Word: gunn
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...next day, a voice-mail message from Obama himself was waiting on his phone. The two met in Washington a few weeks later, and Gunn became his state's political director. Using his organizing skills and contacts, Gunn set about building a grass-roots movement that empowered volunteers. When they learned that many black voters didn't realize Obama was African American, the campaign developed a seven-minute dvd about Obama's life that supporters could play in their living rooms for friends and neighbors. "We told them it belonged to them," Gunn says, "that Barack's success would depend...
...came the stumble in New Hampshire that allowed Hillary Clinton back into the race. South Carolina was the first contest in a state with a sizable black population--and on that day, African Americans gave him more than 8 in every 10 of their votes. "It all started here," Gunn said with a smile, leaning back in his chair in the lobby of a downtown Columbia hotel. "The process may have started in Iowa. But if we didn't do what we did in the exact way that we did it, I daresay we may have had a different outcome...
...African Americans in South Carolina, the tale of how they helped Obama win the nomination has already become the stuff of legend. James Clyburn, Gunn's Congressman and a fellow delegate, is a veteran of the civil rights movement who never thought he'd see a black presidential nominee in his lifetime. But while he's proud of Obama, he's also proud of his generation for making Obama possible. "We were standing on shoulders," Clyburn says. "We had a responsibility to develop strong shoulders for someone else to stand...
...Obama instead of Biggie or Tupac. Obama has given millions of black Americans a reason to be proud. But he has also expanded their sense of the possible. And so, while some of his older colleagues talk about their fears of what could happen if Obama loses in November, Gunn is optimistic. As far as he's concerned, the change has already taken place. "Whether you like Obama or not," he says, "if you believe in democracy, you have to be excited about what he's done...
...Gunn cannot imagine what it will be like to be in Denver's Invesco Stadium watching the man he calls "the hip-hop candidate" become the first African American to accept a major-party presidential nomination. But he does know that he'll feel a sense of ownership. That, and a twinge of regret that he's missing the season opener of his beloved Gamecocks the same night. But for the first time in his life, Gunn would rather be at a political convention...