A look back at the 2008 election
Relive the 2008 election through the eyes and words of those who lived it below.
February 10, 2007
Obama: I'm running for President
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama formally entered the 2008 race for the presidency today… Read more from the Chicago Tribune + (Opens in a new tab)
Barack Obama: 2007 Harkin Steak Fry
In this election—in this moment—let us reach for what we know is possible. A nation healed. A world repaired. An America that believes again.
Then-Senator Obama at the Jefferson Jackson Dinner, November 10, 2007
President Obama reflects on 2008 Iowa caucuses
Hear President Obama reflect on the Iowa caucuses and the extraordinary role organizers and volunteers played in building relationships with the communities they worked in and shaping the course of then-Senator Obama’s presidential campaign.
January 4, 2008
Obama Wins Iowa's Democratic Caucuses
DES MOINES, Jan. 3 — Sen. Barack Obama (Opens in a new tab), riding a message of hope and change and buoyed by extraordinary turnout, decisively won the Iowa Democratic caucuses Thursday night… Read more from the Washington Post + (Opens in a new tab)
After graduating from Oelwein High school in rural Iowa, I volunteered for the first time for the Barack Obama campaign. It was a beginning for both of us.
Greg P., Iowa
January 9, 2008
Stunner in NH: Clinton defeats Obama
MANCHESTER, N.H. — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton won New Hampshire’s Democratic primary Tuesday night, pulling out a stunning victory over Sen. Barack Obama… Read more from NBC News + (Opens in a new tab)
For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.
Then-Senator Obama in New Hampshire, January 8, 2008
January 26, 2008
Obama Wins South Carolina Primary
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Senator Barack Obama won a commanding victory over Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday… Read more from the New York Times + (Opens in a new tab)
...we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction...
Then-Senator Obama's Speech on Race, March 18, 2008
May 7, 2008
Obama Clinches N. Carolina, Clinton Wins Indiana
Sen. Barack Obama won a decisive, double-digit victory in North Carolina’s Democratic primary Tuesday… Listen to more from NPR + (Opens in a new tab)
Barack Speaks To HQ Staff & Volunteers
As the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Senator Obama speaks to his campaign staff in Chicago.
June 4, 2008
Obama Clinches Nomination; First Black Candidate to Lead a Major Party Ticket
Senator Barack Obama claimed the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday evening, prevailing through an epic battle with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in a primary campaign that inspired millions of voters from every corner of America to demand change… Read more from the New York Times + (Opens in a new tab)
August 23, 2008
Obama Chooses Biden as Running Mate
WASHINGTON — Senator Barack (Opens in a new tab) Obama has chosen Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware to be his running mate… Read more from the New York Times + (Opens in a new tab)
August 28, 2008
Obama accepts Democratic nomination
Sen. Barack Obama accepted his historic Democratic nomination for president tonight in front of an adoring, energized crowd of some 80,000… Read more from The Denver Post + (Opens in a new tab)
That's the promise of America — the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.
Then-Senator Obama in Denver on August 28, 2008
Barack Obama's speech tonight was marvelous, hitting all the right notes...A number of people said they expected to be emotionally moved to tears, but instead, found themselves fired up for action.
Michael M., Illinois
September 12, 2008
McCain, Obama find common ground on national service
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama showed Thursday night that they have more common ground than differences when it comes to making national service a priority in their presidential administrations… Read more from CNN + (Opens in a new tab)
President Obama reflects on Election Night 2008
Hear the story behind the iconic photo of President Obama holding hands with his mother-in-law, Mrs. Robinson, and what that moment meant to her and the course of history.
November 4, 2008
Barack Obama Wins Presidency
In an extraordinary moment in America’s history, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama (Opens in a new tab) has won the 2008 presidential election and will become the 44th president of the United States and the country’s first African-American leader…. Read more from CBS News + (Opens in a new tab)
I was living in Ireland at the time. It was quiet—3 AM, when the polling numbers rolled in. I was beside myself. Literally twitching with excitement. It was a moment I will never forget in my lifetime. We had elected an African-American President. I was extremely proud in that moment to be an American.
Susan M., Washington, DC
On the night of the election in 2008, I was returning home from work on a packed bus. Usually, a Seattle bus ride is quiet, but people were stirring that night; there was a lot of excited chatter. The bus driver announced "I got to pull over. I need a minute." He was crying happy tears, and so was I.
Carla H., Washington
I was watching TV in Nairobi and praying for Barack to win. It was the greatest moment for me, because change had come to the world, and it marked a new beginning for those of us who believed in the change he represented.
Amos O., Kenya
We were so exhausted, a bit frozen, but SO happy and honored to have been there to watch President Obama take the oath of office and give his inaugural speech.
Ashlie L., Fairfield, CA
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