Read more Alice Palmer stories on Newserhttp://www.newser.com/taggrid/4174/alice-palmer.htmlhttp://img1-cdn.newser.com/images/newser-black250x40.gifhttp://www.newser.com/2012 - Newseren-usNewser Feed GeneratorSat, 26 May 2012 03:43:22 CDThttp://www.newser.com/story/1060/obama-played-hardball-early.htmlGreg Atwan<img src='http://img1-cdn.newser.com/getimage.aspx?mediaid=2102&width=45&height=45&crop=Y&updateddate=20110401035557' border='0' />Barack Obama showed his acumen for sharp-elbowed politics early on, according to a report in the Tribune. The 2008 hopeful, famous for his affable and earnest optimism, launched his career in an old-fashioned Chicagoan way, by pushing a former political mentor off a ballot, He won "not by leveling the... Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill speaks during a presidential forum on health care coverage, Saturday, March 24, 2007, in Las Vegas. The Forum was sponsored by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and the Service Employees International Union. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) http://www.newser.com/story/1060/obama-played-hardball-early.htmlWed, 04 Apr 2007 06:41:06 CDT