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-Good morning, guys. -Good morning.

Good.

Go directly to you by the seventh ,

and then we are out of there.

Uh, what have they called so far? Sharon.

Right now we have a major projection,

major projection to make in the state of Maryland...

...we project will be elected,

the next United States senator from the state of Maryland,

succeeding Paul Sarbanes--

-Alright, that's good. -Did you call them?

No, I'm gonna make calls now.

Do they have a count on the House seats yet?

That's the only one that's a pick-up,

though Yarmuth in Louisville

is up with...

-That's what I'm talking about. -96% in, but they haven't called it.

My goal is every candidate-- Every candidate

I campaign for, I want to win.

-Every single one.

Hey, congratulations, Madam Speaker.

We--

Well, listen, we're-- We're so proud of you.

You're-- You're making history, and, uh,

let's figure out how I can be helpful going forward.

Alright. Bye-bye.

We keep asking you,

are you ready to run?

Are you ready to serve as President?

You know, the, uh--

I haven't had time

to catch my breath. This, I think,

will be the first week where I haven't taken off my shoes

at the airport security terminal. So,

I'm gonna step back, take a look at what's going on,

and, you know, really do some soul-searching in terms of

how I can be most useful to the country.

I haven't had time to do that yet.

...this point with 84 and a half in.

- You don't get a lot tighter than that. -Nope.

I love elections.

It's so much fun.

It's even more fun when you're not on the ballot.

-My name is Ronnie,

calling from the Barack Obama campaign here in Des Moines.

And just wanted to try to get acquainted

with people in the community.

I'm gonna be working in that area

through the caucuses in January.

Oh, you do a caucus? Well, that's great.

Have you decided who you'll be supporting?

Not yet. Well, you're right. It is awfully early.

Well, Alvin, is there a particular issue

that you care about?

Something that stands out in your mind?

Just basically just trying to get out there,

set up meetings with activists, let them know that we're here

and we'd like to talk to them. You know,

people wanna see him,

but they don't necessarily know a lot about him.

-He is the biggest and best tool we have

in terms of drawing people in to get interested.

I think that's half the battle.

-How are you? Having fun? -What's going on?

It's been a couple of crazy days, huh?

-I like this. -You like it?

-Yeah, I do. -Okay, good.

Linda, I can't wait to see you on the 30th,

and let's just-- Let's just stay in touch.

Say hi to-- Say hi to your husband and son for me.

Alright, bye-bye.

-I'm the one--

Sorry, after this next...

-these next two calls, -Yes, sir.

are we going straight to the farm thing?

Yes. We'll do the remaining press calls in the car.

I just want a second to change out of--

This is not the best outfit for...

-I hear you. -rural America.

We got overalls.

-I'm not gonna wear overalls. -And a horse.

-Is that gonna be a problem?

A horse I won't mind, actually. That sounds kinda cool.

So I just want to check in and find out

what we need to do to earn your support,

because I think once I get you, that puts us over the top.

Then I've got-- I've got Iowa at that point.

I, you know, I--

I understand completely,

but, you know, the one thing I will say is that...

we wanna make sure that

anybody who is supporting us,

that, you know, this is all part of a single team.

I'm fascinated by Obama.

Here's a man who's been in town--

Washington for two-- Two years?

As near as I can tell, hasn't done a thing?

Apparently there's no performance criteria,

in the process of selecting somebody to be President.

Nobody asked the question what has he,

in fact, ever done?

What do you think of Barack Obama?

I think he's a cool guy. I don't know much

about the guy to be honest with you.

I have no clue who that is.

-You don't? Okay. -I have no clue who that is.

Wait, is he African American?

-Yeah. -Okay.

That'd be really cool if he was our next President then.

I got a "O," you got a "Bama."

-O! O! -Bama! Bama!

I got a "O," you got a "Bama."

-O! O! -Bama! Bama!

I got a "O," you got a "Bama."

-O! O! O! O! -Bama! Bama! Bama! Bama!

I haven't done this since, um,

I campaigned for Bobby Kennedy

back in mid '60s, '68.

There just hasn't been anybody that's been exciting enough.

I, O, W, A,

Barack Obama all the way.

I, O, W, A, Barack Obama all the way.

I, O, W, A, Barack Obama all the way!

Do you think this country is ready

to elect the first African American President?

-No. No. -Sure.

Not even Colin Powell? He would get elected.

That's a different story.

He's smart enough to know not to run.

Right now I have to say that I'm--

I'm looking at Edwards.

I would like to see Richardson.

I don't like any of the candidates.

I don't think any of them are the right people.

I think Hillary's been around too long.

She doesn't stand for anything anymore.

Obama's wonderful but he's just a little too young and untried.

'Course after Bush, anybody can be President.

I can be President.

It's for good reason, if you think about it

the odds of me standing here are very slim.

I wasn't born to money, I wasn't born to fame,

I didn't have a famous family member.

You know, my father left when I was two years old.

I was raised by a single mom

and by my grandparents.

And so they-- They gave me love,

and they gave me an education,

and they gave me hope.

I met Barack Obama in 1992.

He was an extraordinary guy.

He was thoughtful, he was funny

-and he was obviously well-motivated.

In 2002,

-I heard that he was considering

a race in 2004 for the Senate, and I'd thought, like,

if you could elect Barack Obama to the United States Senate

that you'd be doing something that

you could be proud of for the rest of your life.

She was the manager for my first campaign.

Yes, I was.

Carol Harwell, from the west side of Chicago.

-Right on.

If it wasn't for her, I'd be nowhere.

Thank you.

Over the course of time,

and particularly in the spring of 2006, leading into the summer,

-everywhere he went, he was drawing huge crowds.

And at each event people would say,

"You really ought to think about running for President."

Barack asked us a lot of questions, and we said,

"Why would you wanna run for

President of the United States?"

-And he said, "I have a strong feeling about

"what it would mean to a lot of young kids around this country

"the moment I raise my hand and swore that oath

because all of a sudden, anything would be possible."

Appreciate you taking the time to come out,

even though it's a little hot.

-You gonna shake his hand? -I know.

But you know, my-- my daughter--

How old are you, nine?

Yeah, my daughter is nine. She explained me,

"Dad, you know, kids don't shake hands.

-They just say 'Hey'."

I think I'm gonna win again. That's my prediction.

You just--

Alright, Sasha.

Sasha!

I did nothing!

-You just ruin everything.

That was perfect.

I'll-- I'll get it.

If it's Kathy, tell her she can stay as long as she wants.

Hello?

Hi, Daddy.

-Oh, it's Daddy. -Dada.

I'm fine.

Daddy, I had to eat a lot of chocolate today.

Yup.

Okay.

I love you. Okay.

Hi, Daddy.

Good. Yes, I went to the gym.

Uh, I played with Poi ball.

-Poi ball.

You wanna talk to Mama?

Okay. Mommy.

Alright, I play, Malia play, you play.

Hello.

I had, you know,

a lot of practical questions

that I needed answers to before I could say definitely

that this is something that I could handle.

Which I was telling Lindsay about--

That is funny how they do the--

How is this gonna work?

What would be the schedule?

How often would Barack be on the road?

What would be expected of me

as a campaigner

-and spokesperson?

Now I'm really not tired.

A little ice cream boost.

-You wanna hold on to this?

-Can I have a lick? -You can.

Yeah, that's your second.

-Go ahead, finish it. -Malia, can I have a lick?

-Malia, can I have a lick? -And how would we

structure our time to ensure that our girls

would not be pulled out of their lives?

How much would it cost us as a family?

How are we financially going to handle

me reducing my hours

at work to be able to participate?

What would the campaign do,

if anything, about security?

We obviously got all the-- Those questions answered

to my satisfaction,

and, as a result, we are now

running for President.

-What are you gonna be when you grow up? -Ah...

I wanna be an actress.

How do you feel about your dad running for President?

What's it been like?

-It's hot.

-Hi, how are you? -This is actually taped.

-This is actually taped. -It's taped. It was supposed to be live,

-and then our sat truck went down, of course. -No problem.

-How'd this event go?

It's great.

Except for the, you know, seven trains that went by

and the bug that he ate. Other than that...

I'll never forget the first time I met Barack.

I was in this office, and we were working on the weekend,

and he walks in.

I sort of pop up and then I shake his hand.

He was great. I mean, I didn't spent a lot of time with him

until they got to the Senate.

I always sort of felt like there wasn't a day

where I didn't feel like he was uniquely qualified

to do anything.

You know, be a Senator, be a CEO, lead the country.

And that's what's so impressive about the guy.

-Okay, hey, guys. -How are you?

-This is my Polk County staff? -Yeah, some of them.

-Good-looking group.

Alright. Are any of these people over 30?

Nope.

You're part of something really historic today.

We've got 10, 15,000 people

around the country,

right now as we speak, knocking doors

and attending events and spreading the message

about the campaign.

What this really speaks to

is the kind of grassroots enthusiasm

that Barack Obama's candidacy

is inspiring all across the country.

He's a community organizer at heart.

So door-to-door canvassing, phone calls,

real contact with voters.

Even in a Presidential campaign, his firm belief

is that to both succeed electorally

and transform the country and make the changes we need to,

we need to build a grassroots movement for change.

-Where are you gonna walk? -Just here in Illinois.

Can we follow you?

Uh, well I've got to wait for my son to wake up,

so this is kind of our own freelance canvas.

Barack is walking in about 20 minutes.

-Thanks for coming out. Hey, everybody.

-I just wanted to say thank you so much for coming.

You know, this isn't a bad day to be outside.

I just want to let all of you know,

I wanna shake hands with everybody.

Hi, very nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Iowa. -Hey, good to see you. How are you?

Running for President is like being an astronaut.

You can go in the simulator all you want,

but until you're orbiting in space,

you don't really know what it's gonna be like.

I've been shaking hands...

for three straight hours.

Straight.

You guys are killing me!

-I'm physically spent.

I don't know how I'm going to give a speech!

It's like I've been through a wrestling match!

-Marvin! -Yes, sir.

-You all are killing me, man. -What's the matter?

I've been shaking hands three hours straight!

-We're early, though. -We're early.

-We're early, though.

You got a lot more hands to shake in this state.

-Good morning again. -Good to see you.

Okay, so I wanna emphasize that.

I'm gonna talk about CAFE, I'm gonna talk about cap and trade,

low-carbon standard.

The equivalent of removing...

Now, you know, there was a statistic,

I don't know if you guys still have it,

that if you're making the fuel less harmful

and then you're also making the cars

use less fuel, and, in combination,

then it ends up being real powerful.

...begin to engage in this whole support process.

The whole country is watching us.

We came here to listen.

This man came here to talk to you.

He came here to listen to you.

This is our place. This is his time.

Mr. Senator Barack Obama.

And there really isn't any corollary

for what he's gone through

because almost every candidate for President,

save a very few, start off

in semi-obscurity, and then work their way up.

I always say, you know,

most of them get to try their stuff out

in New Haven and Topeka before they get to Broadway.

We opened up right on Broadway.

Critics in the front row.

And that's an awful lot of pressure.

The reality is, Obama is not gonna be the nominee

for the simple fact that he's never run a competitive race

outside a state-legislative district in Illinois,

That is not gonna happen.

He can't win the election.

Why not?

I don't think that America's ready for it yet.

Just because of his race

and his views.

People are saying they're viewing him kinda as, like,

a terrorist. They associate him with the terrorists and stuff,

so, it's-- I don't know.

I think he'll have a tough time winning just because of that

whole association-by-race.

I find it kinda interesting.

Everybody keeps asking me, "Well, you think

that Obama got a leg up because he's African American?"

My question is, well, does Clinton have a leg up

because she's a woman?

I'm actually going to wear a button for Hillary this time.

And then my husband won't commit himself,

but if he doesn't vote for her-- We've been married 41 years.

If he doesn't vote for her, we're through.

We got to put up a fight against Hillary.

We've had about 20 years of the Bushes and Hillarys.

We want a fresh start, fresh face. That's Barack Obama.

Is Hillary Clinton pulling away for the Democratic nomination?

A new USA Today Gallup Poll

gives her a double-digit lead right now over Barack Obama.

Is she the inevitable nominee?

Has Hillary Clinton got this thing locked?

Good job, Hillary. Good job.

Well, you know, if you can't stand the heat,

-get out of the kitchen.

Finally. Alright.

You get to pick out any prize you like.

You want an update? I'm trying to get him on TV.

On a local NBC affiliate, Live at 6 ,

but I have no clue where we're gonna be, where we are

and how long it's taking to get there.

We're literally on our way out.

-Hey, I'm Tommy. -Oh, hey, Tommy. Tommy Vietor?

-Yeah. -Scott Helman from the Boston Globe .

-Hey, man! -How are you?

I've been reading you forever. I've been

swearing about Boston sports.

Way to stick it to us on that crap lobbying story.

Yeah, I knew you wouldn't like that.

That's such bullshit.

When are we gonna move past the gotcha story?

Oh, come on, that was totally not bullshit--

Here's the reason it's a bullshit story...

Sir, we did two. Is that okay?

- Alright. - Oh, look at that.

-Which one is it? -Yeah, you did it, I think.

- Yeah, you got it. -Oh, I got it!

Hey, thank you! Will you sign her thing?

I got a picture of you and Hillary.

Yesterday was Dave's birthday.

-Yeah, you told me. -Okay, just want to make sure.

Dave, we're here.

Alright, we're with Senator Barack Obama

outside our Cast Your Kernel poll here.

Senator, if you would like the honor here of actually voting.

There's your corn kernel.

Now, as you may see here, sir,

-you're getting out-jarred now. -Excuse me, everybody.

I need everybody to get a corn kernel

and start filling up a jar.

You don't want me to be behind. It's heartbreaking.

So, we need to catch up.

By Sunday, we're gonna have overtaken

all the other candidates when it comes to their corn kernels,

-alright? Do I have a commitment? -Yeah.

-That's it. Thank you, guys.

Hello, is this Barbara?

My name's Lorenzo, and I'm nine years old.

I'm a volunteer with the Obama campaign. How are you?

-Where's Diana?

Who's Diana?

Obama is the candidate running for President.

No, not-- Not Diana. Obama.

Well, he is a candidate running for President.

He's a candidate running for President.

Of the United States of America.

No, Hillary is running for President.

Obam--

Hope you have a wonderful day.

How are you, sir?

-What's your name? -Joe Scott.

Good to see you, Joe. How you been? Is this your shop?

-No. -Oh.

Hi, Barack. What's your name?

-John. -Nice to meet you, John.

-Sarah. -Hey, Sarah, good to see you.

-Kay. -Hey, Kay.

-Rose. -Nice to meet you.

-You too. -Well, thank you very much

for saying hello. This is--

This is as nice a downtown as I've seen.

Obama has raised more money--

a little bit more money than Hillary.

Yet...

if you look at the national polls,

his momentum just stalled at a certain point this summer.

People are starting to question whether

he has what it takes to take down Hillary.

-Congratulations. -Thank you.

So the question everyone has been waiting

to have answered in this campaign

is when is Obama gonna start moving in these national polls?

Senator Hillary Clinton's widening her lead

-with a 30-point lead. I had to ask, I have to ask.

-Does it concern you at all?

-I mean...

We're having a good time in Iowa.

You know, the national polls story will run--

Sooner or later, it has to run itself out.

At some point, there'll be the first actual vote.

I think these polls can change. I think

he's not in the best position to win,

but, by no means is he not in a position to win.

The strength of Obama's calling card is

he's a community organizer.

This campaign is his laboratory for organizing.

He's got my vote. He's on time.

He showed up on time. He's got my vote.

What?

You guys getting excited for the big dinner?

-I am. -You are?

-Yeah. -Is his speech all ready?

-Haven't written it yet. -Oh, yeah.

Jon is, in my view,

a brilliant young guy.

Is he a hero of yours?

Yeah, he's one of them for sure.

I mean, you know, cliché but as a speech writer,

you always look to Kennedy for sure.

I think for speeches, even Bobby Kennedy's speeches

are probably even more inspirational in some senses.

It's a little more like Barack, I think.

I think he has a good ear for Barack's voice.

It's a very tough thing to be a speech writer for Barack,

because Barack is the best speech writer in our group.

Now, you guys may argue with me with on this, but, again,

I'm just trying to give a little bit of a--

I want this to be populist,

but I want a little bit of a flavor. Forward-looking.

So, one place we can put it.

"I will eliminate capital gains tax for small businesses

to start up their engine of growth."

He always wrote most of his speeches himself before this.

He's had to get used to having... writers around,

just because the nature of a Presidential campaign.

But he doesn't give up, you know--

He's still the chief speech writer, always.

We are 77, 8,

something like that, days out from the Iowa caucus.

I am working on the speech he'll give

at the Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Iowa,

which is a pretty big deal, where all the candidates

are gonna appear at the same time.

It's a big organizational test

of each campaign, see who can turn out the most people,

the most raucous crowd, give a great speech.

We think of the 9000 people going to J-J tonight,

3,000-- We know 3,000 are our votes.

3,000 or more.

As you can see.

People ask me, "Why do you think you can win Iowa?"

And I think if we're in a close race, these kids,

they're gonna win it for us.

Thank you, guys.

They think they're changing the world

and that's the best thing that they could do,

and God bless them. We need more of them.

-The good news is I think they are. -Yeah.

I am running in this race,

because of what Dr. King called,

"The fierce urgency of now."

I believe the American people

are tired of fear

-and tired of distractions

and tired of diversions.

We can make this election

not about fear, but about the future,

and that won't just be a Democratic victory,

that will be an American victory!

That's why I'm running, Democrats!

Thank you very much, everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The J.J. was a big task.

Nine thousand people,

and the whole political world focused on you.

Your opponent's sitting in front of you.

No teleprompter, no notes.

Just you and this crowd.

And he just knocked it out of the park.

And I think the campaign

changed dramatically that day.

She's so real, I'm here to tell you.

I just want to say to the parents,

thank you for doing a great job.

I want to say to the organizers,

don't believe everything I'm saying right now

because I'm talking to your parents.

-You better be working hard

over these last two months.

-We've got a lot of work to do!

We gotta go get some caucus-goers!

We gotta knock on doors!

We gotta make phone calls!

We gotta get everybody in Iowa fired up!

I'm ready to go!

I'm finding supporters out of the woodworks.

My neighbors down the street I had no idea about

are supporting Obama.

You can tell that, you know,

the momentum has definitely shifted.

I remember there were times when people

couldn't even pronounce "Barack Obama,"

much less end up caucusing for him,

so he's come a long way.

We can start here. This is Stephanie Grobman.

-Hey. -What happened?

I had to pick up Senator Wofford from the airport.

Oh, that's so nice of you.

-Was he nice? -Yeah, he was.

You know, I think that we are

at this moment that doesn't come around that often,

where we've got a chance

to make big change.

After seven years of disastrous foreign policy

and a country that is more divided

and less competitive than it was before.

I think, not only Democrats, but Republicans and Independents

are looking for something new.

Anything keeping you up at night at this point?

Uh, nothing keeps me up at night.

-It must be exhausting. -Yeah, it's tiring.

Now, actually, one thing that keeps me up at night

is the prospect of...

dealing with all the problems that we've got right now.

So, when I fret,

it's not about the campaign. It's about governing

and figuring out how can we lead this country

to a better direction?

Do you have time to reflect on what,

you know, what's happening to you?

No.

At some point I will.

-Alright.

He seems different now.

I sensed before that this civil rights professor,

walked in and gave very deliberative answers,

all of which is laudable. He thinks things through,

but in sound-bite world, he was terrible.

Well, now, that Barack Obama

that flashed onto the national scene

is showing up in Waterloo.

His trajectory is good at this point.

Now, can he bring it home? That's the beauty of Iowa.

Nobody knows.

Alright, everybody.

Thanks for getting on the phone.

12 months ago today, Barack was in Hawaii

wrestling whether to run, on Christmas Eve.

We had no infrastructure.

If ever there was a David vs. Goliath situation,

if Barack were to run, this is it.

Barack came back from Hawaii and told us

he was gonna run for the Presidency,

and this improbable journey began.

We were facing the most dominant national front-runner

our party has seen in a generation, if not more.

I talked to Barack when he landed

after having been out in Iowa with you guys on that bus tour.

And he said, "You know, I really wanna win this."

I said, "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock."

And he said, "No, I really wanna win Iowa."

I said, "Yeah, you know, if we win Iowa,

I think we're off to the races." He said, "No, no.

It's not about anything like that."

He says, "I wanna win for those kids."

Yeah, and...

He believes so strongly in what you guys are doing.

In eight days, we're gonna win the Iowa caucus,

in 13 days, we're gonna win the New Hampshire primary.

In 24 days, the Nevada caucus,

31 days, the South Carolina primary.

In 39 days, on February 5th,

we're gonna clinch this nomination.

Then we'll have to deal with Mitt or Rudy or Huckabee

or whatever asshole they nominate.

And November 4th, you all in this zone

are gonna be responsible for electing Barack Obama,

the 44th President of the United States.

-How's it going? -It's going very well.

Alright, well, we need your support too.

-Yeah. -Are you both undecided?

-We're undecided. -Oh, goodness.

-But all of our family's-- -You gotta work on 'em.

We need your support.

-I-I-I haven't decided yet.

-I haven't decided yet. -Were you listening to me?

-Yeah. -Were you awake?

-...Republican. -Were you awake?

-Yeah. -You know you love me.

-Hi. -...caucus for Obama!

-Uh, uh... -Say, "Yes, I am."

-Will you sign this? -I will.

He says that if

Barack Obama gets nominated,

we won't have to worry about living on peanuts.

That's right. That is absolutely right.

It's New Year's Eve

and everyone's on tenterhooks

waiting for the Des Moines register poll, which is...

the serious poll of what's gonna happen.

And the caucus is just a few days away.

Oh shit, it's up!

What-- Uh, what is it?

-Oh... -Obama at 32.

Clinton, 25. Edwards, 24.

Woo! That's wonderful.

32 to 25.

That's gonna do it.

Alright. Love you too, Mom.

Bye.

Yeah. Seven points, baby.

I asked for a seven-point lead today. Who knew?

Fired up, ready to go!

Fired up, ready to go! Fired up, ready to go!

Fired up, ready to go!

Listen, listen. I really want everybody to know this.

Polls don't mean shit.

And if you think tonight that this is done,

you're wrong.

This is a close, close, close race.

And we are on the verge of making history.

On the verge.

And what we do tomorrow,

and what we do the next day and what we do the day after that

determines whether we're gonna make history or not.

Michelle and I had a really interesting conversation

and she said,

"We're not doing this again."

At first I thought she just meant well, you know what?

I'm never home and it's hard on the family.

And she meant a little bit of that,

but what she really meant was, you know,

that the reason that it was important for us to do this now,

the reason it's better for us to do it now than later,

is we're still almost normal.

Which I loved. It was a great line.

I attribute it to you. It was a good one.

And what she meant was, you know what,

five years ago, six years ago...

We had just finished paying off our student loans.

Three years ago. What are you--?

-Well, it was actually five or six.

We were still living in a condo.

It was a little bit too small for the kids,

a growing family.

We still had credit card debt. We were trying to figure out

how to save for college for the girls

and to save for our retirement.

I mean, the point is, is that

we've gone through what people are going through right now

relatively recently.

We don't forget it.

And so, when I go into the White House,

I will be carrying your voices with me.

What it comes down to is, who do you trust?

And, you know, I think that if you trust me,

then I think I'll-- I'll deliver it for you.

Alright? I'm gonna go to bed.

-Thank you.

It's caucus day!

I saw Tom Vilsack, the former governor,

Iowa governor.

He said, "Happy Caucus Day!"

Whoever thought that was a greeting?

-So, you guys know where to go?

Altoona Being There Coffee House?

We're gonna be in there, like, 10 minutes.

-10 minutes? -So we'll leave right now.

Grab a sign for good old-fashioned visibility.

Right down Main Street, USA.

I remember feeling

so proud of...

of this opportunity and, you know, my parents,

they really have truly come from absolutely nothing.

My dad has never had any money in his life.

My mom, you know, she's from Seoul, Korea.

She was born and raised there and moved out here

when my mom and dad got married.

You know, we lived in a car

for, you know, the first couple of years of my life.

And I was the first member of my family to go to college,

and now I'm working for Barack Obama, right?

Just one of those-- one of those stories.

Hey, have you guys seen this one

-where we do the O-dance? -No.

Everyone's gotta do it, so let's get in over here.

-So, alright... remember that episode of The Fresh Prince

where they were like-- that one, he's doing a little dance

like this? Everyone watch me and then we're all gonna do this.

Alright!

How do you feel today?

Good. Uh, confident.

I feel like we did everything we could.

And the crowds have been great

and the volunteers have been great.

-It's nice to see you. -Nice to see you, thank you.

Ethan, who are you voting for?

Who are you voting for?

I'm going for Barack Obama.

We've been doing this for months, and this is it.

You-- We've worked too hard to let this go now.

So now let's just, close the deal.

Have to close the deal. It's more-- At this--

This just means too much. Means too much.

New Hampshire and Des Moines?

You're making-- You're gonna make me cry.

I've been like this all day. I've been so emotional today.

Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me.

-I'm with you. -Thank you.

Did you sleep at all last night?

Uh, yeah, for, like, two or three hours.

Yeah, it was great.

It was great.

Put a fork in her,

her goose will be cooked.

...receiving end of a tirade.

We'll see. We'll see soon.

Just a little bit more than an hour from now.

What's going on?

We have to say, "And finally."

Wolf, I think the most important thing to remember

about the Democratic caucuses is they're not an election.

They are a caucus. They're more like a meeting,

and people stand up and be counted.

They actually walk up to their candidate's location.

They usually put up a poster for each candidate,

and in front of their neighbors,

they decide who to vote for.

And now, we come to the key rule.

Any candidate who is 15 percent or more,

gets to go on to the next round.

It's called the viability threshold.

And any candidate who is not, uh--

does not get 15 percent, they're out.

I always think that people should witness

the Iowa caucuses firsthand, because I--

I do believe it's true democracy in action.

This is so exciting. The parking lot is full.

-People are streaming in. It's democracy in action. -Yeah.

I'm seeing a lot of my neighbors here.

And they're all on Obama's side, and that's great.

There'll be a lot of cajoling. People will say,

"Hey, come over to our side." And you're like,

"No, I'm an Obama supporter, I'm staying put."

This is many more people that we were expecting.

About four times more.

Uh, this is like listening to the pregame of the Super Bowl.

None of it matters.

Just kick off the damn ball.

You may now break into your preference groups.

Obama, you sit towards the end. Obama, over here.

Obama people, hold your hands up!

We're gonna start counting!

Hold them up!

43, 44, 45.

63.

64.

65.

So who said it's crazy? What does that mean?

Oh.

Biden, Dodd and Richardson are not viable.

This is our final round of realignment.

I'm a Republican.

I registered Democrat.

That's why I'm here.

Just get in there. Go, Obama.

We need two more people.

Somebody get in the hallway and find me two people.

I need someone with a green card.

And I don't mean the immigration kind.

Sir, have you already given your vote?

You guys wanna be with the winners?

Okay.

I'm inviting you to join us

with the Obama group.

How about some stickers?

-Give me a sticker. -Hey, hey!

I need one person for Obama! Damn.

Oh, you don't wanna be counted for Obama?

Yes, I have been counted for Obama.

Oh, yes, thank you! You rock!

That's the latest.

We will elect eight delegates

to the county convention for this precinct.

Edwards will elect two delegates,

-Obama will elect four delegates.

Clinton will elect two delegates.

We are back on the air here in Des Moines

and we have news to report at this hour.

NBC News is projecting

that when all the caucus-goer's preferences are counted up,

Barack Obama will win the Iowa caucuses

on the Democratic side.

-Holy shit.

Holy shit. Holy shit!

History.

History. Unbelievable.

Unbelievable. There is hope.

H-O-P-E.

How are you feeling?

-Pretty good. -We just told her.

You did? What'd she say?

Not much. She jumped.

Who knew?

I might throw up now, It's okay, though.

Wow.

-What? -It's one state, 49 more.

Winning Iowa is a big victory for Barack Obama.

This gives him the momentum

to be the first African American

to actually win the Presidency.

A state that's,

so few minorities as Iowa has,

I think we've proven a lot of people--

It proved a lot of people wrong tonight.

So now, I would like to introduce you

to the next first family of the United States of America.

Yeah!

Obama! Obama!

Thank you, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Iowa.

I used to get really kind of ecstatic at things like this,

but now Plouffe is rubbing off on me,

and I've got a real even kind of metabolism.

We'll win New Hampshire in five days

and then we'll feel really good.

I feel good.

Oh, man.

What I was so pleased with was,

not just the fact that we won all the raw numbers,

but what it showed about the country.

I think it's fair to say

that there were some who were skeptical

that young people would come out,

that Independents and Republicans

would be voting Democratic in the--

caucusing in the Democratic caucus.

Can you just describe that moment when

it sort of sunk in that you and your family

won the first-- The first battle?

Uh...

We've felt good for the last two weeks...

because we were so proud of what was happening on the ground.

We were seeing the crowds, and so,

regardless of how the numbers played out exactly,

we were really confident about us having changed

how politics operated

in this caucus,

and it makes me very optimistic about the country.

I think we can do it with the country as a whole.

-Thank you, guys. -That wasn't bad, guys.

-Thank you. -Alright, let me go to sleep.

-Thank you. -Thanks, Senator.

-Can you sleep? -You bet.

Uh, what is this?

How come we can't see the Patriots game?

It's blacked out.

How can the Patriots game be blacked out?

We didn't-- They say we didn't purchase it.

Toot, it's your grandson.

I realized I hadn't talked to you in a while.

And so, I was thinking--

that was, in fact, how I started thinking about how...

How come I'm not in Hawaii right now?

'Cause that's where I usually am.

-That's where I belong. Exactly.

-Who's that? -Me and Uncle Rocky.

-Uncle Rocky have big ears.

Ooh.

What's it like to have Barack Obama

as your brother and my brother-in-law?

There are moments, of course,

when you recognize that there's sacrifice involved,

and like I said, he belongs to the world now

and, you know,

you have to sort of come to terms with that

and to know that your conversations

aren't necessarily going to be as long.

He's awfully busy, and...

and that you might not have him for two weeks at Christmastime

and, you know, December, that sort of thing.

But again, you realize, well, it's...

it is worth it.

His father had been spotted by AID folks

in Kenya as someone

with the kind of intellect,

the kind of drive, the kind of energy

that we were hoping to attract as students

back in those days, in the late '50s, early '60s,

to come to the United States.

Barack's mother, almost the mirror opposite.

She was sweet and kind,

but very, very smart.

But a much more placid personality.

Still water ran deep with her.

It's an interesting thing,

because he is the embodiment of his mom,

uh, in his demeanor,

but his intellect, of course, is like his dad.

I've always said that,

"Barack, you'd always be that voice of reason."

So, as a kid, he had that voice of reason.

He wasn't one of those kids who just went with the flow

because that's what you're supposed to do.

And I do see that in him now as an adult.

You know, and I think that's what appeals to so many people.

This is where Barack grew up, with our grandparents.

They lived on the 10th floor,

and our grandmother still resides there.

His grandparents, you called them grandparents,

but they were his parents, you know, growing up here.

He was just a very normal boy.

He wanted to be

a big-time basketball player.

And he played basketball

every minute that he could.

He had a group of boys that

would come over to this apartment

and raid the refrigerator,

and go play basketball and do things.

I know this is hard on you, missing all of us,

Maya and all the kids.

Well, I love you, sweetie.

Alright, bye-bye. Yeah.

That was a good call.

Last night, Barack Obama won an historic victory in Iowa

beating Hillary Clinton.

For Clinton, what was once considered inevitable

is now barely likely.

Are Democrats over Hill and looking for a change?

Is Barack Obama on the eve of what it looks like a victory?

Not only that, I mean it looks like

the trajectory is still going up.

I actually don't think she's been way ahead.

She was way ahead in the polls at one time.

She's not way ahead in the polls now.

-Yay, Obama! -Woo!

We got used to him having big crowds, okay?

But to get a big crowd in New Hampshire

-is not-- is really unusual.

I mean, look at this line! It stretches--

Around the block doesn't do it justice.

Something's happening here.

These people are still here.

It's because their movie's now gonna get a lot better.

Hey, guys!

This is it. This is-- This is our...

Our army.

I don't know who thought about doing a college rally at 8:30.

That's stupid.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome

a woman who will be the future First Lady,

Michelle Obama.

Follow the arrow out,

In case I was like, where do I go?

Barack Obama is surging right now in the polls.

Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney are sinking.

Can Clinton and Romney survive? If they lose tomorrow...

Young people voted at the same rate as senior citizens, which--

-Oh, we did. We won all of them, but still,

just to see all these new people to decide,

-we're gonna try this time. -Yep.

Here's when Democrats in New Hampshire

will make their minds up, and Independents.

Tomorrow, the debate. How will Hillary perform?

She does well in debates.

What can you say to the voters of New Hampshire

on this stage tonight,

who see your resumé and like it,

but are hesitating on the likability issue,

where they seem to like Barack Obama more?

Well, that hurts my feelings.

-I'm sorry, Senator.

But I'll try to go on. He's very likable,

I agree with that.

-I don't think I'm that bad. -You're likable enough.

-Thank you so much.

So I was riding in the bus with him on Monday,

before the primary, and someone said--

looked at their e-mail or something and said,

"Hillary had a breakdown of some sort

on the trail, and it's online."

You know, I have so many opportunities from this country,

I just don't wanna see us fall backwards.

You know, so...

You know, this is very personal for me.

It's not just political, it's not just public.

I see what's happening,

and we have to reverse it.

I remember thinking at that moment, I don't know.

I don't know how this is gonna play.

Because one of the things that had plagued her

was this sort of lack of authenticity and humanity,

and here was this very human moment,

and whether she was crying because she was losing or not,

she was showing an emotion people could relate to.

-Mr. Obama! Come on, come on!

-Are you nervous? -What's up?

There's more and more people--

No, I'm not nervous, I feel great.

We just wanna make sure everybody goes to the polls.

We've only won one state.

If we do well tonight, maybe two.

Then there are 48 to go.

Linda, Hillary Clinton woke up this primary morning,

her Presidential aspirations potentially on the line,

ready to work for every last vote.

She traveled to five different polling sites in five hours

trying to rally her supporters, hoping to turn the tide

against her predicted by the polls.

The exit polls all day have gone from...

The first wave was about nine points,

the second wave about four or five points,

and the final wave is about one point,

Obama over Hillary, all three.

And now, the returns that are coming in are showing her up

by like five or six points.

As soon as we started getting returns,

Matt Rodriguez, our state coordinator,

looked at some precincts from Manchester

and he said, "How could this be?"

You know, we're gonna lose.

And CNN is now ready to project that Hillary Clinton has won

the New Hampshire primary.

Hillary Clinton will emerge the victor tonight.

So, we went up to tell Barack that

we weren't gonna win the New Hampshire primary,

he having gone into his dinner with his wife,

thinking that he was preparing for a victory.

We were in a hotel room,

and whenever...

Gibbs and Axelrod come up with that kind of

sheepish hangdog look, then you know that

things aren't going the way they're supposed to.

-I want especially

to thank New Hampshire.

Over the last week

I listened to you,

and in the process

I found my own voice.

He leaned against the wall

and smiled kind of,

uh, wanly, and said,

"This thing's gonna go on for a while, isn't it?"

When we've been told we're not ready,

or that we shouldn't try,

or that we can't,

generations of Americans have responded

with a simple creed

that sums up the spirit of a people.

"Yes, we can."

-Yes, we can.

I didn't consider that a low point in the campaign.

I actually thought that was a good moment in the campaign.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists

as they blazed the trail towards freedom

through the darkest of nights,

-"Yes, we can."

It was the call of workers who organized,

women who reached for the ballot,

a President who chose the moon as our new frontier,

and a King who took us to the mountaintop

and pointed the way to the promised land.

"Yes, we can" to justice and equality.

We had come out of Iowa so energized,

and, you know, everybody was giddy.

And...

you know, although I think we...

believed that we were guarding against hubris,

I'm not sure we were. And I remember,

after having lost New Hampshire,

going to my supporters over the next couple of days and saying,

"I think this is a good thing."

We have to earn this.

Just getting my hair cut.

-I don't know.

I'd rather just get a haircut.

Thank you, I appreciate that.

-This is one of my quiet places. -Right on.

-Alright. That means you too.

Somebody have any water for me?

I'll get you a water. Do you have a card?

I mean, you know...

Yeah.

It felt like 18 months.

It's February 5th.

To the rest of the world, it's Fat Tuesday.

To the political reporters trapped on this plane,

it's Super Tuesday,

which means the Democrats are voting in 22 states,

the Republicans are voting in 21 states.

This is the biggest political day of the year.

The biggest challenge of this Super Tuesday contest

is just the breadth and expansion of it.

There are contests in 22 states,

15 primaries, seven caucuses.

Tonight, there are 1,681 delegates

picked for the Democratic convention,

which is more than half of the delegates you need

to win the nomination.

-This is the first week that Senator Obama

has caught up with her in national polls.

Really, only a week ago, he was still 10 points down.

For Senator Obama, this is probably

the biggest week of his campaign.

When do you think this is gonna be decided?

Who knows? It could be a complete nightmare.

-You think by March? -Uh...

There's like-- There's something we call

the "Doomsday Scenario," which is the Pennsylvania primary,

sometime in mid-March.

But, I don't even know. I don't even know.

Now that we get to a house divided cannot stand,

it doesn't even...

It actually doesn't sound as much like a call.

Are we landing on something here,

and then just applause, and then kind of do the sound,

-start with the whisper thing? -Yeah.

Alright. What began as a whisper in Springfield, right?

Can we say something like "found its way"

to somewhere in Iowa?

"Where people who wanted..."

And then start getting a little concrete?

Say that maybe, you know, maybe I want ch--

Maybe I want change.

-Change sounds pretty good.

-Not bad, right? -I'm for change.

George Bush, he's for change now too.

My name is Ronnie Cho. I'm with the Barack Obama campaign.

Here in Arizona, the Latino turnout's

gonna be very important for us.

Hopefully you heard today is election day.

I've let go of Mike Blake a long time ago.

You get to a point where you're not even thinking about that.

You're so passionate that you want him to win.

There's a huge protest vote against Republican policies

and it's a record turnout in New Mexico.

I'm hearing the same in Arizona and Colorado, Utah,

California...

There's gotta be some water,

and just make sure you get it done.

We need granola bars, we need the water there.

This line is just getting longer and longer

-by the minute. -The Clinton Campaign

believes that Illinois will go for Barack.

New York, New Jersey,

California will be theirs.

Have you picked a candidate?

Definitely Barack.

We voted for Hillary Clinton.

Yeah.

I think we need a woman President.

-Nice to see you. Hey, sweetie.

How are you?

-I'm here. -Nice to meet you.

Water, anyone?

Alright. You want one, babe?

He is what I dreamed about.

And this, to me, is just off the charts.

Hillary for President!

Woo!

Ward 5, Precinct 3.

Let's just come on inside

so people don't stand in the cold.

We absolutely annihilated here.

Obama don't have to worry

because God's got him.

He is that shining light we've been looking for.

No. No, never.

Can you imagine if 85% of the people

voted every election?

You couldn't get these bums in there.

I still think that Senator Clinton is the favorite.

You know, she had 20, 30-point leads

in many of these states.

We've been closing some ground.

What day is today?

Super Tuesday.

Right.

David Axelrod.

-A-X-- -E-L-R-O-D.

Yeah. We've been waiting on you all day.

-All day.

Could be a great night.

-Democrat, please.

-This man been waiting on you. -You'll ruin my reputation.

-You know, look at these.

Now Utah, Minnesota,

North Dakota,

Kansas.

I mean,

there you go!

We're just loading it up!

Two weeks ago, we were 20 points behind

in the national Gallup Poll,

and tonight, we're basically fighting her to a draw,

and winning states in her own backyard.

What began as a whisper in Springfield

soon carried across the cornfields of Iowa,

where farmers and factory workers,

students and seniors stood up in numbers

-we had never seen before.

It's been a clean sweep for Barack Obama

on this Saturday night.

-He carried the Virgin Islands.

He carried Washington State,

Nebraska, and now Louisiana.

They stood up to say that maybe this year

-this time can be different.

Maine hands him his latest victory tonight.

It comes on the heels

of a sweep of three states yesterday.

Change will not come

if we wait for some other person.

Barack Obama has won the Potomac primary.

-That's DC, Maryland and Virginia.

We are the ones we've been waiting for.

She is in the midst of a losing streak of sorts.

He's gonna be the best President we've ever known.

We know that what began as a whisper

has now swelled to a chorus that cannot be ignored,

-that will not be deterred,

that will ring out across this land

as a hymn that will heal this nation,

repair this world,

make this time different than all the rest!

Yes, we can.

-Let's go to work.

-Yes, we can.

Yes, we can.

Yes, we can!

Thank you, Chicago. Let's go get to work.

-I love you.

He has successfully broadened his coalition,

which could be very bad news for Hillary Clinton

going into Ohio and Texas,

coupled with the momentum of having won

10 consecutive primaries and caucuses.

I think we can expect a very challenging couple of weeks.

-That's my guess. -Super-negative. Super.

Yeah. I don't ever-- I never had them pegged

as folks who would come out with a white flag

and say, "We give up."

That's not their gestalt.

It's 3:00 AM, and your children are safe and asleep.

-But, there's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing.

Something's happening in the world.

Your vote will decide who answers that call,

whether it's someone who already

knows the world's leaders, knows the military,

someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world.

It's 3:00 AM, and your children are safe and asleep.

Who do you want answering the phone?

I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.

26 other callers present.

I cannot stress this enough,

that everybody does doors.

Everybody. This weekend, everybody on staff,

I don't care who you are,

I will be doing them. I expect the political folks to do them,

I expect the press folks to do them,

I expect the schedulers to do them.

Everybody does a shift. Everybody.

-It's a beautiful day.

We're getting folks out, campaigning everywhere.

And so I just wanna make sure that I say hi

to these guys coming in.

Walter!

-How are you? -Alright. How are you?

-Fine. Good to see you. -Good to see you.

-How are you, sir? Nice to see you.

-Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

-Stephanopoulos, hold on.

-Hey.

Yeah, I agree with that. No, I agree with that.

I think that the reality of this

is gonna begin to set in.

There-- There is. We said there's no--

There's no course for her other than just search and destroy.

And I don't think

there's an appetite for that in the party.

Uh...

What are you asking me? Say that again, George.

How are the numbers?

Close.

Yeah?

They're, uh, really, really close.

Like, the first wave, we were...

ahead in Ohio, behind in Texas,

ahead in Ohio by two, behind in Texas by one.

The second wave,

she's ahead in Ohio by three,

and we don't know Texas.

Maybe she's ahead by two or three there.

But it's so close that these exit polls become...

less meaningful, you know. So...

I just don't know. I mean, it's gonna be...

it could be the nightmare scenario,

which is she ekes out wins in Ohio and Texas,

we win more delegates, so it's even clearer

that she can't be the nominee.

And yet she finds encouragement to stay

and fight a kind of trench warfare here.

So that would be unfortunate.

We have a Democratic Party in Ohio that is divided by race,

gender and age.

Here are the numbers. First, race.

Among white voters,

Clinton is winning women by a large margin. Look at that.

66% to Obama's 44%.

The exits are so fucked.

There's no way that, like, it could even be close

if the exits are right about white men and white women,

who both went for her in big numbers.

Right.

-Hey, guys, how are you? -Hey, man!

-How you been? How's it look out here? -We're hoping they'll fit.

-We got way too many people. -Too many people?

-So, what's, uh... Yeah, you're right.

-I said, they're not gonna-- -It's okay. Yeah. It's alright.

Obama button, anyone?

Okay, you got one, there you go.

Obama button? No?

This one is for you. Obama button? Perfect.

Obama button, anyone?

-Almost there, guys. Almost there.

Alright, hang out for a little while longer, guys.

Don't leave us.

-How much what?

Yeah. Why, are they saying they're gonna win Texas?

Right.

Alright. I'll work something up and I'll send it to you quick.

Do you know what time he's going out to speak?

Okay, cool. I'll do that.

Thank you for waiting.

Uh, every delegate counts.

So, this campaign in Texas has only a couple hours left in it,

so hang out with us, please. Don't leave, don't leave.

We need you.

A huge comeback for Hillary Clinton tonight

in this Democratic Presidential race,

and a major, major achievement for John McCain.

He captures the Republican Presidential nomination.

Two storylines unfolding.

John McCain is the Republican Presidential nominee,

but Hillary Clinton now coming back

from a series of losses

to Barack Obama's in Super Tuesday.

The wins in Ohio and Texas

are oh so significant

for Hillary Clinton in going forward.

Let's take a look and recap.

-You know that they say.

As Ohio goes, so goes the nation.

-No one says that.

We don't have a choice when it comes to our relatives.

We have a choice when it comes to our pastors.

Goddamn America! That's in the Bible!

For killing innocent people! Goddamn America!

How could you go to this church for 20 years,

and not know this guy said this?

There's no way Obama can shade it.

"Well, you know, I sort of agree, but I--"

You know, no. That's crazy.

Bill O'Reilly: New polls say Barack Obama's taking a big hit

because of his pastor,

but there is a racial divide.

I think it's a bunch of crap.

It's been taken out of context.

That Reverend Wright looks like a raving maniac to me.

I don't think for one moment

that Obama believes in those things.

If I belonged to a church that had that much hate in it,

I wouldn't belong there very long.

I'm fearful that, uh, Obama feels the same way.

Dr. King said many of the same things.

If this is the best candidate that we have to put up

for President of the United States,

this country's in terrible trouble.

Strictly, Obama's out.

Campaigns are fashioned in the image of their maker.

And then, of course, the sort of main narrative

of this campaign

has been about his identity.

We're not used to an African American politician

talking, thinking,

behaving like he is.

And when a story like Reverend Wright pops up...

There have been plenty of controversial preachers

and pastors in American politics.

Clearly, in this case, we're fascinated by Wright

and about Obama because of race.

You know, we're... sort of in a street fight

for the nomination here.

The events with Reverend Wright,

and the attacks, and--

You know, it makes it difficult to keep

the tone of our message

and to maintain the integrity of that.

At one of our field offices,

they just spray-painted slurs about Barack on the window.

And the downtown office right here,

somebody threw a barricade through the window,

broke the windows.

It-- It sucks.

Living in a world where the rules that you're living by

and the rules that the campaign lives by

aren't necessarily the rules the world lives by.

This week, I think, has been the most trying week

of the Senator's campaign, because he really had to deal

with something personal.

There were super delegates,

there were other Democratic supporters

calling, e-mailing members of his staff saying,

"Look, this is killing you,

you need to do something about this."

This is an issue that will stay with him

for the rest of the campaign, however long that is.

If they come at us on this what's it gonna look like?

Is it just gonna be "Goddamn America," or is it gonna be...

you know, US. of KKK A?

-If they use it, it's gonna be him condemning America. -Right, right.

I think we all were a little unsettled

by the Wright deal.

It was coming at us with such ferocity.

If Wright became a surrogate for Barack Obama,

then, certainly, the race was over.

What does it-- If it's, like,

just a total over-the-top--

You know.

So we have two versions of the Wright response.

It was a troubling time,

and no one had a great idea

about how to deal with it.

Except Barack, which was,

"let's go right at it."

Barack called me up Friday night,

I think he called Plouffe as well,

and said "I want to give a speech on Wright,

"but it has to be bigger than Wright.

"I wanna talk about this whole issue

of race relations in our country." And he said,

"I don't know whether it's gonna help us or not,

"but I think that it's a moment

"in which we can confront this thing

"in a way, this thing being the issue of race,

in a way that could be really valuable."

Give me a sense of what you're anticipating

from Barack Obama today.

I don't know. It's clearly a very important speech.

It's gonna be a defining speech for him.

I hope he talks as much about patriotism

and his feeling about the country

as he does about race.

Reverend Wright's comments were not only wrong,

but divisive.

Divisive at a time when we need unity.

Racially charged at a time when we need

to come together to solve a set of monumental problems.

But I can no more disown him

than I can disown my white grandmother,

a woman who helped raise me,

a woman who sacrificed again and again for me,

a woman who loves me

as much as she loves anything in this world,

but a woman who once confessed

her fear of black men who passed her by on the street.

You know, he felt good about it,

because he knew what he wanted to say.

He had known it for a long time, probably,

and it had crystallized in his mind

after the controversy erupted.

And the way he is is that he's just confident enough,

and, "Look-it. This is what I believe to be true.

"This is what I think about this issue,

"I'm gonna say it. If people buy it,

"they buy it. If they don't, what can I do?

"You know, I-- I-- I, you know,

spoke as honestly as I could."

Well, my first impression is, uh,

just what a gutsy move it was to have the speech at all.

Here you have, obviously,

a candidate of a very different complexion in many ways

really confronting this hot button,

very emotional issue, head-on.

Really, words can't describe

how I felt to hear that speech.

It was moving. It really was.

-That was a great speech. -It was pretty good.

-How'd it feel to give it? -Huh?

-How'd it feel to give it? -Strong.

We are not terribly, uh,

buffeted around by

the conventional wisdom crowd,

-because the truth is,

every day there's something written or said

that is a challenge to Barack,

challenges our campaign strategy,

challenges our execution.

And, you know, not that we're being arrogant.

The truth is that sometimes feedback is very important,

that you need to know.

But for the most part, you know,

you just gotta keep your eyes straight ahead,

know where you're going,

know what your strategy is to win.

As I said, we don't have real... a lot of message angst,

because Barack has a very clear sense of who he is

and what he's saying.

So, I'm not making a long speech.

I just wanna come by and say hello to everybody. Thank you.

The race is important.

Every twist and turn is important.

But the shape of the race is what it is.

He has a lead in pledged delegates that

she's highly unlikely to overturn.

So, this is all about an argument

they're making for super delegates,

these party insiders

who are steadily trickling towards Obama.

-Alright, fire away. -Senator, are you gonna

wrap up the nomination tomorrow?

We feel good about the number of super delegates

that we've, uh, been accumulating,

and my sense is

is between Tuesday and Wednesday

that we got a good chance of getting the number

that we need to achieve the nomination,

but, obviously, there are two more...

Senator Barack Obama goes over the threshold,

goes over 2118 delegates.

He will be the Democratic Presidential nominee.

Final speech.

-Really? -Just emailed.

What's the tone?

-Tone is victorious. -Okay.

You know, we won, thank you, thank you, other candidates,

thank you, Hillary, you're great.

McCain, blah, blah, blah, hope, change, you know.

So, listen, uh...

What's that?

In the end, while this primary was long,

I am so proud we stayed the course together.

It means that every single

United States citizen had a chance

to make his or her voice heard.

Senator Obama has inspired so many Americans to care about politics,

and empowered so many more to get involved.

Hi, it's Robert Gibbs with Senator Obama.

Hi, how are you?

I am good. Senator Obama is wondering

if Senator Clinton was available.

-Hello? Can you hear me?

Hi, Huma, it's Robert Gibbs again,

Senator Obama's trying to reach Senator Clinton.

Shh.

Hey, Huma, this is Barack.

Uh, just calling Hillary

to congratulate her on South Dakota.

And, uh, I look forward

to working with you guys soon.

She can call us back anytime at 312-533...

Hope you guys are doing well.

Talk to you soon. Bye-bye.

-Looks pretty good. -It sure does.

We filled it up, right?

Barbara didn't tell you about overflow?

-Inspiring the dreams of a nation.

Tonight,

Barack Obama will accept our nomination,

to be President of the United States of America.

We still would've won if she hadn't--

We'll go backstage and then how long we are backstage?

About three minutes at the least.

-Yes. Good luck.

When I was practicing the speech for the first time,

and I came to the end

where I talked about King

speaking in the Lincoln Memorial,

and-- and I choked up

and had to stop.

I mean, Dr. King's speech happened

when I was two years old.

So, you know, anybody who's

60 or over,

remembers it vividly.

And, uh--

And the majority of African Americans

at that time couldn't vote

much less run for President.

Thank you.

To Chairman Dean,

and my great friend Dick Durbin,

and to all my fellow citizens

of this great nation,

with profound gratitude

and great humility,

I accept your nomination

for Presidency of the United States.

Okay, everybody,

now it's official.

We couldn't have done it without you.

Whoops. I'm sorry. Okay, let's try it again.

Okay, now it's official.

-I can't remember this--

There's only two lines! Okay.

-You're making me feel better.

Okay, now it's official.

-But this-- Man, we couldn't--

Hey, where is the teleprompter guy?

Alright, come on, come on. Let's try it again. We're gonna do this.

-Okay, this time we're gonna do it. -Alright.

Hello, everybody.

How will you avoid that you are going too negative?

How will you balance it out into a positive?

We wanna make sure that people understand my agenda.

What I will do as President.

I am confident that if the American people know

what my plan for America is

and what John McCain's plan for America is,

then I will win this race.

I don't spend a lot of time thinking about John McCain's negative ads.

If I did, I wouldn't be spending

much time thinking about other things,

because they come fairly fast and frequently.

My friends and fellow Americans.

I am very pleased and very privileged

to introduce to you the next Vice President

-of the United States,

Governor Sarah Palin

of the great state of Alaska.

Are you ready to shake things up in Washington?

I think Sarah Palin has really helped to spark

the Republican ticket, I really do.

I don't think anybody, including the Democrats,

saw this coming.

She's a dangerous person,

and I just would dread the thought

that she's a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

America's big.

Just traveling around Ohio,

you realize how big this country is,

and then when you go to all 48 states

in the continental United States

and you go to Hawaii,

I have to say Alaska's the one state I haven't visited,

-which, now that I think about it, I'm gonna have to--

I'm gonna have to get up there.

Is there still an 18-state strategy

or a 50-state strategy, or-- Now that we're getting down to it,

are some states coming off the map?

We have a huge number of Bush states that McCain is defending.

So, yes, the normal battlegrounds of Ohio

and Missouri are very competitive.

But there's new states. Virginia, Colorado,

Indiana, North Carolina.

We're playing offense in 11 or 12 states,

including states that McCain never thought he'd have to defend,

so if you look at the battleground states in the electoral college,

we think McCain's in real trouble here,

because he has to pull an inside straight at this point to win.

Who is Barack Obama?

I'm afraid this is someone who sees America

as imperfect enough

to work with a former domestic terrorist.

Barack Obama and domestic terrorist Bill Ayers.

Friends.

How dangerous.

On November 4th, let's leave Barack Hussein Obama

wondering what happened...

Obama's a terrorist, don't you know that?

He wasn't born in America.

I do not want a black man running my country.

This is little Hussein.

I think it's getting very ugly out there.

I mean, what McCain and Palin are doing is really irresponsible.

I mean, they're inciting people.

Don't believe for a second this election is over.

Don't think for a minute

that power will concede anything without a fight.

We're gonna have to work like our future depends on it

in these last few days, because it does.

Since the convention, it's basically been like this.

I mean, it's been a wild ride.

We saw with John McCain that the Palin pick

really gave him a bounce.

But really, the game changer

was the economy goes into this incredible meltdown.

The fundamentals of our economy are strong,

but these are very, very difficult times,

and I promise you we will never put America

in this position again.

I know how tough it is right now in Nevada.

But we've faced difficult times before.

The American story has never been about things coming easy.

It's been about rising at the moment

when the moment was hard.

This past week alone,

we made over 450,000 phone calls,

knocked on over 110,000 doors,

but that's what it's gonna take.

So as exhausted as we are,

we were told a long time ago we wouldn't get to this point.

Right?

-Right? -Right.

And, you know, a month--

You know, it's-- It's pretty surreal.

Like, in four more weeks

we finally get to the ultimate goal of winning,

which we-- we have to win.

We have to win.

-Right. Here he is. -Here he is.

-I'm here. -Good morning.

Hey! Good to see you, guys.

I think there are a few new things we want to work on. Medicare.

What you want to say about McCain's announcement today...

The debates are huge. McCain jettisoned his message.

His message was all about experience.

Now, he's given that up.

So, he's saying the election's all about change.

Well, so are we. We've been saying that for 20 months.

So we think that's a debate we're well positioned to have

because McCain isn't changing the economy.

If you're not gonna change the economic policies

that have failed the country, that's not change.

You seem to feel the need to really answer

every single McCain attack.

I think our view is, you're at a stage in the race,

you won two debates, your numbers are strong,

where you can just push past him.

You shouldn't feel vulnerable

to every single thing the guy says.

I mean, I think if he presses me on honesty,

I mean, the, uh...

I think there's nothing wrong with--

The only thing is, I don't wanna sound whiny

about his lies.

Senator McCain keeps on talking about me being risky,

but let me tell the American people what's risky.

I think Senator McCain's plan

for taxing your healthcare benefits,

potentially leaving 20 million people

without employer-based healthcare,

I think that's risky.

If this whole debate were on economics,

that'd be fine with us.

What role do you think

that character and judgment should play

in the people's voting for President?

Well, inevitably, Bob, it plays an important role.

The question is, Senator, what does your friendship

with Bill Ayers tell us about your judgment?

Well, first of all, I think it's important to note that

Senator McCain's made this the centerpiece of his campaign

at a time when we're going through the worst

financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Mr. Ayers does not advise my campaign,

and he certainly would have no involvement

-in my White House. -You may just wanna say so--

"It's important for the American people to understand

who it is that's gonna be advising me in the White House."

Small thing.

Let's talk about what my plan does.

What's our four things again?

-Jobs!

Man, jobs.

Hopefully that won't happen during the debate.

Huh?

I don't-- I don't remember my plan.

-But it's a really good plan.

It is so good to see you.

Now, are you guys like me?

I get nervous at the debates? I hate the debates.

Yeah.

This is big in the campaign

because this is the time for

John McCain to try to turn things around.

It's his last chance.

Again, you launched your political campaign

-in Mr. Ayers' living room. -That's absolutely not true.

And the facts are facts.

Let's get the record straight.

Mr. Ayers is not involved in my campaign,

he has never been involved in this campaign,

and he will not advise me in the White House.

So, that's Mr. Ayers.

Now, I don't mind being attacked

for the next three weeks.

What the American people can't afford, though,

is four more years of failed economic policies.

And what they deserve

is that we talk about what's most pressing to them.

-How do you feel, Senator?

On the final day of his historic run for President,

Barack Obama got this sad news.

His grandmother had passed away.

This is NPR News.

You know, obviously this is a little bit of a...

a bittersweet time for me.

Some of you heard that my grandmother,

who helped raise me, passed away early this morning.

-And, uh--

Look, she-- She has gone home.

Here name was Madelyn Dunham.

She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America,

who-- They're not famous,

their names aren't in the newspapers,

but each and every day, they work hard.

They look after their families.

They sacrifice for their children

and their grandchildren.

They aren't seeking the limelight.

All they try to do is just do the right thing.

And in this crowd, there are a lot of quiet heroes like that.

That's what America's about.

That's what we're fighting for.

-After decades

of broken politics in Washington...

after eight years of failed policies from George W. Bush...

You don't need to boo. You just need...

-You just need to vote.

After 21 months

of a campaign that has taken us from the rocky coast of Maine

to the sunshine of California,

we are one day away

from changing America.

-One day.

That's right!

Tomorrow, at this defining moment in history,

you can give this country the change that we need.

You can do this.

Right here in North Carolina.

-Yes we can! Yes we can! -We will win this general election,

you and I together!

We're gonna change this country! We're gonna change the world!

Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, guys.

Alright, Karen. You gonna be at the gym tomorrow morning?

Yeah, for sure. Thank you, guys.

-Thank you. -Thank you.

-Alright, Jake.

Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you. Alright, guys. Appreciate you.

These guys have been carrying

-all the heavy equipment the whole time.

Thank you, guys.

And you too. You don't get enough credit.

Thank you, thank you.

Okay, guys! Let's take off, let's go home!

Hey, how you doing?

Nice to see you.

Where are the lines, guys?

Where are--? Where are the TV cameras?

Hey, we're that good. We're getting them in and out.

Now, I read the paper this morning,

saw what was going on,

and as an act of friendship, I voted for McCain.

-All set, sir? -Yes.

Done.

How'd that feel?

It felt great.

It felt, uh--

I think it's the beginning of a long and emotional day.

Today is history.

That's what it is. It's history.

When I got to my car and I saw the line,

I actually cried.

I've never seen this kind of a line here

in 20 years, so I'm feeling optimistic.

It's a great sign seeing everybody getting out.

This is the most important election of our life.

You know, this really will determine

so many things about our future.

...next President of the United States of America,

-Senator Barack Obama!

I wish that my grandmother had been here to see this,

and I wish my mother had been here to see it.

They're in a better place now, they're looking down on us.

And yet to see

my daughters be a part of this,

that's something, presumably, that they'll never forget.

Michelle seemed to really take a long time

deciding who to vote for for President.

-I was a little...

Just remember, everybody who's listening. Stay in line.

Don't get discouraged.

-Hold the line. -Hold the line.

-Bye-bye. -Bye-bye.

How do you keep doing this?

It's going in a circle.

Good Lord.

Usually I come to this precinct

and get in line right around 6:30, 6:45.

And I'm usually

within the first 15 or 20 people to vote.

Well, people were here standing in line

at 5:00 AM this morning.

My daughter got here at 6:30,

and I think she is...

she's probably number 200.

Winning elections is...

who has the momentum at the end.

Do you feel good about the way you're closing?

I think that we closed well.

I think we closed much better than McCain.

But, you know, I'm gonna be nervous.

It's about 20 to noon,

and there's a big turnout everywhere,

just like we expected.

Uh-huh. We just got word that

Osceola Township in Owen County,

that the clerk there is not allowing people to vote

if they don't have ID, which obviously is illegal.

Hey, what's new? What do you hear? What do you know?

Sounds like Florida's good, huh?

See, what happens on election day,

is you just call people saying,

"What do you hear, what do you hear?"

And nobody actually knows anything, so it's...

This will be a long day.

Those lines are long. We want people to hang in there.

We'll be, uh, honored and ready to serve.

Okay. When we come back we're gonna do eight more.

-Eight more? -Yeah.

-That's all.

There's no problems discernible anywhere.

The only thing I'm really surprised by is that, uh...

African American turnout seems low.

Pennsylvania black turnout seems low.

Young people across the board seems a little low,

but I bet that they're out-sampled

in the early voting.

Pennsylvania's the only one that's

giving me buzz.

I mean, the truth is, when you think about it,

I mean, for all our anxiety and everything else,

when you got a black guy named Barack Hussein Obama,

how could you lose?

I hate waiting.

I hate it.

This has been the longest day of the entire campaign.

Yeah.

You know, if it's possible to feel

anxious and calm all in the same breath,

that's probably what I'm feeling,

with a heavy dose of being very tired.

But, you know, we're excited.

We've worked two years for this moment.

It's now in the hands of the voters

and the people of this country.

We have great confidence in that.

Hi, Smiley. I'm so glad you're here.

20 months later, it's come down to two hours remaining

-and you're at a loss. -Nowhere to go.

Everybody wants me out, nobody needs me anymore.

-This would be the last one. -That's right.

This is my last campaign activity

prior to this evening.

Virginia looks good. Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire.

Uh, Iowa. Colorado.

I mean, the only ones that are,

you know, look challenging, are Florida, Indiana, and Ohio,

which is the ones that you would expect.

But, I mean, North Carolina looks...

Where is North Carolina?

If it were here, it'd look really good.

I'm 63 years old.

I've been crying since 4:00 this morning.

This is momentous.

Win or lose, the game has been changed.

So, Fox thinks we have 291

with Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, easy.

Well, I tell you what.

What I'm really excited about is just to see that turnout

all across the country seems to be extraordinary.

And, you know, we started this campaign with the idea

that the American people are decent and generous,

and if we've got people participating,

that bodes well for the future.

You know, the turnout stuff is really good,

and-- turnout stuff looks very good.

You know, I mean, you know, we still have to open up

the fucking vote and see

that they're voting the way that we think they are.

Yes. And that's it, that's all you need.

That's all you need.

-Okay.

Right, see you.

-Wait, what? -Wait, what?

They just called Ohio, dipshit!

-Oh, shit! -What?

Barack just won Ohio.

We have very important news. Ohio--

Oh, my God! This thing's--

This thing is over.

They just called Ohio.

Oh, they did?

Okay. Look, we gotta go to a party or something.

I can't be in here anymore. Just be quiet.

-Let's get outta here!

Alright, look at that.

We just whacked 30,000 off their margin.

We're gonna get your 100,000.

We're within an hour and a half of polls closing.

Now, people who were not convinced that the 2004 Ohio...

Iowa!

This is Jon.

Hey, there!

I can't believe it.

It's unbelievable. It looks really good.

You feeling good?

Right now, it is.

Are they calling something?

Yeah, they're calling Virginia.

What is it, 22?

Hey, can I have a beer?

...of fighting it out on Republican turf

is paying off.

We can't say which way these states are gonna go,

but we can say that by forcing McCain to spend time

and money and energy in states like...

Palin is speaking at 11:00 Eastern.

I wonder if she's communicated this to the McCain people.

Fox called Virginia.

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh.

Okay.

Okay. Okay.

Oh, and one paragraph up, Axe had one edit.

When it says there will be setbacks and false starts.

Uh, he has, "There are many who won't agree...

"with every decision or policy I make as President,

and we know that government can't solve every problem."

Okay.

That's good? Alright. Congratulations.

Early-- Early congratulations.

Got a speech.

ABC's definitely calling at 11:00.

-11:00 East? -11:00 East.

11:00 East, which is, like, in five minutes.

That'll be a moment, huh?

Somebody in the Obama campaign,

talking to George and me just the other day,

said it was the debates that did it.

-Shit. -At 11:00 in the east,

8:00 in the west...

Here's history, fellas.

We will not declare anybody

to be President of the United States

until he gets over 270.

But, in just 10 seconds from now,

the polls are closing in California,

Oregon, Washington, Idaho,

and also in the state of Hawaii.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three,

two, one!

11 PM on the East Coast, and we have news.

Barack Obama will be

the 44th President of the United States.

Yeah!

-Yeah! We won!

-Way to go.

Obama! Obama!

Obama! Obama! Obama!

Obama!

Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

Yes, we can! Yes, we can!

I gotta call my mom.

Mom...

It's clear that Barack Obama

is elected President of the United States.

Woo!

Thank you.

Alright, fellas.

Don't party too hard! Alright, congratulations.

-It's actually hard-- -When they say--

When they say that, man.

It's just hard to process.

Yeah, man.

-We still got some states in.

Good job, good job!

Okay, so now, you're gonna work on the next four years afterwards?

Hey. I'm just celebrating tonight.

-Hello?

I'm in an elevator, we're going up to see Barack, so...

-You okay?

Okay. We'll be over there soon.

Okay.

-Hey. We're-- -Room 3607.

-36? Here. -Yep.

-Excuse me, do you have a hard pin? -I'm with these guys.

Looks like a party.

Just down to your right.

-Hey, how are you?

- Hi, guys. - Congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you.

-Hey. -Unbelievable.

-A long two years. -A long two years.

-Woo.

-In here? -Yeah, come on in. The Bidens just went in.

-Congrats. -Move aside!

I've been looking forward to seeing this place.

Okay. Thanks a lot. Bye, Ruth.

-Don't start crying. Don't do it. -I've already done it.

I've already been crying.

Okay.

Okay. So, well, you know, I know you were...

The President-elect is definitely looking forward

to speaking, uh, with the Prime Minister.

Unfortunately, currently, right now, he's--

He's unavailable.

Um, but what I will do

is somebody will reach out to you very soon

to try to arrange a time for the President-elect to speak with...

-Alright, guys. Let's do this.

They said this day would never come.

They said our sights

were set too high.

But on this January night,

at this defining moment in history,

you have done what the cynics said we couldn't do.