'[Barack Obama] has been shot out of a cannon. I think Barack understands that he has been on an incredible ride, but you never know when those wind currents change.' -- [David Axelrod], lead political consultant for Barack Obama. U.S. Senate candidate Barack Obama meets with members of the Red Hat Society last week in the Hallmark Chicago Retirement Community. On the heels of the Democratic National Convention, where he delivered the keynote address, Obama hit the campaign trail through Downstate Illinois. "The true test comes when he is elected and he gets in there and starts having to make tough decisions," [Michelle Obama] says of her husband. In order to fit in at Punahou Academy in Hawaii, where he attended high school, Obama adopted the nickname [Barry].