As the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, Barack Obama electrified the country with his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. After having served only 2 years in his first term as a U.S. senator from Illinois, Senator Obama in 2007 announced his candidacy for president of the United States of America. He is the rising star in the Democratic Party and regularly draws huge crowds at his campaign events. He is only the third African American of a major political party to run for the office of the president. Obama is extremely charismatic and appeals to voters across racial lines and party lines. The heart of his campaign is a message of hope that transcends race and attempts to bring a divided country together.
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