Ko nga whakataunga a te kaituku Republican a Peter Fitzgerald me tana kaituku Democrat o mua a Carol Moseley Braun kia kaua e uru atu ki te pooti i hua ai nga whakataetae tuwhera a te Democrat me te Republican e pa ana ki nga kaitono 15. I te pōtitanga tuatahi o Poutu-te-rangi 2004, i wikitoria a Obama i roto i tētahi pō nui ohorere, nāna ia i noho hei whetū e piki ake ana i roto i te Pāti Manapori ā-motu, i tīmata ai ngā whakapae mō tētahi wā e heke mai ana hei perehitini, ā, i arahi ki te whakaputanga anō o ōna kōrero, "Dreams from My Father". I te Hōngongoi 2004, i tuku a Obama i te kupu matua i te 2004 Democratic National Convention
, e iwa miriona ngā kaimātakitaki i kite. I manakohia tana korero, a, i piki ake tona mana i roto i te Manapori Manapori.