Creative Execution: What Great Leaders Do to Unleash Bold Thinking and Innovation

Obama’s Surge

From the time he declared his candidacy for the Democratic ticket in February 2007 to his election as U.S. president in November 2008, Barack Obama overcame a litany of political, racial, and ideological barriers that finally saw him defeat John McCain by seven percentage points. Not only did Obama become the first African American major-party nominee, but he also became the third sitting senator—after Warren Harding and John F. Kennedy—to be elected president. Most importantly, he had to overcome the powerful stigma of lacking global political experience—a weapon that both Clinton and McCain would wield against him—and provide credible answers to nagging geopolitical issues ranging from the precarious U.S. position in Iraq and ...