Video Timeline Details Rise Of The Obama Only Chicago Knew
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Feb 21, 2012 8:20PM
Most Chicagoans had heard of this Barack Obama fellow well before he became a U.S. Senator in 2005. In fact, we took a tour through our own archives. We've been writing about him since the site launched in May 2004. He was a state senator and senatorial candidate in the post, "Barack Obama (or is that Barak Obama)," his first mention on our site. In July 2004 we wrote about the "Senate Shoo-in To Speak at Dem Convention". By December 2004, we were already writing about how sick we were of this "Obama Overload" of news stories.
It's hard to imagine that people in the rest of the country were surprised by this new character years after we were sick of hearing about him. Today Buzzfeed posted a timeline of a younger Obama, his lesser-known history from 1991 to 2004.
To most Americans, Barack Obama seemed to appear out of nowhere, fully-formed, in 2008. This rarely-seen footage from 1991-2004 captures lesser-known moments in the future president's life — as law student, community organizer, local politician, failed Congressional candidate, and Democratic nominee for Senate — and offers a glimpse into his political and personal roots.
There's one video Buzzfeed missed in its timeline, and it's one of our favorites. In 2001 Obama (then-state senator) appeared on Check, Please! to review Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop in Hyde Park. Watch the video below.