Obama's Good Fortune

Commenting on this post, a very astute reader makes these excellent points:

Two more thoughts on timing 1) Obama is the luckiest loser in history.  Had he won the House race vs. Bobby Rush in 02 he'd probably be lost in Jesse Jackson Jr's shadow and relegated to a life of obscurity.  2) The key to Obama winning was Michigan and Forida being stripped [of their delegates].  Had they voted on or before February 5th he'd have been toast. Thank you Debbie Dingell.

I don't know about "life of obscurity" but, yes, it's much more difficult to see how Obama could have launched a Presidential campaign after just two terms in the House of Representatives. If he had been in the House would he have been asked to give the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic Convention? Perhaps, but maybe not. And absent that...