Looking back on the legacy of Obama’s 2004 keynote DNC address
- Obama gave a passionate speech about hope and unity during the 2004 DNC
- These ideas would later become pillars of his 2008 presidential campaign
- Obama will now headline the 2024 DNC, making a case for Harris
Former President Obama speaks during a rally for Pennsylvania Democratic candidate for Senate John Fetterman at The Liacouras Center in Philidelphia, Pa., on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
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(NewsNation) — At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, a relatively unknown senate candidate from Illinois named Barack Obama gave the convention’s keynote address, launching him into the national spotlight and kickstarting his historic political career.
Obama’s 17-minute speech paid tribute to his background, offered tongue-in-cheek observations and spoke about the “audacity of hope” he saw in the country. The ideas of hope and unity he spoke to would go on to become hallmarks of Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
The self-declared “skinny kid with a funny name” captivated Democrats that night, going beyond a pitch for the party’s presidential nominee, and instead introducing the nation to his “politics of hope” and vision for the country not defined or defeated by its differences.
Before his speech, the idea of a low-profile senator running for president would have been laughable to many. After, political observers hailed the address an instant classic and drew comparisons to Martin Luther King Jr. and President John F. Kennedy. Many said Obama’s speech outshone 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, John Kerry, and positioned him as a rising star in the party.
“Without that Boston speech, there’s a question whether Barack would be running [for president] today,” his fellow senator from Illinois, Dick Durbin said at the time. “His public image changed because of that speech.”
Valerie Jarrett, Obama’s longest-serving senior adviser and longtime friend, put it more succinctly: “It changed his life.”
Twenty years later, the former two-term president is headlining the Democratic National Convention yet again, making the case for Vice President Kamala Harris as she works to energize Democratic voters and delegates.
“President Obama is still a north star in the party,” said Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who credits the 44th president with helping her become her state’s first Black woman lieutenant governor.
Obama will be speaking at the 2024 DNC on Tuesday. He is expected to honor President Joe Biden’s legacy and make a case for Harris as she faces similar cultural and ideological issues Obama experienced two decades ago.
