WASHINGTON ( CNN ) -- Barack Obama 's victory Tuesday over John McCain capped an unprecedented rise in American politics . Barack Obama , addressing supporters after his victory , was an unlikely nominee not that long ago . The obscure state legislator with , as he put it , `` a funny name '' propelled himself onto the national stage at the Democratic National Convention four years ago with a speech so electrifying that commentators declared he would become America 's first black president . Election Day showed that , in this case at least , you can believe the hype . But Obama did not win the White House on hype , any more than he won it on hope . He won it with an organization that even opponents called brilliant . He won it with a clear strategy that was stuck to with remarkably little internal drama . He won it with unparalleled fundraising and an overwhelming ground game . And he won it after facing various challenges and turning them to his advantage . Turning points . Winning Iowa : Obama 's victory in the Iowa caucuses knocked almost all of his Democratic competitors out in the first nominating contest , and it pushed the `` inevitable '' Democratic nominee , Hillary Clinton , back on her heels . He 'd built an organization strong enough to haul supporters out of their homes on a frigid January night to debate , harangue and cajole their neighbors into backing him . Tens of thousands of new voters became the key to his Iowa win and revealed the outline of a general election plan : Create a wide coalition to bring new voters to the polls in record numbers . Ted Kennedy : Within weeks of Iowa , all of Obama 's Democratic competitors had dropped out of the race except for Clinton , who split the races with him in the run-up to Super Tuesday . It was then that Ted Kennedy , head of the only Democratic family to outrank the Clintons , came out for Obama , comparing the Illinois senator to his assassinated brother , President John F. Kennedy . The move was deeply symbolic , not just for the public but also the party . The Obama-Clinton battle then hinged on who could sway more superdelegates -- the party leaders who could decide the winner if the primary voters could not -- and few superdelegates had the stature of Ted Kennedy . Addressing race : Race was always going to be a factor in Obama 's campaign , even if he hoped his candidacy would transcend it . Clips of the Rev . Jeremiah Wright , his longtime pastor , making hateful remarks hit the Internet and television and put Obama on defense . He responded with a speech in March hailed by commentators as among the most thoughtful ever delivered on race by an American politician . When Wright went further , so did Obama -- condemning him outright and later quitting his church . All this time , black voters were rallying behind Obama , switching their allegiance from Clinton in such large numbers that party elders , such as civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia , had to do the same . Fundraising : Flush with cash from a nationwide network of small and large contributors , Obama announced in June he would opt out of public financing -- the first presidential candidate to pay for his campaign with donations rather than government money since the system began in 1976 . McCain hammered Obama for reneging on a promise to stick with public financing , but the issue failed to resonate with voters . Obama kept raising and spending record amounts of money , using it to send staff across the country -- even to dozens of states Democrats had n't won in years -- and to swamp the airwaves with advertising . Working with Clinton : The long and bitter primary battle turned many Clinton supporters off Obama . A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll a month after Obama sealed the nomination found that nearly 50 percent of Clinton 's supporters did not plan to vote for Obama in November . McCain tried to exploit the Democrats ' divisions and attract Clinton supporters to his side , but the former rivals came together to stop that . Obama and Clinton worked behind the scenes to create a show of public unity , epitomized by Clinton dramatically marching onto the convention floor in Denver to call for the party to nominate Obama by acclamation . The debates : Obama won all three debates in the eyes of the public , polling for CNN suggested , even if he came up with few , if any , memorable promises or knockout blows . The debates showed the classic Obama -- thoughtful , deliberate and steady . Critically , Obama made no gaffes , rounding out a campaign that was remarkably free of them . Barack Obama may have looked an unlikely candidate and an even unlikelier victor only a year ago . But his campaign had a different look . It started small but with big ideas and worked , inexorably , to make them reality . Like any candidate , Obama faced challenges , but he always seemed to take the path that would make him stronger . And , by the end , the campaign and the support was so large , so well organized and so powerful that nothing could prevent Obama 's march to victory . CNN 's Richard Allen Greene , Rebecca Sinderbrand and Laura Haring contributed to this report .
Barack Obama seemed unlikely to be Democrat nominee a year ago . The Republican Party is in the midst of an identity crisis that has been building for years. Fund-raising , support of Kennedy clan important in his success .