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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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Obama Played Hardball Early

Candidate burned political benefactor, among others, in Chicago

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(Newser) – Barack Obama showed his acumen for sharp-elbowed politics early on, according to a report in the Tribune. The 2008 hopeful, famous for his affable and earnest optimism, launched his career in an old-fashioned Chicagoan way,  by pushing a former political mentor off a ballot, He won "not by leveling the playing field, but by clearing it," the report says.

Alice Palmer, a South-Side Democrat, appointed Obama heir apparent to her state senate seat; when the two found themselves seeking the same nomination, Obama challenged her signatures, successfully purging her, and three other competitors, from the ballot.  Remembering the incident, Obama is elegantly evasive: " If you can win, you should win and get to work doing the people's business."

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama talks to a crowd of several thousand at Keene State College in Keene, N.H., Monday, April 2, 2007.(AP Photo/Jim Cole)
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama talks to a crowd of several thousand at Keene State College in Keene, N.H., Monday, April 2, 2007.(AP Photo/Jim Cole)   (Associated Press)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill speaks during a presidential forum on health care coverage, Saturday, March 24, 2007, in Las Vegas. The Forum was sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Service Employees International Union. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill speaks during a presidential forum on health care coverage, Saturday, March 24, 2007, in Las Vegas. The Forum was sponsored by the Center for...   (Associated Press)
Obama may not be as saintly as his image suggests
Obama may not be as saintly as his image suggests   (Associated Press)
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