How Barack Obama got elected 2008?

Answer 1

There were a number of factors. For one, the country was tired of President Bush: the Republican party was mired in a number of scandals, the war in Iraq was going badly, and people (even many Republicans) wanted a change. For another, the Republican presidential candidate was John McCain, an admired Vietnam War veteran but widely seen as someone old, a man who represented the same policies as the Bush administration. McCain also did not run a very good campaign, failing to use social media or reach out to young people; and his controversial choice of former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for his vice president did not help him, since she was widely seen as someone not ready to step in and be president if McCain was unable to continue.

But the biggest factor was Barack Obama himself. He was everything McCain was not: a gifted speaker, youthful, dynamic, and a strong campaigner. Obama was also unique: he was biracial, and if elected, would be America's first black president. He was also able to mobilize a number of groups that generally did not vote in large numbers (young people, Latinos, African-Americans, single women), and he effectively used social media to promote his candidacy. It was a moment in American history when change was in the air, when people really wanted something that was a departure from the Bush administration. Obama was able to capitalize on that moment to win a decisive victory and become president in November 2008.