Obama only a Senator for 6 month before he ran for President?

Obama was elected Senator in 2004. He started to make a name for himself on the national scene by giving a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, as is common for rising stars in both parties (the Republican who gave the response to Obama's State of the Union had been Governor of Virginia for a week at the time and already discussed as a possible 2012 contender). Obama likely vaguely considering running for President at all times. One running joke is that every US Senator is running for President. However, he seriously considered it around late 2006. He officially announced in February of 2007, a year ahead of the primaries. The campaign was unusually long because the field was unusually wide-open in both parties with no President or Vice President running for the first time in decades.

He was then elected in 2008 and became President in 2009.

Officially, he was running 2 years after his term started. Obviously he considered it for a while before officially throwing his hat in the ring.

President Obama was the Senator for Illinois between 2005 and 2008.

Obama has been in office as a Senator for about 2 years. In that 2 years he has spent 18 months of it on the road trying to convince the younger generation that he would make a good President. He has no experience in governing and that trip that he took to Iraq, Afganistan and Europe I just plain don't understand. It was a photo-op to see him talking in front of 200,000 people, but they aren't the ones that he wants to be President of. He talks of "Change" -----to what. Other than getting rid of all our defenses that we need to protect ourselves with, taking the money that I worked for in my 55 years I was employed, taxing it and giving it to someone thats either too lazy to get a job, or to an illegal that shouldn't be here anyway, giving Health care to all (we'll be paying for that too). Oh, yeah . Don't forget about Social Security. Thats going to be gone. At that point the Government can take care of us all.. McCain is not one that will "go along" with the Republican Party, and for that I'm grateful. If Lieberman is his running mate---he doesn't go along with a Party either. Another plus. McCain isn't too old. He's 72. The Baby boomers have a saying that "50 is the new 30". Well, doesn't that make "70 the new 50"?. McCain does have experienc in the Senate and also in the Military. He may have a short fuse, but maybe thats what we need. I frankly am sick and tired of placating all of the different groups that have come into our country and tried to make it like theirs was. I'm tired of taking God out of everything and putting the ACLU in. Our Country ran great for almost 200 years and in the last 50 years it's gone to hell.with permissisvness and the feeling that "It's all about ME". I apologize for running on so. I was going to give a simple answer and it got away on me. I'm voting for McCain because he's not afraid to cross the aisle, or to stay on his side if he feels he's right. Just my thoughts.

In 2004 Obama said he would not run in 2008 because he did not have the experience.

Yep. And when he wasn't campaigning he was busy setting a record for voting "present."

See attached biography on Obama which may help.

yeah, and we'd be SOOO much better off with a governor who quit mid-term.