Barack Obama started early in trying to carve out a reputation as an eager, hard-working Illinois state senator when he was elected in 1996.
He once told state Democratic leader Emil Jones -- the man Obama considers his "political godfather" -- to throw him into the fire.
"He said, 'Feel free to give me any tough assignments. You know I like to work hard,' " said Jones, the current state Senate president and a member of the Illinois General Assembly since 1973.
That work, his critics say, resulted in one of the most liberal voting records during his eight years in the Legislature, from pushing for abortion rights to raising taxes.
But former Republican colleague Dan Cronin said the presidential candidate's campaign of bold change doesn't square with his past.
"
There were no bold solutions; there were no creative approaches; there were no efforts to stand up to the establishment," said Cronin, a member of the Illinois General Assembly since 1990, and now a member of White House hopeful John McCain's Illinois Leadership Team.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/03/...eck/index.html