Speeches of Barack Obama Speeches of Barack Obama Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Before his presidency, he served in the Illinois Senate (1997–2004) and the United States Senate (2005–2008). It was during his campaign for the United States Senate that he first made a speech that received nationwide attention; he gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. and stated "there is not a liberal America and a conservative America—there is the United States of America". Obama began to run for president just three years after that speech. In response to a
2008 Oklahoma state elections vote in the US presidential primary election. Republicans nominated Senator John McCain, while Democrats nominated Senator Hillary Clinton. Eleven Republicans appeared on the ballot. There were seven candidates in the Democratic primary for President. Barack Obama faced John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election. McCain won a majority of the votes in Oklahoma and received all seven of the state's electoral votes. Oklahoma was the only state in which McCain received a majority of the votes in every county. Two term Republican Senator Jim Inhofe defended his seat in the 2008 election against Democratic State Senator Andrew Rice and Independent