Obama: From unknown to nominee

"He's a great conversationalist and a good listener," says Richard Epstein, a law school professor who was not a close friend. "But he never tips his hand to what he thinks. You feel you're on stage and have to perform. ... At the end of the day, you don't know whether you've changed his mind or not."

In 1996, Obama was elected to the state Senate, but as a member of the Democratic minority, his legislative proposals were consistently thwarted by Republicans. Some dismissed him as an ivory tower liberal.

"Law professors, especially those from a place like the University of Chicago, are viewed with a jaundiced eye" in the Illinois legislature, says state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Republican and Obama friend. "Some members of both parties thought that Barack was longwinded and a tad aloof and arrogant. Not me."

It didn't help that one issue he tackled was ethics reform.

Dillard recalls one prominent Democrat saying to Obama: "'How much money do you have in your campaign fund? You don't have two nickels to rub together."'

"It's a little ironic today," Dillard adds, referring to Obama's stunning success of raising an unprecedented $390 million during his presidential run.

Obama won over many lawmakers in nearly eight years in Springfield. He played in weekly poker games, befriending suburban and white rural legislators. He also had an important ally in an old-school Chicago Democrat who became Senate president when the party took control of the chamber, a change that increased Obama's influence.

Obama had several legislative successes. He passed measures that limited lobbyists' gifts to politicians, helped expand health care to poor children and changed laws governing racial profiling, the death penalty and the interrogation of murder suspects.

Video   Obama aims for wide appeal July 2: As patriotism, faith and public service become a bigger part of Barack Obama's campaign, analysts are asking whether this represents a shift to the middle. NBC's Lee Cowan reports. Nightly News

He generally was a liberal, but he reached across party lines to work with Republicans.

"Barack can compromise without giving up his principles," says Dillard, who appeared in an early Obama campaign commercial and is a John McCain convention delegate. "He's a realist and he knows when to fold his cards."

Obama stumbled badly, though, in 2000 when he challenged Rep. Bobby Rush, a former Black Panther member with deep roots in the community.

During that contest, Obama was dogged by the question raised by some pundits and black politicians — whether he was "black enough" for the district.

Obama says there never has been any question about his being black. In his book, "The Audacity of Hope," he wrote about how race has shaped his own life, facing indignities such as security guards trailing him in stores or people mistaking him for a parking valet.

"I know what it's like to have people tell me I can't do something because of my color, and I know the bitter swill of swallowed-back anger," he wrote.

But in that congressional campaign, Obama was seen as the outsider. Rush, the insider, crushed him by 31 percentage points in the primary.

Video   Obama fights labels June 24: Obama's opponents label him as arrogant and as the "other." Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News and the Morning Joe team break down these views. Morning Joe

Two years later, Obama set his sights on another office: U.S. Senate.

His friend, Valerie Jarrett, was skeptical. "'My gosh, you can't lose two races in a row. You'll be done in politics,"' she recalls telling him. "He said, 'If it's OK with me, it should be OK with you. I'm not afraid of losing."'

A series of breaks helped propel Obama to a landslide win.

Months later, Obama impressed Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry during a joint campaign appearance in Chicago, leading to his stirring keynote speech.

In 17 minutes, Obama went from an obscure state lawmaker to a force in national politics.

"It didn't surprise me at all," Kerry says. "If you have the ability to communicate ... and the timing is right, the moment is right, things come together. All those ingredients were there for Barack."

"I may have opened the door," Kerry adds. "He's the one who walked through it and did the heavy lifting."

When Barack Obama announced his presidential candidacy 18 months ago at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., he was still unknown to most Americans.

A freshman senator, Obama had been in Washington just two years — not long enough to leave much of a footprint. But even before he took office, some political phrasemakers started calling him a "rock star."

He appeared on numerous magazine covers, won two Grammys for recording his best-selling books, made TV appearances, received hundreds of invitations a week and traveled the country in 2006, stumping for Democratic candidates — building up chits along the way.

Video   Obama's ad: McCain practicing 'politics of the past' July 30: Watch Obama's full advertisement, a response to McCain's assertion that he is a 'celebrity' candidate. Nightly News

The spotlight only grew during the primary season, prompting a mocking TV ad this summer from John McCain, the GOP candidate, trying to portray Obama as a celebrity without the gravitas to be president.

But Obama proved to be an enormous draw on the campaign trail, packing arenas with overflow crowds as he promised an end to the Iraq war, a new era of bipartisanship in Washington and "change we can believe in."

Though he did not focus on race, it inevitably became part of the campaign as he racked up huge support among black voters.

His newcomer's status and compelling biography have helped and hurt him on his way to the nomination.

Video   Obama fights back against smear campaign June 12: Countdown’s Keith Olbermann talks about possible smears against Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, and the new Web site the campaign has set up to refute false attacks. Countdown

On the downside, he has been forced to spend much time debunking bogus rumors — spread on the Internet — that he is a Muslim, won't recite the Pledge of Allegiance and didn't use a Bible when he was sworn into the Senate.

But his youth and lack of seniority — Republicans call it inexperience — have been an asset, too, especially among young voters. They've been a key bloc of supporters and see Obama as a fresh face who can jolt Washington out of its well-worn groove.

As part of the Facebook generation, these younger voters have been among the more than 2 million people who've poured donations — many of them contributing small amounts — into a campaign that has become a financial juggernaut.

"He tapped into the new technology better than any candidate ever has, he knew what to do with the Internet and e-mail in a way no candidate has," says Durbin, his fellow Illinois Democrat. "He has turned it into an art form."

In Denver, though, Obama will turn to the old-fashioned powers of speechmaking when he steps on stage to address the crowd.

And this time, the tens of thousands of people will know exactly who he is.

McCain concedes, urges unity with Obama McCain joins Fey to joke on 'SNL' John McCain still has a shot Subscribe to McCain headlines -

Obama elected 44th president Obama campaign head gets big book deal Tears of joy, dancing in streets over Obama win Subscribe to Obama headlines -

MORE FROM THE CONVENTIONS

The conventions Section Front

MSNBC shifts Matthews, Olbermann McCain: End ‘constant partisan rancor’ NYT: Party in power, running as if it weren't Newsweek: God, Moose, Drilling. Summing up the RNC. GOP delegates ponder that unsettling 'what if?' Graham blasts Obama as defeatist ‘Community organizer’ becomes a punch line Obama raises $10 million after Palin speech NYT: Foreign policy factions divide GOP John McCain's acceptance speech The conventions Section Front   Add The conventions headlines to your news reader: