The Decision to Run

Barack Obama knew early on in his career that he wanted to make a difference. He studied civil rights in college and, following graduation from Harvard Law School, he taught constitutional law. Obama was elected to the United States Senate in 2004. He served as a community organizer in Chicago and then as an Illinois state senator. He saw that vast change was essential; however, some changes were being impeded by petty arguments between partisan parties.

On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama, announced his candidacy for president in Springfield, Illinois. His wife and children accompanied him. This served as Obama’s first decisive step towards the presidency.

The decision to run for the presidency is not one to take lightly. The campaign is long and expensive requiring a lot of time away from home and family. Not only that, but candidates can expect their personal and professional lives to be put under a microscope and past actions and comments to be questioned by opponents.

Journal: The 2008 Election 30 points

For this section you will keep a journal. Download your journal now and keep it handy on your computer desktop. You will add to it when prompted to do so in this section.

Complete question one in your journal now. Create a list of pros and cons Obama might have considered before for running for president. Ultimately why do you think he decided to run?