Obama's strong base of support was initially fostered largely by his ability to gain backing in Chicago's tested black political environment.
It is not surprising that America's first truly viable black presidential candidate is based in Chicago. The city has produced the only two African Americans elected to the U.S. Senate as Democrats -- Carol Moseley-Braun and Barack Obama.
There have been only three other black U.S. senators -- two appointed in Mississippi and one elected in Massachusetts -- all three were Republicans.
Chicago also produced America's most viable black presidential candidate until Barack - Jesse Jackson. Moseley-Braun had launched her own short presidential campaign in 2004 before bowing out early and endorsing Howard Dean instead.
Jackson, seen by many as the heir to Martin Luther King's legacy -- based his Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Chicago.
One of Black America's most powerful and controversial entities, the Nation of Islam, is also centered in Chicago.
The city is home to Oprah Winfrey, considered by many as the most powerful woman and media person in America, and she has publicly endorsed Barack. Her sprawling media network consisting of the nation's top talk show, the popular O Magazine, the Oxygen Media cable tv channel, the Oprah & Friends cable radio channel and a heavily-visited website, is based in Chicago.
Harold Washington and the arrival of Barack Obama
Black political power in Chicago reached a milestone when Harold Washington was elected as the city's first African American mayor. It was at this time, that a young Barack Obama arrived on the scene as a young community organizer.
Washington developed the system and alliances that allowed other black politicians who followed to flourish in the city.
Barack wrote that he considered Chicago as "the capital of the African American community in the country." And the black community of Chicago had developed a network of black professionals and business owners who were willing and able to dole out the money needed to launch serious mainstream political candidates on the local and state levels.
With Chicago's black political machine behind him, everyone had to pay attention to Barack, and his appeal quickly spread to other communities. Unlike Washington and Jackson before him, Obama was much less polarizing and he quickly found friends even in the most unlikely of places. His history and background made it easier to bridge gaps that stymied his predecessors.
Barack's coalition was closer to the rainbow that Jackson dreamed of but was never quite able to bring together.
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