In Philadelphia, Obama Will Pass Leadership of a Party He Reshaped
by PERRY BACON JR.
When President Barack Obama delivers his speech Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, he will be passing the leadership torch of the party on to Hillary Clinton.
It's also the beginning of a longer goodbye following a meteoric political rise.
Twelve years ago, the then-virtually unknown senator from Illinois gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention so impressive to party faithful that it catapulted him to the Democratic nomination four years later and then two terms as the nation's first black president.
In that short time, Obama has led a reshaping of his party, leaving it more progressive and multi-cultural than ever — but also very weak in rural areas and the South.
"Obama obviously accelerated the change in the image of the party, from the party of FDR, JFK, LBJ, and Bill Clinton, as being the party of the white working class and white intellectuals," said Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University professor who wrote "American Dreamers: How the Left Changed a Nation," published in 2011.
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http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2016-conventions/philadelphia-obama-will-pass-leadership-party-he-reshaped-n609046
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