Obama announces exploratory committee

Illinois senator Barack Obama has announced that he is forming an exploratory committee, the first step in seeking the presidency of the United States:

WASHINGTON – Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) launched a presidential campaign Tuesday that would make him the first black to occupy the White House, and immediately tried to turn his political inexperience into an asset with voters seeking change.

The freshman Illinois senator — and top contender for the Democratic nomination — said the past six years have left the country in a precarious place and he promoted himself as the standard-bearer for a new kind of politics.

“Our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, commonsense way,” Obama said in a video posted on his Web site. “Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions. And that’s what we have to change first.”

Obama filed paperwork forming a presidential exploratory committee that allows him to raise money and put together a campaign structure. He is expected to announce a full-fledged candidacy on Feb. 10 in Springfield, Ill., where he can tout his experience in the state legislature and tap into the legacy of hometown hero Abraham Lincoln.

I touched briefly on Senator Obama in my post yesterday. I certainly wish him well but I probably should put my cards on the table: I don’t believe that 2008 is his year. I think he needs more experience, particularly executive-type experience.

Historically, we have not elected sitting senators as presidents, preferring governors or vice-presidents. To the best of my recollection the 20th century exceptions to this were John Kennedy and Warren G. Harding. Kennedy was, coincidentally, the son of one of the richest men in the world at the time (if not the richest). About Harding the less said the better but he had served as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio before serving in the Senate and was only nominated to the presidency through political wrangling.

At this point my preference for a Democratic ticket would be Richardson-Obama and I’d be likely to vote for such a ticket (depending on who the Republicans put up). I think the Republicans would be crazy to nominate anyone other than John McCain but, as I noted, we tend not to elect sitting senators to the presidency which is why I think you’re likely to hear more about Mitt Romney as the 2008 nears.

Joe Gandelman quotes Sen. Obama’s statement in full.

Update

James Joyner phrases his skepticism about Obama’s candidacy a little more forcefully than I did:

I remain dubious of Obama’s candidacy, thinking of him as an unknown quantity with little in the way of preparation for the presidency. My guess is that the shine will wear off once he is forced to take positions of divisive public policy issues, taking away people’s ability to think that he thinks just as they do.

1 comment… add one
  • MinorRipper Link

    Listen, the cat’s good and all, but he ain’t gonna be our nation’s next president…no way shape or form. Now Gore/Obama 2008–that’s a different story…
    http://www.minor-ripper.blogspot.com

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