[Vision2020] Sen. Obama Pondering Run for President

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (October 23, 2006) Spokesman Review -

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Sen. Obama pondering run for president 
He's being encouraged by Democrats

Dan Balz 
Washington Post
October 23, 2006

WASHINGTON - Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., opened the door to a 2008
presidential campaign Sunday, saying he has begun to weigh a possible
candidacy and will make a decision after the November elections.

"Given the responses that I've been getting over the last several months, I
have thought about the possibility, but I have not thought about it with the
seriousness and depth that I think is required," Obama said on NBC's "Meet
The Press." "After November 7th, I'll sit down and consider it, and if at
some point, I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and
everybody will be able to go at me."

Until Sunday, Obama, one of the brightest stars in the party since
electrifying the 2004 Democratic National Convention with his keynote
address, had said he planned to serve out the full six years of his Senate
term, which would have ruled out a presidential or vice presidential
campaign in 2008.

But Democrats around the country have encouraged him to consider a campaign
and there has been fevered speculation inside the party about the
possibility that he will do so. His advisers have been forced to adjust
timetables for a possible run in later elections and have begun to do the
research that will help Obama make his decision.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is considered the early front-runner
for the Democratic nomination, should she decide to run, but some Democratic
strategists said Sunday that Obama immediately would become one of her
principal challengers, if he decides to run.

"If he runs and Mrs. Clinton runs, I don't think there's a lot of room for
anyone else," said Steve Elmendorf, who was a top adviser to former House
Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo. "The two of them take up an enormous
amount of political space."

Party strategists said that, if voters are looking for change in 2008, Obama
would symbolize that better than many of the other possible candidates. But
having served just two years in the Senate and seven in the Illinois state
Senate, Obama has a thin resume upon which to build a presidential
candidacy. He was asked Sunday whether he was ready to be president.

"I'm not sure anybody is ready to be president before they're president," he
told moderator Tim Russert. "You know, ultimately, I trust the judgment of
the American people that in any election they sort it through. We have a
long and a rigorous process and, you know, should I decide to run, if I ever
did decide to run, I'm confident that I'd be run through the paces pretty
good."

Obama, 45, was elected to the Senate in 2004 and even before winning that
election became a nationally recognized politician with his keynote address
in Boston. He is one of the party's most sought-after speakers and has drawn
sizable crowds at party events and at appearances in behalf of other
Democratic candidates.

He is currently on a nationwide tour promoting his new book, "The Audacity
of Hope." An earlier book became a national best-seller after his convention
keynote address in 2004. He also has appeared on the covers of Time magazine
and Gentleman's Quarterly.


In his appearance Sunday, Obama said pursuit of the presidency cannot be
based on celebrity and conceit. "It can't be something that you pursue on
the basis of vanity and ambition," he said. "I think there's a certain
soberness and seriousness required when you think about that office that is
unique."

Obama advisers said Sunday there has been little formal analysis done in
preparation for a possible campaign and agreed they will now accelerate that
work.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Vandalville, Idaho


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Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.

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