He turned down a prestigious federal appellate court clerkship while at Harvard to work as a community organizer.  He wrote an autobiography at the age of 33, and another 11 years later.  He brushed aside a liberal mentor who stood in his way in Illinois.  After just two years in the United States Senate, he announced that he would run for the presidency, and then upended a Democratic Party powerhouse.

It's been all these months of street-fighting, and I still can't believe it.  Looking back on where this phenomenon began helps put it into perspective.