Obama Chose To Fight In His First Race
Barack Obama faced a choice: launch a political battle against a highly respected woman with more seniority or step aside and hope for another chance later.
He chose to fight.
The situation will sound familiar to anyone following Obama's battle against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, but this clash happened more than 10 years ago as Obama made his first run for public office.
Obama came out on top in that confrontation but not through a head-to-head vote. Instead, he capitalized on his opponent's mistakes to get her thrown off the ballot so that his name was the only choice presented to voters.
His willingness to knock his opponent off the ballot, say Illinois political insiders, was an early demonstration of the tenacity that has helped him in the primary process against Clinton thus far.
"In Chicago, this is a blood sport," said Ron Davis, a South Side political activist who helped Obama in the 1996 contest.
At the time, Obama was a lawyer and lecturer at the University of Chicago law school. Alice Palmer, the state senator representing that part of the city, had decided not to run for re-election. She was aiming for a congressional seat in a special election being held to fill a vacancy.
To reassure her legislative constituents that they'd be in good hands, Palmer told them she'd find a good replacement, said Davis, who was friendly with Palmer at the time. "She went out and recruited Barack."
So everything seemed set. Palmer would move to Congress and Obama would take her place in the Illinois Senate.
But then Palmer lost the special congressional election. Suddenly, this well-liked community leader faced being out of office after four years in the state Legislature.
"We all thought she was an excellent state senator and encouraged her in some way to get back on the ballot," said Robert Starks, a longtime friend of Palmer. "Initially, she was a bit hesitant, but after so many people encouraged her, she began to warm to the idea."
Palmer finally asked Obama to halt his legislative campaign so she could run for re-election.
He refused.
"He was not about to withdraw. He had put a lot of energy and time into it," said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat who represented the same part of Chicago as Palmer. "I thought it was pretty gutsy of him to stay in."
Saying she had given Obama her word, Currie continued to back him even after Palmer changed her mind and tried to run again.
Community activist Lois Friedberg-Dobry made the same choice.
"Barack had already gotten a committee together, people had made commitments, and he had raised money," Friedberg-Dobry said. "This was a very strange time to ask any politician to go back to those people and say, 'I changed my mind.'"
Palmer, who is a Clinton supporter, decided she wouldn't back down either.
She filed petitions to get on the ballot for the spring 1996 primary, but Obama took steps to make sure voters wouldn't get a chance to pick her. His supporters scoured her petitions, and those of two other would-be candidates, for any technical flaws.
They ended up filing complaints alleging that Palmer and the others hadn't collected the 757 valid voter signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
Davis, who formally filed the complaints, said the problems included signatures from people living outside the district or who weren't registered to vote. Some petitions were circulated by ineligible campaign aides, making every signature invalid.
Palmer ended up dropping out of the race instead of trying to argue that she had met the petition requirements. The other two candidates were ruled ineligible by Chicago election officials. Obama, as the only candidate on the ballot, won the primary, which in heavily Democratic Chicago meant he would go on to win the general election, too.
Petition challenges are common in Illinois politics, and even some Palmer supporters say Obama acted appropriately. "He did what any politician or campaigner does," said Timuel Black, a Palmer friend and campaign adviser.
Obama friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett said Obama had no qualms about challenging Palmer's petitions.
"I don't think it was a difficult decision - it was a painful decision. The fact that she changed her mind was painful to him," she said. "He told her from the beginning, 'Once I'm in, I'm in."'
Many people familiar with the clash called Obama's decision an example of his resolve. Jarrett sees it as an example of his integrity, too. He had recruited supporters and told them he'd be running, and he kept his word, she said.
Palmer, who now serves on the board of a state pension system, did not return repeated messages. But others confirm that she and Obama have been estranged since their clash, and she ran in the Illinois primary to be a Clinton delegate.
"My guess would be that she felt he should have withdrawn, and she is bitter," said Black, a Palmer friend and campaign adviser. "Since he was younger ... he had more future opportunities than she might have."
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. He chose to fight.
The situation will sound familiar to anyone following Obama's battle against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination, but this clash happened more than 10 years ago as Obama made his first run for public office.
Obama came out on top in that confrontation but not through a head-to-head vote. Instead, he capitalized on his opponent's mistakes to get her thrown off the ballot so that his name was the only choice presented to voters.
His willingness to knock his opponent off the ballot, say Illinois political insiders, was an early demonstration of the tenacity that has helped him in the primary process against Clinton thus far.
"In Chicago, this is a blood sport," said Ron Davis, a South Side political activist who helped Obama in the 1996 contest.
At the time, Obama was a lawyer and lecturer at the University of Chicago law school. Alice Palmer, the state senator representing that part of the city, had decided not to run for re-election. She was aiming for a congressional seat in a special election being held to fill a vacancy.
To reassure her legislative constituents that they'd be in good hands, Palmer told them she'd find a good replacement, said Davis, who was friendly with Palmer at the time. "She went out and recruited Barack."
So everything seemed set. Palmer would move to Congress and Obama would take her place in the Illinois Senate.
But then Palmer lost the special congressional election. Suddenly, this well-liked community leader faced being out of office after four years in the state Legislature.
"We all thought she was an excellent state senator and encouraged her in some way to get back on the ballot," said Robert Starks, a longtime friend of Palmer. "Initially, she was a bit hesitant, but after so many people encouraged her, she began to warm to the idea."
Palmer finally asked Obama to halt his legislative campaign so she could run for re-election.
He refused.
"He was not about to withdraw. He had put a lot of energy and time into it," said state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat who represented the same part of Chicago as Palmer. "I thought it was pretty gutsy of him to stay in."
Saying she had given Obama her word, Currie continued to back him even after Palmer changed her mind and tried to run again.
Community activist Lois Friedberg-Dobry made the same choice.
"Barack had already gotten a committee together, people had made commitments, and he had raised money," Friedberg-Dobry said. "This was a very strange time to ask any politician to go back to those people and say, 'I changed my mind.'"
Palmer, who is a Clinton supporter, decided she wouldn't back down either.
She filed petitions to get on the ballot for the spring 1996 primary, but Obama took steps to make sure voters wouldn't get a chance to pick her. His supporters scoured her petitions, and those of two other would-be candidates, for any technical flaws.
They ended up filing complaints alleging that Palmer and the others hadn't collected the 757 valid voter signatures needed to qualify for the ballot.
Davis, who formally filed the complaints, said the problems included signatures from people living outside the district or who weren't registered to vote. Some petitions were circulated by ineligible campaign aides, making every signature invalid.
Palmer ended up dropping out of the race instead of trying to argue that she had met the petition requirements. The other two candidates were ruled ineligible by Chicago election officials. Obama, as the only candidate on the ballot, won the primary, which in heavily Democratic Chicago meant he would go on to win the general election, too.
Petition challenges are common in Illinois politics, and even some Palmer supporters say Obama acted appropriately. "He did what any politician or campaigner does," said Timuel Black, a Palmer friend and campaign adviser.
Obama friend and campaign adviser Valerie Jarrett said Obama had no qualms about challenging Palmer's petitions.
"I don't think it was a difficult decision - it was a painful decision. The fact that she changed her mind was painful to him," she said. "He told her from the beginning, 'Once I'm in, I'm in."'
Many people familiar with the clash called Obama's decision an example of his resolve. Jarrett sees it as an example of his integrity, too. He had recruited supporters and told them he'd be running, and he kept his word, she said.
Palmer, who now serves on the board of a state pension system, did not return repeated messages. But others confirm that she and Obama have been estranged since their clash, and she ran in the Illinois primary to be a Clinton delegate.
"My guess would be that she felt he should have withdrawn, and she is bitter," said Black, a Palmer friend and campaign adviser. "Since he was younger ... he had more future opportunities than she might have."
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The Reverend Wright Story is remarkable. Check it out at wikipedia.org, you''re talking about an individual When President Kennedy gave the challenge "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country". Wright gave up his college deferment in 1961 to enlist in the USMC, After two years he transferred to the USN and entered the Corpsman School at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center where he graduated valedictorian. He went on to serve his beloved country at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. receving many letters of commendation before being discharge in 1967.
Reverend Wright suggests to me to be a very dedicated, devoted & honorable American. The News Media, & the Clintons owe Jeremiah Wright Jr. a debt of gratitute for being there to serve his country when the call was made. Reverend Wright and many other Patriotic Americans came forward to serve their beloved Country during a very challenging time as some of us can recall. They are all heroes that gave all they had. During this time the scheming Clintons were finding ways to protest. Bill lied about his obligations and then cut & run to England to try to establish an alibi. The lying & scheming is now routine.
May God Bless All Americans, Including Reverend Wright.
Wonder who these broads would tap as Secretary of Defense, Jane Fonda? Who else would lil'' missy tap to fill out her administration, Ellen? Rosie O''Donnell? Madonna? Elton John? We are at war, so America doesn''t need lil'' missy and her weenies leading us anywhere.
Posted by BLACKSPIRIT3 at 09:02 AM : Apr 25, 2008"
Racism is the most pathetic form of hatred and even more repulsive are those who keep it alive. Are you and AMERICAN or aren''t you?
The Federal Election Commission has just reported that her campaign debt is $15 million and not $10 million as the Clinton camp reported because she failed to list her $5 million loan among the debts.
This means that even after her new surge of fundraising, she is still $5 million in debt; but Hillary is still smiling; why? Because she knows that her $110 million fortune is nice and safe. It%u2019s the ordinary person on the street who is tricked into losing money on a campaign that is doomed to fail.
Mitt Romney put $42 million of his own money into his campaign, why doesn%u2019t Hillary show she has complete confidence in her campaign and put in some of her own millions. Why? Because she knows it%u2019s a lost cause.
Those of you who are fooled into contributing to her campaign ask yourself why she LOANS her own money but wants you to GIVE your money?
But he failed to mention.....
Hillary is NOT just any other woman.
I''m not buying it. I can''t believe how gullible this country is to pick these three as their top choices. Just total ignorance is the only thing I can think of.
Per this article, based on his MO and callous approach to Ms Palmer''s situation, - i wouldn''t count on him to look out for our best interests, unless he gets a benefit too.