CHICAGO – Former President Barack Obama returned to his hometown Tuesday night to help launch the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, and to mark the continuation of his own political legacy.
In a moment unique in American history, Obama stood at the podium of the Democratic National Convention to endorse the nomination of the woman who has served as vice president to the man who once served as vice president to him.
“It’s been 16 years since I had the honor of accepting this party’s nomination for president,” Obama said, sporting his now-gray hair while joking that he had “not aged a bit” since that time. “And looking back, I can say without question that my first big decision as your nominee turned out to be one of my best, and that was asking Joe Biden to serve by my side as vice president.”
Obama’s appearance Tuesday came 20 years after he emerged on the national stage by giving a keynote address at the Democratic convention in Boston. He was an Illinois state senator at the time, representing a district in Chicago, and had just won the Democratic primary to run for U.S. Senate.
That speech focused on a theme he spoke of often in his career, “the politics of hope,” and specifically “the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too.”
Biden himself spoke to the convention Monday night in a kind of farewell address to the party and to the nation after a political career that has spanned more than 50 years.
Biden had been a candidate for reelection and was the party’s presumptive nominee after sweeping primary races in which he ran without significant opposition.
President Joe Biden wipes a tear from his eye after being introduced for his Monday night speech by his daughter Ashley. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
But a poor debate performance in June led many party leaders – reportedly including Obama – to question whether the 81-year-old president was physically and mentally fit for another term or capable of winning the election.
Biden resisted that pressure for weeks but eventually agreed in July to drop out of the race and endorsed Harris for the nomination.
“Her story represents the best American story,” Biden told the convention Monday, quipping that “like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president.”
Obama on Tuesday left no doubt he has full confidence in Harris’ ability to lead the nation.
“Kamala Harris is ready for the job,” he said. “This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion.”
The appearances of Biden and Obama at the convention, as well as the scheduled appearance Wednesday of former President Bill Clinton, stand in stark contrast to last month’s Republican National Convention. Neither former President George W. Bush nor former Sen. Mitt Romney – the only two living previous nominees – took part in the convention in Milwaukee.
The impact Obama has had on Illinois politics could be seen on the convention floor where some of the people who have followed in his footsteps were now serving as delegates to the convention. They included Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who succeeded Obama in the Illinois Senate after Obama was elected to the U.S. Senate, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who now holds the seat Obama occupied before being elected president.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth delivers a speech at the Democratic National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Duckworth spoke briefly to the convention Tuesday night but confined her remarks to criticizing the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, for his record opposing abortion rights and appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.
An Army veteran who lost her legs when her helicopter was shot down during combat in Iraq, Duckworth said she struggled with infertility for 10 years before undergoing in vitro fertilization, or IVF, which enabled her to have two daughters.
“My struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battlefield,” she said. “So how dare a convicted felon like Donald Trump treat women seeking health care like they’re the ones breaking the law?”
Obama and his wife Michelle, who also spoke Tuesday, now make their home in the Washington, D.C., area, but they maintain strong ties to Chicago. The Obama Presidential Center – a planned museum, library and education project currently under construction on Chicago’s south side, is scheduled to open in 2026.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
