Abstract
This article offers an analysis of Barack Obama's speeches in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Primary Campaign. Focusing on his speeches in the early stage of his campaign, I attempt to describe how Obama managed to attract so many Americans across boundaries of age, gender, and race. A closer look at Obama's speeches will reveal certain common characteristics, which I will summarize under three thematic headings: "politics by the people," "personalized campaign," and "from division to unity." In the article, I reach the conclusion that Obama's rhetoric allows him to avoid a "discourse of divisions," and instead allows him to talk about cultural differences in a more engaging manner.