How Obama won the White House

MOBILE, Ala. - Chantae Francois is a student at Davidson High. On Wednesday, she volunteered to break down the Obama headquarters on Government Street.

She is a good example of Obama's grass-root effort. "I just felt so close and I felt connected to the election and the campaign. Reporter: Even though you couldn't vote. Even though I couldn't vote," said Francois.

And that's just the beginnning of the President-elect's many strategies.    

• Obama used his website to spread the word.

• He believed face-to-face communication was the best.That is why he encouraged volunteers to do door-to-door operations often.

• Obama also used new technology to get new voters.He even text messaged who would be his vice-president.

• David Plouffe, his campaign manager, gave monthly updates on BarackObamaTV.com and Youtube .
• In Florida, more than $36 million went to advertising and publicity.
• And that uninterrupted commercial sealed the deal for some voters.

He did not bank on one particular way of winning the White House. But he spread his time, money, and resources out over multiple strategies. Springhill College political science professor Tom Hoffman raises this thought.

Did Obama go too far with spending? "He decided he wants to raise more money on his own terms and he does that. In the process, it makes us wonder about public financing in future campaigns," said Hoffman.

Political analysts say Obama spent just as much as he campaigned. On any given day, he could be seen criss-crossing the airwaves in battleground states like Florida.

Even tugging away volunteers from Mobile to help out in Pensacola. "We made a significant amount of headway in that state. Alabama is partly responsible for turning that blue," says John Powe of Alabama for Change.

If Obama goes for re-election in 2012, Francois says he will have to campaign like this again. Even though he persuaded her for this race, that may not work next time around.

"It depends on who he is running is against. I have to look at that. What is going on at the time. I can't just vote for him. I have to do my research."

A lot of Obama's financial success came from private donors who went in their pockets to donate. Star endorsements, like Ted Kennedy and Oprah Winfrey certainly did not hurt his campaign.