In 2001, a Google search for "Barack Obama" returned 671 hits.
I would love to brag about that, but unfortunately not all of those first hits are me. A better yardstick of Barack Obama's internet fame: In 2001, a Google search for "Stephen Ratliff" returned 550 hits, most of them pertaining to the Star Trek fanwriter Stephen Ratliff.
So, seven short years ago, this guy was about as internet famous as this guy.
(The score is now Obama 72,200,000, Ratliff 2,750.)