In 2000, Barack Obama tried to unseat incumbent Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush in a Democratic primary. The thumping Obama received—Rush got 61% of the vote to the upstart's 30%—was a grave political disappointment for the young state senator. Some of his friends even feared that Obama had undermined his golden image and permanently altered what had been the unbroken upward trajectory of his professional ascent. And now health reform stands as another crucial juncture.
