As 8:00pm neared last night, I knew that the poll closings in California, Oregon and Washington would put Barack Obama over the 270 electoral vote threshold. But when Keith Olbermann called the race and I saw the huge graphic on the MSNBC screen, I was struck by dumb shock: "That's it? Is it really over?"

But in the wake of President-Elect Obama's cathartic, joyous and resounding victory, the predominant thought in my head has not been about the big moment last night, it's more about how we got here. This is the culmination of a truly epic campaign, and for his poise, endurance, charisma, fundraising prowess and strategic acumen, Barack Obama surely must go down as one of the greatest candidates in American presidential history. I've enjoyed the many campaign recaps that have been released over the past few days, but I've noticed that many of the key moments of this two-year campaign have been overlooked. Here's my list of the most underrated moments of the campaign:

It's easy to forget how the media (and a large segment of the population) were still intrigued and fascinated by Sarah Palin for the first three weeks of September. Yes, Tina Fey has gotten scads of coverage for her brilliant Sarah Palin impression, and the first sketch with Amy Poehler's Hillary Clinton was a hoot. But when she returned the week after the premiere and did a nearly word-for-word lampooning of the actual Palin/Couric interview, the public perception changed palpably. The underrated aspect is how SNL wasn't just riding on the coattails of the race, it was actually shaping the race. That sketch was the beginning of the end of Palin's credibility. 

One of the main storylines of the Clinton/Obama primary battle was whether the Democrats would be able to come together after six months of bitter competition. But when Hillary delivered that earnest, gracious speech to her supporters, it was proof that she'd be willing and able to deliver her army of supporters to the Democratic ticket. That speech on June 7 was the milestone signaling the beginning of the general election.

I've always thought that Mike Huckabee would have been the most formidable GOP candidate in the general election. He had the conservative record, he had the genial personality, and for a while, the full attention of the media. But for whatever reason, he didn't connect with voters in the Republican primaries and when he finally conceded, I breathed a sigh of relief. But I still don't understand why John McCain didn't choose Huckabee to be his running mate, as he would have been a perfect balance to the GOP ticket. 

For the first month of the primary season, all of the focus was on "Super Tuesday" February 5, which featured California, New York, Illinois and many other delegate-rich states. The Clinton campaign won most of the big states and emerged as the clear winner of the day. But one week later, the big secret was exposed: the Obama campaign had planned for the long-haul, while the Clinton campaign had put all their eggs in the Super Tuesday basket. With Obama's Feb. 12 wins in Virginia, Maryland and D.C, he pulled ahead in the delegate count and never looked back. Those victories were part of an 11-state win streak that put the race out of reach. Chesapeake Tuesday sent a message that Obama's campaign organization was a political operation that would not be stopped.