As many of you 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.
That's good news, but I'll actually care when he lays out some policy with substance; prolly not for a while. In the mean time I would think Hillary is the frontrunner.
Not that I'm American, but I'd rather see Barack in charge than Hillary. Clinton seems like she's a real c.nt, even when she's trying to be nice. Barack is at least good at seeming charismatic in public and good at getting people excited about politics, I really don't see that from Hillary
He is not really running for President. He is running so that he can get put on the ticket with whoever actually wins the Democratic primary.
I don't know enough about politics to agree or disagree with you, but I do expect an awful lot of support from highly influential media members (namely Oprah). In the end if he's just vice president, I'll still consider it a victory for him.
I think it'll take a brave man to be the first president with either a minority or woman Vice President. All it takes is one crazy feminist or racist to kill ya and promote the Vice.
his rhetoric exceeds his experience and achievement. he was just a popular speaker at the democratic convention, but does he really have ideas and has he really done anything yet? not really. but that's politics.
I don't know enough about politics to agree or disagree with you, but I do expect an awful lot of support from highly influential media members (namely Oprah). In the end if he's just vice president, I'll still consider it a victory for him.
He has NO shot at the White House as President in '08 (the Celtics have a better shot at winning it all than he does). He is doing this specifically to get on the ticket with whoever does come out of the democratic primary. No way does Oprah actively campaign for him either. She is far too savvy for that.
Too early to tell, but I'm starting to get the feeling that Obama will peak too early, all this Obamania is a little too much, too soon. Kinda like Howard Dean four years ago this time.
all of the sensible liberals and Democratic supporters I know of agree that America is not ready for a woman President.
not being a sexist, but in the international mess that has been created (those who pathologically hate Bush will pin the blame on him) dictates that a woman President may not be strong enough to handle it.
He has NO shot at the White House as President in '08 (the Celtics have a better shot at winning it all than he does). He is doing this specifically to get on the ticket with whoever does come out of the democratic primary. No way does Oprah actively campaign for him either. She is far too savvy for that.
haha, that's so wrong. The frontrunner was considered Hilliary Clinton. No real left wingers will vote for her.
OT: Barack is running for president
