Obama Runs For The White House...

[Tom Collins]

I don't see this posted yet, so i thought I'd see what people think of it. You know, stick a spoon in the shit soup and give it a good stir...*cheeky grin*

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Obama takes first step in White House bid
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By Christi Parsons
Washington Bureau

January 16, 2007, 9:37 AM CST

WASHINGTON -- In an announcement weighted with history and moment, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who less than three years ago was serving in the Illinois Senate, declared today his intention to run for president. "As many of you know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008," Obama said in a statement on his presidential exploratory committee Web site. "Running for the presidency is a profound decision--a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone--and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country.

"I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago. But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels across the states these past months; as I've read your emails and read your letters; I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics."

Obama's move dramatically punctuates the extraordinary arc of a political career for a man who said he had trouble even renting a car to attend the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in 2000. But his stirring speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004 catapulted him to a hybrid status of politician as celebrity that continued with his election to the Senate and his status now as the first African-American candidate considered a leading contender for his party's presidential nomination.

He is expected to face two daunting challenges, one to raise up to $100 million for his campaign and the other, to compete with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, among many others, in what would be the longest and most expensive presidential campaign in history.

His announcement today was the filing of a presidential exploratory committee, a step that allows him to immediately start to raise money in advance of a more formal announcement of his candidacy, which Obama said would come next month.

"...I'll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee," his statement said. "For the next several weeks, I am going to talk with people from around the country, listening and learning more about the challenges we face as a nation, the opportunities that lie before us, and the role that a presidential campaign might play in bringing our country together. And on February 10th, at the end of these decisions and in my home state of Illinois, I'll share my plans with my friends, neighbors and fellow Americans."

In recent weeks, Obama has been reaching out for financial supporters and key staff as he prepares for a White House run. Though by any conventional measures the notion of an Obama candidacy would be seen as the ultimate long-shot gamble, his has been a most unconventional rise.

After his convention speech, interest in him soared and his first book, an autobiography, "Dreams From My Father," became a national best-seller. That was followed by his second book, "The Audacity of Hope," which at one point was even outselling author John Grisham on the best seller lists. Obama also was a top draw for Democrats running for Congress in the midterm elections. And, of course, it certainly didn't hurt him when Oprah Winfrey declared Obama her preferred candidate for the White House on her popular television show.

That popularity coalesced into presidential ambitions. Now comes the part when Obama must develop a set of positions on any number of issues. Perhaps none is so important as the war in Iraq.

Although aides as recently as this weekend were still calling it a "possible" campaign, one close friend to Obama said the only thing that would stop the candidacy would be if the senator "got cold feet."

One major consideration for Obama has been whether he would put his young family through the ordeal of a campaign.

Although it will be based in Chicago, his campaign will still put Obama on the road a great deal--beginning with forays into primary states that are already beginning.
Copyright (c) 2007, Chicago Tribune

So...who thinks that if he makes it he'll get Lee Harveyed?
Who thinks he'd make a great prez?
Is there anyone who'd rather have the first woman (Hillary) prez?
Who is still too stunned at the prospects of an African-American Republican?

Discuss...

 

[impressive]

(I ordered my "Obama in '08" bumperstickers two weeks ago.)

 

[Liar]

Which means that if he keeps himself out of embarrasment for the next years, he's a VIP lane slider in 2012.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

Which means that if he keeps himself out of embarrasment for the next years, he's a VIP lane slider in 2012.

Actually, Liar... I have him pegged for VP in 2008. Unfortunately, that may make him and the presidential candidate "Also Rans".

 

[rgraham666]

I wonder if he'll start wearing clothes with bulls eyes on them?

 

[minsue]

Which means that if he keeps himself out of embarrasment for the next years, he's a VIP lane slider in 2012.

What's a VIP lane slider?

 

[Tom Collins]

What's a VIP lane slider?

A fine question, min. That one's new to me as well.

 

[MasterPhoenix]

Obama has My support.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

The perfect candidate for the Seinfeld era:

A candidate about nothing.