This photo essay is a retrospective look at my time on the campaign trail as a blogger during Barack Obama’s campaign for president. I am suspending operation of my blog, Brilliant Politics, with an eye toward reviving it during the 2012 presidential campaign. I was happy to have my great friend, collaborator, and photographer, Martin Saunders, with me on some of those trips. His political photography of our two trips to Iowa can be seen here and here.
Brilliant Politics was always a part-time and intermittent blog, given my time limitations. But I have to say that our timing was perfect. I was one of the first persons to publicly suggest that Barack Obama should run for president, on October 10, 2006, in this commentary on public radio, “My Daughter the First Black President,” although I did so with a heavy dose of irony. About seven months later, I wrote this justification for starting Brilliant Politics:
It might seem oxymoronic to some to seek brilliance in contemporary politics. We will, nevertheless, undertake this daunting task because the United States, now suffering through a bipartisan endarkenment in the early years of the 21st century, so badly needs the light of brilliant ideas and the radiance of brilliant leaders.
Well, I think that I hit the bullseye, and I believe that we all are very fortunate because we elected a brilliant president. Some of us worked harder than others to ensure that outcome. Now let’s make sure that he follows through on those brilliant ideas.
-CDP