Obama: Name not an advantage in campaign

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) doesn't think name recognition is necessarily a plus as he seeks the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 2008.

"When your name is Barack Obama, you're always an underdog in political races. That's how it was when I ran for the United States Senate," Obama said Wednesday.

"That's how it will be this time," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

But Obama, who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, also said he believes "I've got something unique to offer."

Appearing on CNN, Obama, D-Ill., said that when he was running for the Senate, "there was an image of me superimposed over a picture of (al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama) bin Laden. I think people like to play with my name."

On CBS's "The Early Show," Obama said he wouldn't be surprised if he is the victim of "scurrilous attacks."

But he also said he believes "people are smarter than that. They're going to judge you on what is your vision for the country. If I do that in a presidential race, then I'm sure I'll do fine."

"Should I decide to go forward with this presidential race," he told CNN, "we will get put through the paces ... and then the American people are going to make a good judgment about it. I'm pretty confident that they'll have a discerning eye."

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070124/ap_on_el_pr/obama2008 [link]