The battle is on: Obama unveils bid for White House

Barak Obama stood on the steps of Springfield's State Capitol - on the very spot where Abraham Lincoln decried slavery with the words, 'A house divided against itself cannot stand' - and announced his intention to become America's first ever black President.

'I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America.' His audience responded by shouting his name loudly, waving banners declaring 'Obama 08' emblazoned with a symbol resembling a rising sun.

There was no surprise in his announcement, we have all known it has been coming for the past couple of months, but it is nevertheless hard not to get swept up in the sense of history being made.

Obama cut a dashing figure in blinding sunshine on a freezing midwinter day. He stood on stage at the start of his speech with his wife and two daughters acknowledging the crowd. They cheered for several minutes before he had even spoken. Some had come from as far as Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas.

But he served up tough words. He condemned the war in Iraq and said he had a plan that would end US military involvement in the conflict by March, 2008. 'It is time to start bringing our troops home,' he said. He also slammed lobbyists and corporate influence on politicians: 'They think they own our government, but we are here to take it back.'

Hillary, who many had assumed was sauntering towards the Democratic ticket, now has a fight on her hands. The young Obama has no Iraq war vote to stain his record and appears to have the courage to say things that Clinton, always playing for the swing voter, usually circumnavigates.

It'll be a fascinating contest. The young upstart facing the wily old fox. There are many who berate Obama for his lack of experience, but he points out that many of the men who surrounded Bush - Rumsfeld, Powell, Cheney - had lots of experience and yet still led the US into it's most destructive war since Vietnam. It's a fair point.

He also addressed this point in yesterday's speech, choosing another tack:

“I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness in this — a certain audacity — to this announcement,” he said. “I know that I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.”

What I found most inspiring is the way he seems to reach out to what's positive in Americans rather than to play to their fear as Bush has done over the past six years. He reminds me of a young Kennedy and he played on that as he spoke of America's ability to change itself over the years. At this point in time, a changed America would be welcomed across the globe.

He's opened briskly, but it's a long haul to the finishing line. I wish the young Senator well.

Here's his speech. It's hard not to find this guy inspiring.





Click title for full article.

tag: Barak Obama, Presidential bid,