A Conversation With Barack Obama

You were endorsed by Bob Dylan a few days ago. What's that mean to you?
I've got to say, having both Dylan and Bruce Springsteen say kind words about you is pretty remarkable. Those guys are icons.

Do you have any favorite Dylan songs?
I've got probably 30 Dylan songs on my iPod. I think I have the entire Blood on the Tracks album on there. Actually, one of my favorites during the political season is "Maggie's Farm." It speaks to me as I listen to some of the political rhetoric.

When did you begin to think you could or should be president? At what stage in your life did that idea first dawn on you?
I would distinguish between thinking that, in the abstract, I could make some better decisions being president than the current occupant, and believing that, in a very concrete way, being president was something I would pursue. I would say that it wasn't until I won my Senate primary and then went to the Democratic convention in 2004 that I had a sense that the message I was delivering might resonate with a broad cross section of the American people.

So it was that response at the Democratic convention that year?
It wasn't just at the convention. We had gotten a pretty powerful response while I was running in the primary in Illinois. After I won, there was a real sense that people were eager to move beyond some of the old arguments.

When did you say, "I'm black, my name is this . . . what the fuck, I could do this."
I was never lacking in . . .

Self-confidence?
In confidence that my particular background would not be a barrier to me running.

Was there a moment during this primary process when you felt like you really hit your stride as a candidate?
In the last month in Iowa, you could feel things coming together. You could feel the message, the movement on the ground, all of it was starting to click. And one of the central premises of this campaign has always been that if we could get the voters excited about participating, we'd have a good chance. You could see that happening in December in Iowa.

That gave you the juice and the confidence?
Absolutely.

What part of the campaign have you enjoyed the most?
I love the town-hall meetings, where I'm just interacting with voters, and they're asking me questions and making comments. There's an exchange there that's real. I hear their stories . . . that actually is what then informs my speeches and the message that I'm delivering.