Gwen's Take: Breaking Through Four Years Later: Artur Davis (R)

Artur Davis listens to an audience question during a speech Sunday to Fredericksburg Young Republicans in Virginia. Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images.

When I set out to write a book several years ago about a generation of up and coming black political leaders, I had no idea how much would change in the course of a single presidential election cycle.

Of the four main characters I profiled, the one who vaulted most quickly to national prominence was, of course, then-Senator Barack Obama. The book, therefore, was titled "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama."

But I discovered a lot of equally interesting characters along the way whose political fortunes and misfortunes have since turned out to be head-snappingly interesting.

... [via Newshour]