Chapter 10

140-147.

Sisanya Inov
The New Rochelle Train

He always talked about the New Rochelle train, the trains that took
commuters to and from New York City, and he didnt want to be on one of
those trains every day.The image of a life, not a dynamic life, of going
through the motions . . . that was scary to him.
jerry kellman, chicago community organizer

Barack Obamas ill-fated race against Bobby Rush taught the young state lawmaker
a host of crucial lessons, not the least being that, in politics, no matter how
appealing you are as a candidate and no matter how impressive your credentials,
you are never completely in control of your own destiny. Obama had learned a
similarly hard lesson about the vagaries of life once beforewhen despite his hard
work and intense desire.

Yet for an incredibly competitive politician like Obama, the electoral loss to Rush
stung sharply. Obama had entered the contest knowing it would be difficult to
unseat an incumbent. But with his optimistic streak, he believed that if everyday
voters could just hear his message, experience his intellect and feel the passion in
his heart, he could win them over. On the campaign trail, as in the television
debate, Obama looked too much like a man in a hurry. . Barack, you didnt have
enough of the people in the party with youyou were kind of out there on your
own, his friend and counselor the Reverend Jeremiah Wright told him. But even if
the right people were behind him, that could be of little worth if the voters didnt
feel connected to him as an individual. It might be hard to imagine as the years
have unfolded and Obamas skills as a politician have been seen worldwide, but he
was an extremely poor political candidate in that race.

These black voters, in particular, want to feel that a candidate is committed to their
cause and not to furthering his own career. If Obama were to experience success
down the road, he needed to absorb the same kinds of lessons about politics from
his Rush experience.When Obama returned to Springfield, his colleagues and friends
noticed a changed man, a more chastened figure. Obama impressed his colleagues
and friends by putting his head down and diving back into the trenches of the
General Assembly. Obama conducted some soul searching upon returning to
Springfield and to his college lecturing.

His campaign had spent nearly five hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the race,
with thousands coming out of pocket from Obama. His campaign had spent nearly
five hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the race, with thousands coming out of
pocket from Obama. Obamas lack of emphasis on money extends to his personal
tastes and his other minimalist tendencies. Being somewhat financially bereft after
the Rush contest, Obama began thinking about seeking a tenured position at the
University of Chicago or with a nonprofit group.

Obama had actually met Jones while he was still a community organizer. He had
organized a neighborhood meeting near Joness home