Obama Flashcards
When did Obama win a seat on the Illinois state senate?
1996
Who was Obama’s main competitor for the Democratic primaries for Illinois senator?
Blair Hull
What helped Obama to win the primaries for Senator?
- High profile endorsements (e.g. Micheal Jordan)
- Main competitor Blair Hull underwent a violent and public divorce
Who did Obama initially face in the race for Illinois Senator?
Jack Ryan
Why was Ryan forced to drop out of the race?
He was involved in an acrimonious divorce case
Who replaced Jack Ryan as Obama’s competitor in the race of Illinois Senator?
Alan Keyes
Why was Keyes a weaker opponent than Ryan?
- Media response was almost uniformly against Keyes
- Keyes had radical views against abortion, gay rights and an increased involvement of religion in society
What helped Obama’s reputation massively?
His well-received keynote speech at the Democratic Party National Convention
Work as a Senator
- Seat of the Foreign Relations Committee
- Created a website that tracked federal spending
- Created a PAC which raised $1.8 million in its first year
- Key campaigner in the successful midterms; rose in stature
Why did Obama win the Democrat primaries for president?
- Use of social media and the internet
- Obama’s character
- Hillary’s weaknesses
How did Obama use social media and the internet to help him win the primaries?
- By spring 2007, Obama’s online campaign had over 450,000 people signed up
- Used the internet to raise $6.9 million (compared to Hillary’s $4.2 million)
How did Obama’s character help him win the primaries (and eventually the presidency)?
- Great speaker
- Appeared more intelligent and likeable than Hillary
- Projected youth and dynamism
How did Hillary’s weaknesses help Obama win the primaries?
- Hillary emphasised her experience, but many wanted change
- She suggested Obama was un-American- alienated black voters
- Only fund-raised in old-fashioned ways
- Gave an impression of entitlement to the nomination
- Those who didn’t like Bill by default also didn’t like Hillary
Why did Obama win the 2008 presidency?
- Obama’s strategies
- Economic situation
- Weaknesses of opposition
How did Obama’s strategies help him win the presidency?
- His campaign attracted over 3 million donors; this allowed Obama to outspend McCain 4 to 1 in key swing states
- His online campaign attracted many new voters
- Obama used grassroots movements (centred around low income housing in Chicago)
How did the economic situation help Obama win the presidency?
- The economy had crashed under a Republican government; worsened by Bush wanting to bail out banks
- Obama had a strong economic policy; especially important given that 60% of Americans claimed the economy was their main concern (following the crash)
How did weaknesses of opposition help Obama win the presidency?
- McCain had always been rich and was viewed as entitled, whereas Obama was viewed as much more grounded in the struggles of every-day Americans
- McCain had a weaker economic plan than Obama
- McCain’s vice president running partner was much weaker than Obama’s
- A number of republicans did not turn up to vote due to the weakness of the republican candidate
Who was McCain’s vice president running partner?
Sarah Palin
Why was Biden a stronger VP than Palin?
- Biden was more experienced
- Palin’s competency was questionable
- McCain’s health issues brought about worries as Palin could become Palin
Example of Palin’s questionable competency
She was unable to answer what Supreme Court cases she thought were influential
What did McCain’s administration say about Palin?
Even McCain’s own administration were fearful for the fate of the US if Palin became president
What percentage of the black vote did Obama win?
95%
How many more black Americans turned up to vote in the 2008 election?
2 million more
New era of race relations
- First black president
- Many whites voted for him
- Approval ratings of Obama were high
- 70% of people believed his election would cause race relations to improve
Not new era of race relations
- McCain soundly beat Obama on the white vote
- Many white supremacist websites crashed due to increased traffic following his election
- Obama was involved in a number of race controversies during his presidency
What did some black intellectuals claim to be a key reason for his victory?
Some claimed he won because he told white people what they wanted to hear
