Illinois State Senate President, Emil Jones, has been called Obama's "political Godfather". I think that "Fairy Godmother" would be more accurate. Obama was a brand spanking new state senator. Obama had managed to get elected but it would take years of hard work to build credibility. However, Obama had no intention of spending years building a record that might be an asset in the distant future but could just as easily be a detriment in a race for national office.
Emil Jones gave Obama high-profile legislation which had already cleared most hurdles and was near passage. Also, Jones placed Obama in the chairmanship of the senate's health committee. This allowed Obama to advance legislation that would make him the darling of the Service Employees International Union which has over 100,000 members in Illinois.
Normally, the state Senate President would be twisting arms to get the legislation he wants passed but Barack Obama had a special deal with Jones. If a piece of legislation was controversial and support for it could come back to haunt Obama he was allowed to vote "present". Obama voted that way approximately 130 times in the Illinois State Senate and if the legislation was really something that could come back and bite him he would just duck out until the votes had passed or failed.
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