Obama Forms Committee to Weigh 2008 Presidential Bid

[Ron Burgundy]

Bloomberg - Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), an IllinoisDemocrat who rose to prominence with his keynote speech at the2004 Democratic National Convention and has become one of theparty's most sought-after speakers, said he's exploring apresidential bid.

``Running for the presidency is a profound decision -- adecision no one should make on the basis of media hype orpersonal ambition alone -- and so before I committed myself andmy family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was rightfor us and, more importantly, right for the country.'' Obamasaid in a statement on his Web site.

Obama, 45, the only black in the U.S. Senate, said he willreveal his decision whether to run Feb. 10 in Illinois. Obamaand Senator Hillary Clinton of New York, who hasn't announcedher plans, are the favored potential presidential candidatesamong Democrats in polls of party voters. Clinton spokesmanHoward Wolfson declined to comment.

``Whether he would succeed depends in part on the size ofthe field,'' said Thomas Patterson, a professor of government atHarvard University. ``Hillary Clinton has a core constituencyand would benefit from a large field of contenders, assumingthey divide the remaining vote.''

``Obama is a threat to Hillary Clinton's candidacy,''Patterson added. ``However, there is no odds-on favorite for theWhite House at this time.''

Born in Hawaii on Aug. 4, 1961, to Ann Dunham of Kansas andBarack Obama Sr., a Kenyan academic, Obama mostly grew up inHawaii attending the elite day school Punahou before earning abachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1983 and a lawdegree from Harvard.

Moved to Chicago

In his early adulthood Obama spent a brief time dabbling incocaine and alcohol, he wrote in his autobiography, ``Dreams ofMy Father.'' He had a short stint on Wall Street before movingin 1985 to the south side of Chicago to work for a church-basedgroup seeking to improve living conditions in poorneighborhoods. He left to go to Harvard Law School in the late80's.

In 1991, Obama became the first black president of theHarvard Law Review. After graduation, Obama returned to Chicagowhere he turned a job as a civil rights attorney into a run forpublic office, serving in the Illinois State Senate for sevenyears.

``Years ago, as a community organizer in Chicago, I learnedthat meaningful change always begins at the grassroots and thatengaged citizens working together can accomplish extraordinarythings,'' Obama said in his statement today.

First Race Unsuccessful

During a 1989 internship at a corporate law firm he metMichelle Robinson, who was his adviser for the summer. In 1992,he married Robinson, with whom he has two daughters. MichelleRobinson Obama works for the University of Chicago Hospitals asvice president for community and external affairs.

In 2000, Barack Obama unsuccessfully challengedRepresentative Bobby Rush (news, bio, voting record) for his congressional seat, onlygarnering 30 percent of the vote to Rush's 60 percent in theIllinois Democratic primary.

In the state Senate, Obama helped to pass the Earned IncomeTax Credit, which in three years provided more than $100 millionin tax cuts to families across the state, according to his Website. He also sponsored legislation that required policeinterrogations to be video taped in all capital cases and ameasure that expanded early childhood education.

Upset Victory

In a surprise upset, Obama won the 2004 Democraticnomination to replace retiring U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald, anIllinois Republican. Obama's candidacy benefitted when hisRepublican opponent dropped out after accusations surfaced thathe pressured his ex-wife to frequent sex clubs. Obama defeatedthe replacement Republican, Alan Keyes of Maryland, winning 70percent of the vote.

Obama has used his celebrity to become a prolificfundraiser since his arrival in Washington. Senate MajorityLeader Harry Reid (news, bio, voting record) took notice, appointing Obama Midwest vicechairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, whichhelps elect Democratic senators. Last year, Obama gave more than$700,000 from his own political action committee to Democraticcandidates and state and national parties.

Still, Obama ``doesn't have as many ties to Democraticleaders in the individual states,'' said Dick Simpson, head ofthe Political Science Department at the University of IllinoisChicago. ``Hillary, because of Bill's successful campaigns andher own work, has many more linkages to significant Democraticfigures in a wide variety of states.''

Opposes Iraq War

In the Senate, Obama has championed ethics reform andlegislation to limit the proliferation of weapons of massdestruction. He sits on the Foreign Relations, the Health,Educational, Labor and Pensions, the Homeland Security and theVeteran's Affairs Committees.

Obama opposes the Iraq war but didn't have to cast a votefor or against it four years ago because he wasn't in the Senatethen. He is against gay marriage and supports work requirementsfor welfare.

Barack in Swahili means ``blessed by God.'' In his secondbook, ``The Audacity of Hope,'' a title coined from his 2004Democratic convention speech, Obama wrote about how he was toldby one Democratic adviser the week after Sept. 11 that hismiddle name, Hussein, would be a political liability.

Obama earned an advance of $1.9 million for the secondbook. Both his books were best sellers, and the second is nowNo. 1 on the New York Times best-seller list.

Sixth Democrat

``I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this positiona year ago,'' Obama said in his statement today. ``But as I'vespoken to many of you in my travels across the states these pastmonths; as I've read your e-mails and read your letters; I'vebeen struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind ofpolitics.''

He is the sixth Democrat to announce a presidential bid orform an exploratory committee, following Senators ChristopherDodd (news, bio, voting record) of Connecticut and Joe Biden of Delaware, former NorthCarolina Senator John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidentialnominee in 2004, former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack andRepresentative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio.

Democrats ``have a pretty deep bench if either Obama orHillary slip,'' said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at theBrookings Institution in Washington.

To contact the reporter on this story:Jay Newton-Small in Washington atjnewtonsmall@bloomberg.net

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20070116/pl_bloomberg/ax7plgm4kl_k [link]