Posted by
Michael on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 10:53:08 AM
Barack Obama has taken the first step in running for president. Here's an excerpt from the
ABC News article about it:
Obama announced his intentions to file a
presidential exploratory committee on his Web site,
http://www.barackobama.com. He said he would announce more about his
plans in his hometown of Chicago on Feb. 10.
"I didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago," Obama
said in a video posting. "I've been struck by how hungry we all are for
a different kind of politics. So I spent some time thinking about how I
could best advance the cause of change and progress we so desperately
need.
"The decisions that have been made in the past six years have put our country in a precarious place," he said.
Now, I'm going to say something that needs to be said. We do not know much of anything about Obama, he's only been in office as a senator for two short years. He's never faced a tough campaign (he demolished his Republican opponent Alan Keyes back in 2004), and the presidential campaign is the toughest one of all. With his lack of experience, he could easily fall apart at the seems in the face of a fiercer campaign from an experienced Republican. And given that just about all of the prospective GOP candidates are experienced politicians, Obama will be fighting quite a battle.
Obama reminds me alot of John F. Kennedy, the last senator to win the White House, in his appeal. Kennedy was not a career politician when he ran, and he appealed in much the same way Obama appeals to many: a young (at least when it comes to politics), attractive and charismatic candidate who doesn't talk like a politician.
UPDATE: Allahpundit put a
brilliant headline on this story. You can follow the links there to see the video of Obama's announcement.
UPDATE 2: Here's the video, if you haven't seen it already: