On the eve of Barack Obama's (and America's) crowning victory, take a quick look back to the time when Obama made his entrance onto the scene here at DailyKos.  A front-page story by Markos appeared in June, 2004, before Obama's famous speech at the Democratic Convention.

Obama was running for his US Senate seat at the time. The DKos community was starting to select candidates to endorse, and there was a push to rally behind one Senate candidate to support in ways financial and otherwise. I don't remember the method we used or whom we endorsed. It was not Obama (for the good reason that Kos stated); however, even back then it was clear that our community was solidly in Barack Obama's court.

Markos' words then could not have been any more prescient:

There's no doubt that Obama is a special candidate -- a great orator, accomplished, great life story ... [T]here is no doubt that our hearts lie with Obama. And if he finds himself in a tighter than expected race come the fall, I have no doubt we'll ride to his defense.

Make the jump.

This was the first item that I ever hotlisted.  I have reproduced the front-page story here.

Barack Obama: Patron Saint of Daily Kos
by kos

Fri Jun 11, 2004 at 09:59:10 AM PST

Our Senate endorsement vote, warts and all, showed that the community was willing to be strategic in their choice of candidates. Nothing wrong with that, and it's a level of practicality that I often encourage.

But it was also clear, that given the chance to vote our hearts, most of us would've chosen Barack Obama.

There's no doubt that Obama is a special candidate -- a great orator, accomplished, great life story, and hails from a state where he can be as progressive as he wants to be. He has clearly captured the imaginations of Illinois voters, who gave him a resounding victory in a crowded Democratic primary field. He is African American, but his support cuts across ethnic lines.

We are a politically savvy bunch here at dKos. We looked at his poll numbers, where he enjoys a solid lead. Some of us looked at his fundraising numbers, and saw that Obama could raise money like the best of them.

So we collectively decided to lend our hand elsewhere.

But there is no doubt that our hearts lie with Obama. And if he finds himself in a tighter than expected race come the fall, I have no doubt we'll ride to his defense.

So a toast to Obama, the Patron Saint of Daily Kos.

Here, here!  Let's lift our glasses, along with our hearts, to the next President of the United States, Barack Obama!