Obama Back in Ill. on Presidential Announcement Anniversary

Obama is the fourth sitting president to address the Illinois General Assembly, the last since 1978. That has been reflected in Springfield, where an eight-month budget standoff between the Republican governor and Democratic-controlled legislature has thrown the state into a crippling financial crisis.

The temperature was in the teens on that Saturday morning of February 7, 2007, when a youthful looking Senator Barack Obama took center stage at the Old State Capitol, where Abraham Lincoln had famously denounced slavery, declaring, “a house divided against itself can not stand”. With a rich history rooted in IL, most of Obama’s visit will be among old friends. Dunkin is facing a primary challenge and is being backed for re-election by Rauner allies. “We voted against each other all the time … but those relationships, that trust we built meant that we came at each debate assuming the best about each other, not the worst”, Obama insisted. Dunkin jumped out of his chair and shouted “Yes!” before Obama verbally slammed him. He then turned to Rep. Ken Dunkin and said, “We’ll talk later, Dunkin. Sit down”, Obama said as Democrats – and even some Republicans – erupted into wild cheers.

So there’s more than a hint of irony in Obama’s appeal for Americans to start working together, Illinois Republicans said.

“We have to be very intentional with trying to be civil with each other and trying to find common ground, so we can do what we were elected to do, which was to serve the people”, said Jehan Gordon-Booth. “It only adds to folks’ sense that the system is rigged, and it’s one of the reasons why we see these big electoral swings every few years”.

“What can we do, all of us together to try to make our politics better”.

Obama said that despite the gridlock in Washington, he’s accomplished a lot, ticking off examples, such as the economic recovery, his healthcare reform bill and the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. He sounded some of these same notes in his final State of the Union address last month, saying Democracy “doesn’t work if we think our political opponents are unpatriotic or trying to weaken America”. Both accompanied the president aboard Air Force One.

He continued: “One of my few regrets is my inability to reduce the polarization and meanness in our politics”. “I was able to be part of (reducing) that here and yet couldn’t translate it the way I wanted to into our politics in Washington”.

“When I woke up on February 10, 2007 in Springfield, Illinois, my heart was full of hope about the infinite possibilities that lay ahead”, Obama’s senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, wrote in a blog post Wednesday.

Obama says one of his first speeches as young lawmaker was eloquent and passionate and that he was “feeling pretty good” about himself.

Obama has made a decision in this a year ago in office, Durbin said, “to say what is on his mind and hope it has a positive impact either immediately or viewed favorably in the long run”.

On issue after issue, Obama’s agenda has been thwarted by stark disagreements with Republicans over the government’s role, leading Obama to act unilaterally in ways his opponents say is fit for a dictator.

But at the time of Obama’s announcement, his candidacy offered only the potential for historic change in the country.