Obama takes first step toward 2008 presidential bid
Obama takes first step toward 2008 presidential bid
Published: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama has taken the first steps to try and become the first African-American occupant of the White House.
In a three-minute video posted Tuesday on his website, the 45-year-old Illinois Democrat said he has formed an exploratory committee to fathom his bid. It allows him to hire staff and raise money.
He is expected to officially anounce his candidacy on Feb. 10.
It was the first parry in a long-expected showdown between Obama, the Democratic party’s fastest rising star, with Hilary Clinton, the first lady-turned-senator, who is the party’s presumed presidential front-runner.
"He is clearly the Hillary alternative for Democrats at this point," said Mark Rozell, a political scientist at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
"There is no other candidate on the Democratic side who has emerged with such fanfare, such high expectations to possibly challenge Hillary Clinton for the front-runner status."
The impact of Obama’s decision appeared to have an immediate impact on Clinton’s own politicking. Just back from a trip to Iraq, the New York senator on Tuesday cancelled a major news conference, triggering speculation she wanted to avoid questions on Obama.
Obama used his online announcement to control his message — he appeared in an open-collared shirt and was bathed in soft lighting — and to sketch the basic themes of a campaign expected to focus heavily on his status as a political newcomer.
Striking a bipartisan tone, Obama said he believes Americans want an end to bitter divisions that have consumed American politics since the disputed 2000 election of President George W. Bush.
"I have been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics," he said. "Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions."
Clinton, now serving her second term in the U.S. Senate, is expected to announce her own presidential ambitions as early as next week.
She already has $14 million US in funds left over from her Senate re-election campaign and the political organization of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, at her disposal.
Several other Democratic candidates have already entered the race, including former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=dfeee8ba-9ff7-42e8-8c3e-0156120f556a&k=14937
Published: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama has taken the first steps to try and become the first African-American occupant of the White House.
In a three-minute video posted Tuesday on his website, the 45-year-old Illinois Democrat said he has formed an exploratory committee to fathom his bid. It allows him to hire staff and raise money.
He is expected to officially anounce his candidacy on Feb. 10.
It was the first parry in a long-expected showdown between Obama, the Democratic party’s fastest rising star, with Hilary Clinton, the first lady-turned-senator, who is the party’s presumed presidential front-runner.
"He is clearly the Hillary alternative for Democrats at this point," said Mark Rozell, a political scientist at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
"There is no other candidate on the Democratic side who has emerged with such fanfare, such high expectations to possibly challenge Hillary Clinton for the front-runner status."
The impact of Obama’s decision appeared to have an immediate impact on Clinton’s own politicking. Just back from a trip to Iraq, the New York senator on Tuesday cancelled a major news conference, triggering speculation she wanted to avoid questions on Obama.
Obama used his online announcement to control his message — he appeared in an open-collared shirt and was bathed in soft lighting — and to sketch the basic themes of a campaign expected to focus heavily on his status as a political newcomer.
Striking a bipartisan tone, Obama said he believes Americans want an end to bitter divisions that have consumed American politics since the disputed 2000 election of President George W. Bush.
"I have been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics," he said. "Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions."
Clinton, now serving her second term in the U.S. Senate, is expected to announce her own presidential ambitions as early as next week.
She already has $14 million US in funds left over from her Senate re-election campaign and the political organization of her husband, former president Bill Clinton, at her disposal.
Several other Democratic candidates have already entered the race, including former vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, Delaware Senator Joseph Biden, Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and Tom Vilsack, governor of Iowa.
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=dfeee8ba-9ff7-42e8-8c3e-0156120f556a&k=14937
posted by presgore19 at 6:41 PM
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