Obama became familiar to politics-followers with his 2004 DNC speech, which instantly short listed him for the next Democratic primary. It also made him so popu

Obama became familiar to politics-followers with his 2004 DNC speech, which instantly short listed him for the next Democratic primary. It also made him so popular he went around the country campaigning for other candidates. That's very unusual for a state representative in their first high-profile race. (It helped that he was basically unopposed in his Senate bid)