Media Consultant

David Plouffe- Campaign Manager

Steve Hildebrand- Deputy Campaign Director

Robert Gibbs- Communications Director

Dan Pfeiffer- Deputy Communications Director

Bill Burton- National Press Secretary

Jen Psaki- Traveling Press Secretary

Penny Pritzker- National Finance Chairperson

Julianna Smoot- Finance Director

Marianne Markowitz- Chief Financial Officer

Betsy Myers- Chief Operating Officer

Matt Nugen- Political Director

Devorah Adler- Research Director

Heather Higginbottom- Senior Policy Strategist

Jon Carson- Voter Contact Director

Temo Figueroa- National Field Director

Alyssa Mastromonaco- Scheduling & Advance

Joe Rospars, Chris Hughes, Sam Graham-Felsen- and the entire New Media Team (and Josh Ortin, your contribution is noted)

Paul Harstad & Cornell Belcher- Polling

Jeffrey Berman- Delegate Doyen

Paul Tewes- Hero of Iowa

Jon Favreau- Director of Speechwriting

Profiles of these people (most of whom have been in since the beginning) and others who made this happen can be found here:

http://www.gwu.edu/~action/2008/obama/ob amaorg.html  

Thank yous to all the advisers and surrogates, including: Dick Durbin (superdelegate #1), Tom Daschle, Maya Soetoro Ng, Valerie Jarrett, Jim Margolis, Federico Pena, Tony McPeak, Ted Sorenson, Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Lake, Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy (best ad of the campaign), Claire McCaskill (you really have stood up), Greg Craig, Susan Rice, Jan Schakowsky, Samantha Power (many of us want you back in) and Austan Goolsbee.  Did I miss anyone?

The Key Dates

February 10, 2007, Springfield, IL

A beautiful, historic day with great visuals and inspiring announcement.  Reflective of the under reported strength of this campaign - consistency - U-2's City of Blinding Lights is debuted at Obama entry and exit.  Still used today.  Takes me a week to thaw out.  

February 23, 2007, Austin, TX

First mega rally with 20,000.  Repeated at dozens of venues around the country for over a year and punctuated by the spectacular crowd of 75,000 in Portland yesterday.  Looking forward to the crowd of 100,000 at The Big House in Ann Arbor in September or October.

April 4, 2007, Chicago, IL

Despite some sneaky Clinton camp created confusion, Obama reports that he has outraised Clinton in first quarter 2007 primary money ($24.8 million to $19.1 million) and with about twice the number of donors.  It is at this point that Clinton should have rethought her inevitability, February 5 knockout strategy.  

Over the next year plus, Obama continues to build what is now the most valuable piece of property in the Democratic Party: his donor list.  

October 3, 2007, Washington DC

The release of a slap-in-the-face ABC/Washington Post national poll: Clinton- 53%, Obama- 20% (a 33% deficit).   In two weeks, Obama will fall to $11 on Intrade.  People start to get nervous.  October 22, 2007 dkos straw poll:  Edwards- 39%; Dodd- 20%; Obama- 16%; Clinton- 9%; Kucinich- 6%.

October 30, 2007, Philadelphia, PA

At the Drexel University debate, Clinton stumbles on drivers licenses for undocumented aliens question, causing a change in the media narrative.  Russert roughs Clinton up, paying Obama back for effectively announcing he's running in 2008 on Meet the Press in October, 2006.

November 10, 2007, Des Moines, IA

Obama shows his stuff to Iowans and dominates the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, backed by very noisy Obama supporters.

December 31, 2007, Des Moines, IA

In my opinion (love to hear yours), the single most electric moment of this campaign was New Year's Eve night and the release of the final Ann Selzer/Des Moines Register Iowa poll showing Obama up by 7.

January 3, 2008, Des Moines, IA

In a highly competitive and talented field, Obama wins Iowa caucus decisively and delivers the goods with a goosebump inducing victory speech.  The single most important victory of this campaign.

January 8, 2008, Nashua, NH

Weekend momentum and poll induced giddiness replaced by sobering reality of Clinton resiliency.  Harbinger of long and close race to come, demographic voting patterns start to emerge.

January 26, 2008, Columbia, SC

28% rout (the first of 22 contests with Obama 20% or higher margins of victory) and consolidation of African American vote coming home, proving Michelle Obama a prophet.  Clinton gets 19% of AA vote in South Carolina which deliciously erodes to single digits in later contests.  Edwards (a strong candidate and imo, the 2007/8 version of Edwards might have beaten Kerry in 2004) throws in the towel a few days later.

February 5, 2008

Going in, we wanted to stay within 100 delegates of the Clinton camp designed, front loaded February 5 calendar.   Obama comes out of night with nine more delegates and the Clinton campaign is demoralized and exposed.  The tipping point of this victory.  Within a week and the Potomac primary blowouts, Obama is ahead by 129 pledged delegates.    

March 18, 2008, Philadelphia, PA

At Constitution Center, Obama stamps out Wright controversy with moving, very personal "A More Perfect Union" speech about race.  Wright bubbles up again in April but media gets tired of this bull, right wing fanned, non story after a few days.

May 6, 2008, Raleigh, NC

Decisive North Carolina win and narrow, Dittohead driven 14,000 vote Indiana loss creates final media narrative that race is effectively over.  Superdelegate drip turns into steady stream.

*******

"We all made this journey for a reason.  It's humbling, but in my heart I know you didn't come here just for me, you came here because you believe in what this country can be.  In the face of war, you believe there can be peace.  In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope.  In the face of a politics that's shut you out, that's told you to settle, that's divided us for too long, you believe we can be one people, reaching for what's possible, building that more perfect union."
Barack Obama- February 10, 2007, Springfield, IL