Rising Democratic star showcases his political talent

CHICAGO – Barack Obama, a rising star of the Democratic Party, last week electrified delegates with a rousing party convention speech that moved him closer to a historic seat in the United States Senate and which may damage President Bush’s chances in Illinois.

Obama displayed the qualities party powerbrokers expect to sweep him to victory in Illinois on November 2 and pick up a Republican seat that could help them win control of the chamber. The 42-year-old state senator and Harvard-educated law professor, is heavily favoured in his bid to become the fifth black senator in history.”There’s no doubt about it.There has been a weird convergence of events that even six months ago I would never have anticipated,” Obama said.Obama’s rise to the top has been rapid.First was the unexpected triumph in the Illinois Democratic Senate primary in March.Then came the summertime sex-club furore that drove his Republican rival from the race.And the failure thus far of the GOP to field a replacement.Obama gained momentum when he began airing commercials that portrayed him as the successor to the late Senator Paul Simon, a hugely popular former senator from downstate Illinois.The spot featured Sheila Simon talking about how her father and Obama had worked together.The nomination in hand, Obama became the instant favourite to defeat Republican Jack Ryan in his Democratic-leaning state.But that campaign had scarcely begun when unsealed divorce records showed Ryan’s ex-wife had accused him of taking her to sex clubs and asking her to engage in public sex.Ryan denied the charge, but Illinois Republicans deserted him and he quit the campaign.That was nearly a month ago, and so far, Republicans have no replacement.Indecisiveness by state Republicans is dampening faint party hopes of keeping control of the seat of retiring one-term Senator Peter Fitzgerald.KENYAN ROOTS As a speaker, Obama can sound at turns like a college professor, a union activist or a down-home preacher.Obama has a compelling story: His father was a member of Kenya’s Luo tribe, born on the shores of Lake Victoria.He met Obama’s mother, who was white, when both were students at the University of Hawaii.When Obama was two years old, his father left the family, returning to Kenya, where he eventually became a senior economist in the Ministry of Finance.Obama grew up to receive degrees from Columbia and Harvard universities, and now is an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School.Obama won thunderous applause at the Democratic convention in Boston on Tuesday night with his keynote speech, in which he said his life story was only possible in America.Obama, whose first name means blessed, is expected to win as long as he avoids a serious misstep.And on Tuesday night he not only avoided mistakes, he enhanced his growing reputation as the darling of the national party.He injected excitement into the convention audience with lines like, “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America.There’s the United States of America.”Molly Howieson, a convention delegate from St. Charles, Illinois, said, “He’s generating so much excitement and people are already talking about him being our first black president.”- Nampa-AP-ReutersThe 42-year-old state senator and Harvard-educated law professor, is heavily favoured in his bid to become the fifth black senator in history.”There’s no doubt about it.There has been a weird convergence of events that even six months ago I would never have anticipated,” Obama said.Obama’s rise to the top has been rapid.First was the unexpected triumph in the Illinois Democratic Senate primary in March.Then came the summertime sex-club furore that drove his Republican rival from the race.And the failure thus far of the GOP to field a replacement.Obama gained momentum when he began airing commercials that portrayed him as the successor to the late Senator Paul Simon, a hugely popular former senator from downstate Illinois.The spot featured Sheila Simon talking about how her father and Obama had worked together.The nomination in hand, Obama became the instant favourite to defeat Republican Jack Ryan in his Democratic-leaning state.But that campaign had scarcely begun when unsealed divorce records showed Ryan’s ex-wife had accused him of taking her to sex clubs and asking her to engage in public sex.Ryan denied the charge, but Illinois Republicans deserted him and he quit the campaign.That was nearly a month ago, and so far, Republicans have no replacement.Indecisiveness by state Republicans is dampening faint party hopes of keeping control of the seat of retiring one-term Senator Peter Fitzgerald.KENYAN ROOTS As a speaker, Obama can sound at turns like a college professor, a union activist or a down-home preacher.Obama has a compelling story: His father was a member of Kenya’s Luo tribe, born on the shores of Lake Victoria.He met Obama’s mother, who was white, when both were students at the University of Hawaii.When Obama was two years old, his father left the family, returning to Kenya, where he eventually became a senior economist in the Ministry of Finance.Obama grew up to receive degrees from Columbia and Harvard universities, and now is an instructor at the University of Chicago Law School.Obama won thunderous applause at the Democratic convention in Boston on Tuesday night with his keynote speech, in which he said his life story was only possible in America.Obama, whose first name means blessed, is expected to win as long as he avoids a serious misstep.And on Tuesday night he not only avoided mistakes, he enhanced his growing reputation as the darling of the national party.He injected excitement into the convention audience with lines like, “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America.There’s the United States of America.”Molly Howieson, a convention delegate from St. Charles, Illinois, said, “He’s generating so much excitement and people are already talking about him being our first black president.”- Nampa-AP-Reuters