Obama Seeks to Become First Black U.S. President (Update1)
By Jay Newton-Small
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Illinois Senator Barack Obama, standing in front of the building where Abraham Lincoln gave his ``House Divided'' speech in 1858 opposing slavery, told Americans he will embrace a new kind of politics as he made his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination official.
``We can build a more hopeful America,'' Obama, 45, told supporters today in Springfield, Illinois. ``And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States.''
Obama's bid to become the nation's first black president after just two years in the Senate is capturing the imagination of many Americans. He trails only New York Senator Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic nomination in most national polls.
``He appears to have the `X-factor,' that unmeasurable quality that makes people serious presidential contenders,'' said Kenneth Mayer, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. ``He's smart, charismatic, and has a compelling life story.''
Big `Ifs'
Yet Obama, now in his first national race, will have his hands full trying make his case to voters while facing increased scrutiny. Last year, for example, the Chicago Tribune wrote about an Illinois land deal Obama later said was ``boneheaded.''
``There are some big `ifs,''' Mayer said. ``He's never been seriously tested in a major campaign; his 2004 Senate run was really more of a walk, and he doesn't have much of a record, or experience.''
Today, standing on a platform with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 8, and Sasha, 5, Obama called for an end to poverty in America, for improving health care and lowering its costs, for energy independence, fighting terrorism and bringing an end to the war in Iraq, which he called ``a tragic mistake,'' by March 2008.
``I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness, a certain audacity, to this announcement,'' Obama told the crowd. ``I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.''
Stardom
Obama shot to political stardom after delivering the keynote address at 2004 Democratic National Convention. After he won his Senate seat he re-released his autobiography, ``Dreams of My Father,'' and wrote ``The Audacity of Hope,'' based on his convention speech. Both were bestsellers.
Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, of Wichita, Kansas, met his father Barack Obama Sr., a Kenyan, at the University of Hawaii. After his parents' divorce when Obama was two his mother married another foreign student, Lolo Soetoro from Indonesia. Obama lived in Jakarta from the ages of six to 10, when he returned to live with his maternal grandparents in Hawaii.
After Obama formed an exploratory committee last month, accusations surfaced on the Internet and some television stations that Obama had attended a madrassa, or Islamic religious school, in Indonesia, similar to those where some Islamic terrorists have been recruited. The report was false.
`Swift-Boating'
``While organized Swift-boating efforts have not been launched as yet, it's a sure bet that they will in the months ahead, probably targeting his family history,'' said Stephen Schneck, head of Catholic University's political science department in Washington, referring to commercials criticizing 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry for his military service on a patrol boat in the Vietnam War.
Obama's short record in Washington can be an asset as well as a liability. Unlike Clinton and former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination, Obama never had to cast a vote to give President George W. Bush the authority to go to war in Iraq. Both Clinton and Edwards must defend their votes and explain their changes of heart whenever they talk about Iraq.
Obama used his popularity last year to campaign in 30 states for Democratic candidates. One event Obama was scheduled to attend in Pittsburgh, adjacent to Representative Jason Altmire's district in western Pennsylvania, was so popular it ballooned into four appearances.
Popularity
``I have never seen anything like it, it was amazing,'' said Altmire, a Democrat who defeated a Republican incumbent last November. ``Just the sheer number of people and the enthusiasm.''
Obama was one of the Democrats' top draws at fund-raisers or political candidates in 2006 and he's won support from prominent donors such as billionaire George Soros, who has sent him $2,100.
The senator's business backers also include James Torrey, chairman of New York investment firm Torrey Associates. Torrey said he had dinner with Obama last month and is always impressed by his command of issues, determination and drive.
``He's a transforming individual,'' Torrey said. ``He's got tremendous leadership qualities.''
When asked what he tells people who question whether Obama has enough experience to be president, Torrey said: ``I'll say what Barack says, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney have a great deal of experience.''
Lincoln
Obama staged his announcement in front of the Old State Capitol so closely associated with Lincoln's early career, drawing parallels with the Republican president who fought and won the Civil War that freed America's slaves.
Like Obama, Lincoln's first significant political experience was in the Illinois legislature and he had little national exposure before his run for the presidency. While Lincoln served in the Illinois House, Obama spent seven years in the Illinois Senate representing Hyde Park -- a predominantly black community in southern Chicago.
Lincoln ``understood that in the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it,'' Obama told thousands of supporters today. ``Through his will and his words, he moved a nation and helped free a people.''
Obama is now scheduled to head for Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Iowa Falls and Ames, Iowa, before heading to a Chicago rally tomorrow afternoon. It will be his fourth trip to Iowa as senator and first as a candidate.
Held in January 2008, the Iowa caucuses are the first presidential test in the nation. Instead of a state-wide primary, candidates must win a majority of the nearly 2,000 caucuses.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jay Newton-Small in Washington at jnewtonsmall@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: February 10, 2007 13:33 EST |
