Sunday, March 21, 2004Barak breaks the 20% rule. Superstitious about the 20% rule, I said nothing about my friend, Barak Obama, who has won (with a healthy 60% majority) the Democratic nomination for Senate in Illinois. Barak was an adjunct at the University of Chicago while I was teaching there, and then just as I left, became a regular professor. He is an astonishingly decent and bright forty-something star. Siva points to a great piece about the race. And keep your eyes on 2012: when he will no longer be known as the 5th whatever, but will become the 3d and 1st in one year. (Consider it the Lessig Sunday Puzzle). [Lessig Blog]
My father is a Chicago politician and gave me in the inside scoop on this election. The old school Chicago Democratic party is still just as strong as it ever was concerning internal, local stuff.
But it's totally losing it's edge and control over statewide or national stuff. They ran an old line cronnie who got hsi ass kicked by Barak.
Congrats to Barak.
I’m not sure what you mean by “3d”, but I assume “1st” is a reference to the first black President. I think Obama would make an excellent President, but I don’t think it likely that someone who’s name rhymes with Iraq Osama is likely to carry many more states than Illinois. Obama is very popular here in Illinois right now, but it may be prohibitively difficult to make a connection in the other 49.
Incidentally, I have heard at least two other commentators say they expect Obama to be President one day. Anyone who particularly wants to see a President Obama one day should probably start dropping his name in their writings now, and not stop stop until he’s elected. (Which, of course, some have begun to do.
