Obama launches presidential bid

Democratic Senator Barack Obama has officially launched his presidential campaign with a speech in Illinois.

Mr Obama is considered by many to be the first African-American candidate with a realistic chance of winning.

He, along with Senator Hillary Clinton, is leading the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for the 2008 vote.

But the BBC’s James Coomarasamy in Washington says he has little national experience, causing some to question if his skills match his ambition.

A large crowd of supporters had braved the sub-zero temperatures in Springfield, Illinois to watch Mr Obama make his announcement.

In the shadow of the building where Abraham Lincoln called for Americans to unite against slavery, Mr Obama said: “I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for President of the United States of America,” causing the crowd to cheer and chant his name.

As he declared his candidacy Mr Obama acknowledged that some consider him too inexperienced to take on such a role saying: “I know that I have not spent a long time learning the ways of Washington, but I have been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington have to change.”

Changing politics

Ahead of Saturday’s speech in the city of Springfield Mr Obama appeared in an online video message to his supporters.

In it he expressed a desire to re-engage with people on a grass roots level, saying that together they are beginning “a great journey to take our country back and fundamentally change the nature of politics”.

Instead of being cynical about politics he asked people to believe in the possibility they can make an impact on people’s everyday lives.

Mr Obama burst on to the national scene two-and-a-half years ago, delivering a stirring keynote speech at the Democratic party convention.

His declaration that there was no white or black America, but a United States of America helped him win a seat in the US Senate that year and subsequently set him on a fast track to vie for the White House.

Time magazine has dubbed Mr Obama “America’s hottest political phenomenon” and US chat show host Oprah Winfrey urged him to announce his candidacy on her programme.

But instead he chose to launch his presidential campaign on the very spot where Abraham Lincoln once denounced the divisions in America caused by slavery.

Experience under fire

However, unlike previous black presidential candidates, Mr Obama was not part of the civil rights movement, which, according to our correspondent, makes some African-Americans wary of him.

His mixed race heritage – with a white mother from Kansas, and a black father from Kenya – has in fact led some observers to suggest that he is an African and an American, but not an African-American.

Though undoubtedly ambitious and charismatic, with relatively little national experience and formidable opponents, including Clinton, many question whether he can really secure the Democratic nomination, and whether he has the depth of policy to match.

Mr Obama has tried to answer critics in recent weeks, our correspondent says, introducing a bill that calls for the phased redeployment of US troops from Iraq.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/6349081.stm

Published: 2007/02/10 16:29:14 GMT

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