Barrack Obama Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee
Senator Barrack Obama, the Illinois Senator who has stirred up enormous excitement in Democratic ranks, and among centrists and moderates in particular, has just issued an announcement that he intends to form a Presidential Exploratory Committee.
And while candidates sometimes do that and decide not to run, more often than that it means they’re running. Place your bets in Vegas on “He’s running.”
Here’s the statement in full, since it’s not on any news wires yet:
Dear Friend,As you may know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008. 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.
So I’ve spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need.
The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place. Our economy is changing rapidly, and that means profound changes for working people. Many of you have shared with me your stories about skyrocketing health care bills, the pensions you’ve lost and your struggles to pay for college for your kids. Our continued dependence on oil has put our security and our very planet at risk. And we’re still mired in a tragic and costly war that should have never been waged.
But challenging as they are, it’s not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It’s the smallness of our politics. America’s faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. 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.
And that’s what we have to change first.
We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans.
This won’t happen by itself. A change in our politics can only come from you; from people across our country who believe there’s a better way and are willing to work for it.
Years ago, as a community organizer in Chicago, I learned that meaningful change always begins at the grassroots, and that engaged citizens working together can accomplish extraordinary things.
So even in the midst of the enormous challenges we face today, I have great faith and hope about the future – because I believe in you.
And that’s why I wanted to tell you first that I’ll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee. 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 the meantime, I want to thank all of you for your time, your suggestions, your encouragement and your prayers. And I look forward to continuing our conversation in the weeks and months to come.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Barack Obama
Candidates in both parties are clearly starting a bit early this year. So expect the detailed discussions — and some sniping — to begin. Prediction: with such an early start on both sides, it’s likely that more than ever the actual nominees could be essentially decided by early 2008, early Spring by the latest.
Obama’s injection of the “C” (charisma) factor will likely change the tone on the Democratic side. John Edwards has it some of the time; Senator Hillary Clinton may have to work for it. Message and content are critical, but communications skills — communicating a message to a media that includes radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and Internet news/opinion delivery technology — do matter. And who will win the battle of images on You Tube?
NOTE: Right after us posting this it appeared on Google’s front page. More on this later.
29 Responses to “Barrack Obama Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee”
Obama makes me nervous in a way. I worry about getting my hopes up too high, and then seeing him beaten by Hillary, which would only add to the depression of voting for her.
[...] (UPDATE: And indeed, it is.) Posted on January 16, 2007 | Permalink | Categories Blogging | | View blog reactions “>Comment #1 “>Lynx said, January 16, 2007 at 7:33 am Pete, that’s not a photo trick,or if it is plenty of serious media have been fooled. That pic showed up on one of the main news sites I go to as a record setting giant rabbit. Sorry I don’t have a link in english. [...]
What an exciting political era! I can be satisfied with all of the front runners. I think they all have the talent and skill and desire to work across party lines to reconcile differences. Perhaps Bush’s legacy is demonstrating the tragedy of extreme politics.
Now if we can engineer the same kind of centrist competition in the congressional races…
[...] From the Moderate Voice – Barrack Obama Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee [...]
So far, Obama is credible as an advocate of cleaning up the political mess at a national level, and if he can keep that up I like his chances. The first test will be how he respondes to the first round of attacks from Dem rivals. I’m hopeful.
jjc,
I will be interested in seeing how a candidate can “attack” Senator Obama without being called a “racist.” The Democrats have spent decades using the race card to limit the criticism of any black politican. So, how can someone like Senator Clinton or Senator Dodd attack Senator Obama without it sounding exactly like what Republicans have been chastised for in the past.
I also doubt that someone who has more than a decade involvement in Chicago and Cook County politics is the best example of someone who can provide clean government.
His refreshing honesty and openness are extremely attractive, as is his staunch opposition to the war. He isn’t hemming and hawing unlike many in the rest of the field. I could see myself voting for him out of “the audacity of hope” that America can return to a better incarnation of itself. The latest version, which has brought out the worst in many of us has been so depressing for me.
superdestroyer I don’t see a difficulty in the dems being accused of racism. Such an accusation would have to come from Obama’s side, and he goes to great lengths to not be racially divisive. And speeding ahead to a general election, if the repub candidate got accused of racism every time he criticized Obama it would severely cut down on his charisma points. Actually I see the issue the other way around: it’ll be tough for the Obama team to confront actual racism (and we know there will be at least a little) without being accused of “race-cardmanship”.
Now, how can Hillary attack Obama without seeming really MEAN, that’s a valid point. He does the nice-guy routine so well that it makes it a challenge.
Lynx,
Senator Obama would never play the race card. It will be left to others such as other black politicians. Also, Democratic politicians have developed the instincts over the year to never, ever criticize a black politician. Those reflexes will be hard to overcome. Also, many in the media have an automatic reflex of seeing any criticism of black leaders through the lens of racism. I do not believe that those reflexes will stop if it is a Democrat doing the criticism.
Remember, in the past, the white Democratic politicians dealt with campaign by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton by ignoring them because they could ignore them.
How anyone criticizes Senator Obama will be a good demonstration of their leadership ability and their statesmanship. I doubt if many of the white candidates have what it takes to campaign against Senator Obama and thus I consider him the front runner.
superdestroyer said:
You mean, unless they’re a Republican black politician, right? Because I’ve seen some pretty damned critical (and racist) insults hurled at Condi Rice and Michael Steel (unless you don’t consider the incident where Gov. Steel had Oreo cookies thrown at him to be critical nor racist).
[...] Joe Gandelman quotes Sen. Obama’s statement in full. [...]
(unless you don’t consider the incident where Gov. Steel had Oreo cookies thrown at him to be critical nor racist).
If it had happened, sure.
If both of Senator Obama’s parents were white (and otherwise he had the same biographical data), would anyone be promoting him for president? What else distinguishes him?
As Kim said, “His refreshing honesty and openness are extremely attractive…” He’s new to Washington and I don’t think he’s been “corrupted by the system” yet. He’s a breath of fresh air and seems to be an honest politician if there is such a thing. If that image can carry him all the way to a nomination in 2008 I don’t know.
I think YOUR seeing his race, not us.
Its his optimistic outlook- its very contagious> Also I get the feeling that he would be able to see us as others see us- given his childhood in the Philippines. Maybe our foreign policy wouldn’t be as aggressive or arrogant, and we could rehabilitate our image in the post-Bush era. I’m so tired of feeling ashamed of some of the things we’ve done. You look at Obama and you believe in him and trust his judgement. Its not something tangible. That’s how the GOP felt about Reagan- after feeling demoralized during some of Carter’s fiascos.
I look at him and other than thinking how great it is that black kids could see a black man run for office- I see him as a representative of the diverse population that makes up our country.
Oy gevalt! What I’m seeing is a truncated resume tricked out with a demographic novelty. JFK used a similar tactic with his Catholicism. But at least JFK had 13 years in Congress and a war record, in addition to a book. I guess the country is split between those longing for Camelot Redux, and those who are profoundly uneasy about the prospect.
weightman,
thx for calling me a racist. because i support an obama run at the presidency. and were he white, i would support him too
when he speaks, i dont see a color
i see an intelligent man, with a grasp of the issues, who is able to communicate with both sides of the aisle
8 years in the state house, 2 years in the us senate…that is more experience than george bush had when he took office
a constitutional atty….one who has educated others in constitutional law
a man who overcame an angry childhood to raise himself up out of petty hatreds
a man who is honest and not afraid of the country or the world seeing the mistakes he made in the past and who wont lie about inhaling
i dont get excited when i hear gore, edwards, kerry, or hillary speak….i do when i hear obama speak
and if that makes me a racist, who cannot see past his skin color, than so be it
racists unite and vote obama 08
You’re probably right, Uncle Joe. I need to get over my misgivings and go with the charisma flow.
is charisma so bad? isnt it charisma that almost got bobby kennedy the dem nomination on 68?
although we have a current leader who believes his main job is protecting all our citizens, i remember a short time ago of one man riding into the presidency based on the concept of “morning in america”
reagan had charisma…he had presense, and he made many (not me) but many hopeful for a better future
maybe obama has not shot at all….and he probably doesnt thanks to the way presidential elections are run today…but i really want his voice in this election
in 2000 i was a mccain supporter….and i saw much the same thing in mccain that i see in obama….and his party ripped him to shreds…and look at him today…its sad
i hope the same thing doesnt happen to obama…but if it does, i will not support him in 12 or 16
Again, I think your projecting your misgivings. I’m not “longing for Camelot” about Obama but I would say he’s a interesting contender for ’08.
I can’t say I’m completely comfortable with him yet, but that is because I don’t know enough about him and his policy ideas and nothing to do with his race. There is a long time to go so there is time to learn more about him and to see how he continues to conduct himself in the Senate.
As Uncle Joe said, I also don’t see his race when I see him on TV. I also don’t see color when Colin Powell or Secretary Rice is on TV either.
Uncle Joe, I also liked McCain in 2000.
The comparison to Reagan is apt. But Reagan had a new set of policies to provide ballast for his charisma. So far, Obama has been a pedestrian liberal equivocator, somewhere between Hillary and Teddy on the political spectrum. If Democrats are going to capture and retain the presidency, they are going to have to come up with some fresh ideas, instead of living off the intellectual capital of the New Deal.
I agree he seems to be more about style than substance. But the New Deal has served several generations of Americans very well- ushering millions of us into heretofore unknown prosperity by creating a large resilient middle class, and taking care of our elderly in their declining years. I see preserving the middle class and that prosperity as a worthy goal–it beats enriching your cronies and corporate donors like Bechtel and Halliburton!
Kim,
But since we now have that resilient middle class, why should we promote a new version of the New Deal? The components of it may have been the correct remedies for the Great Depression but that doesn’t mean that this should be repeated during a time of healthy economic growth. To be fair, I don’t necessarily think that Obama is an advocate of revamping the New Deal or revitalizing the welfare state, but I’m responding specifically to your claim that the New Deal has served us well and should continue to do so.
I’m saying that rising energy costs, college tuitions, and flat wages have cut into the prosperity of the middle class. Add to that the gradual decline of unions and the number of manufacturing jobs that have been shipped overseas, and you get why the Dems presented their 6 for ’06 package. I think the prosperity that Americans have enjoyed may be threatened by an emerging type of class warfare. John Edwards calls it the “Two Americas”. I believe that Obama or Edwards would work to prevent rising inequality and cut corporate welfare. It is possible that realistically, entitlements will need to be trimmed, but I would trust someone like Obama more than someone like Bush if that needed to be done. (In actuality, it appears that neither party has much stomach for it as doing so will be politically unpopular)
Although I know that Americans will NEVER vote a mixed president (because he is too “black”) It is still wonderful watching the race from here in Kingston Jamaica. I think that Barrack is really Charismatic and there is some semblance of honesty in his voice and eyes. I hope that he will get the respect that he obviously deserves, but heartland America would rather vote for a white elepant before they vote for a mixed half white predident-HE IS JUST NOT WHITE ENOUGH!!!!
Kudos To Barrack. I believe the precedence that Obama candidature presents gives America for one and the whole world an important side kick in realising all-inclusiveness politics in healing many wounds, distratctions and prejudices. All kin and kind willing to give voice to reason should give Barrack the best wishes and all support.
Victor
I dont believe Courtney’s comments hold so much sway as barrack has had some of the strongest reviews from the “white” community. I believe the challenge is basically how his camp is going to manouvre and handle the Clinton’s candindature. Incidentally it would be a dream team if both Barrack and Hillary made a team? What do you think?
What a great time in American politics. A person of color running for the highest office in the land. Question. How do you protect a person of color from the racist ideology that persist and exist in the United States in the 21st century. To be sure, there are factions that will watch and wait to see just how far he will go!!