As most of the world knows, Senator Barack Obama announced today that he is forming an exploratory committee -- the first formal step in declaring his candidacy for President in 2008. I have been loosely following the Senator since his speech at the Democratic Convention in 2004. He is a fascinating phenomenon at the very least. There has been an enormous amount of commentary about him, especially in the last year as it became apparent that he was considering a run for president, with people trying to figure out who he is and what he stands for....I think we are about to find out.
The reason I enjoy listening to the Senator speak about anything is that he makes me feel good, about Americans and our country, about the future. There are a lot of people trying to compartmentalize him and categorize him and I don't think it's going to be that easy. He is obviously very intelligent, an excellent public speaker and charismatic. With the horrible, hateful state of politics in this country -- after six years of divisive, wedge-issue politics -- I think this man speaks to the best in all of us and that will be a very difficult effect to counter.
He says it's the "smallness of our politics that most bothers him...our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common-sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan and 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."
Check out his announcement video at www.barackobama.com. Feel good for today.
Reader Comments ( Page 3 of 3)
31. Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black Muslim from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white atheist from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii.
When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a radical Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocated to Indonesia. Obama attended a Muslim school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school.
Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, “He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school.”
Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Osama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the radical teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.
Since it is politically expedient to be a Christian when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background.
Let us all remain alert concerning Obama’s expected presidential candidacy.
Candace at 5:57AM on Jan 20th 2007
32. "RUN OBAMA RUN"
Ed at 7:35PM on Jan 19th 2007
33. What has this man ever done? he hasn't even been a Senator yet , who knows him?Please dont mess up this country any more than it is now by voting in a child who has no back ground in politics and his only recomendation is two books that we dont even know if he did write them by his self and the fact that he has a good speaking voice, also remember we speak in public one way and in private another
irene delrossi at 12:51PM on Jan 20th 2007
34. Just because Obama is intelligent, is an excellent public speaker, and is charismatic, does not mean that he will be a good President. For example, many would argue that President Bush is an excellent public speaker and is charismatic (and a few would go so far as to say he is intelligent), but that does not make him a good President. The Presidential Approval Rating, now at an all-time low of 34%, shows that many U.S. citizens do not approve of him as President. Being a good President, therefore, requires more than simply having good qualities.
Kristy at 11:15PM on Jan 28th 2007
35. Obama has plenty of experience to be given the most powerful position in the world. President Bush had comparable experience to Obama, if not less experience, when he took office in 2000. Bush graduated from Yale with a History degree and Harvard with a M.B.A. The Whitehouse website only lists a couple things he accomplished between his time at Harvard and serving as Governor of Texas: working in energy business and purchasing the Texas Rangers baseball franchise. Obama, on the other hand, graduated from Colombia in Political Science and International Affairs and from Harvard Law School. Unlike Bush who only served as a state governor, Obama has served in both the Illinois State Senate and the U.S. Senate. Since being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2003, Obama has gained a great deal of experience serving on the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Veteran Affairs Committee, and the Foreign Relations Committee. Claiming that Obama does not have enough experience simply because of his young age is also inaccurate. When Bush was sworn in to presidency he was 54 years old. If Obama takes office in 2008 he will be 47, a difference of only 6 years.
Kristy at 11:15PM on Jan 28th 2007