I agree with your take. I’ll give you a twist on that though. Denkins was more than likely clueless like severe Leftists are known to be, but he had spent enough time in the system to be a player.
Obama is stupid, and hasn’t put in his dues enough to be a player.
Very true. The Democrats had been enjoying the fruits of identity politics since 9/11 as a way to hit George W and the Republicans over the head with no consequences (see "The Jersey girls") and saw Obama as their golden ticket back to power - probably also pushed by Jarrett and the Chicago machine. Problem is, he was definitely not ready for prime time, and now the national party is realizing the awful mistake they made in throwing Hillary under the bus in favor of this empty suit in '08.