Barrack Obama in '08? Could he really secure the nomination and win the election? He is only a junior Senator (99th in senority), but that could help him more than hurt him. He has an outsider quality usually held be governors. More importantly he doesn’t have any pro-Iraq War votes in his closet. I would say he has a much better chance than Hillary or Condoleezza.
Not this time around, much as I’d like to see it. Give him a little time and I think he’ll do it.
IMO Harold Ford Jr. (D- TN), not Obama, has the best chance of being the first minority president or VP, should he decide to run. Ford Jr. also IMO, is much more appealing to the masses. I can see whites who wouldn’t ordinarily vote for a minority candidate under any circumstances voting for Ford- I can’t see it with Obama, YMMV.
What would his platform be? Would it just be Anti-Bush or would he have his own message and direction he wants to take the country. I think with Hillary we at least have an idea. What does Obama stand for?
It would be interesting to see him run, maybe he should try just to raise his national standing.
Jim
I hope he doesn’t even think of running. He’ll have a chance one day, unless he does something really stupid, and there’s no sense in doing it. If he ran, he’d be begging people to tarnish his reputation, and that can wait. John Edwards got roasted in ‘04 for not having experience, and Obama has even less - two years to Edwards’ six. Let Obama serve a term or two in the Senate, then go home and be Governor of Illinois for a while because Governors get elected President. If he runs for President in 2016, he’ll only be 55.
What they said. He needs to get at least two full terms in the Senate, and then he can start thinking about floating his name as a VP running mate. I think that would be the best option.
There’s a dark part of myself that wonders just how many Americans would be unwilling to vote for the guy based solely on his name.
“President Obama? This ain’t freakin’ Kenya, yo.”
I know they’re out there. I just don’t know how numerous they are.
I gotta tell ya, I’m getting kind of tired of hearing about how Obama should run for president. He’s only been a senator for two years. He’s really young, very inexperienced, and, as was mentioned earlier, is 99th in seniority. Sure, he’s charismatic, but let’s be honest, he doesn’t stand a chance.
Why the worship of this kid? Is it just because he’s black?
President Obama? Maybe; he’s certainly shown the oratory skills and class for the job so far.
In 2008? Not bleepin’ likely.
After six years of “nucular,” who wouldn’t want a President who can go through a speech with clarity and articulation? 
I’m not saying he shouldn’t run in 2016 or 2020, but there’s been talk of “Obama for Pres” since barely a day or two after he was elected to the Senate.
First he’s got to become a WASP. Sorry to have to tell you guys about the elephant in the room, but this is the USA.
Well, he’s been in politics in Illinois for longer, so folks around here know about him. My more cynical side thinks that the national buzz is only about his looks, good speaking ability, and that the Democrats are hard up for good Presidential candidates.
I have to agree with Marley23 - long stints in the US Congress tend to kill your chances for being elected to the Presidency. You vote against some major military funding bill that has a pro-puppy-killing addendum tacked on, and years down the road, your opponent screams about how you voted against pay raises for US soldiers. Enough of those incidents and you’re toast. Better for him to get into the governor’s office ASAP - hell, he can’t do worse than this one and the last one* - and spend a term there, then go for the Presidency if he even wants the job. I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.
- Current gov under Federal investigation for shady hiring practices when he ran on an anti-corruption campaign; previous gov, George Ryan, got sentenced to jail for his campaign finance operations that involved drivers licenses for bribes back when he was Secretary of State, etc.
To be fair, Edwards used his senate seat as a platform to the vice presidency from day one. Much of his six years was spent campaigning. He effectively resigned from the senate as soon as he was picked for the ballot.
I’m speaking as a constituent, as well as a voter who said “Oh My God No! Tell Me Kerry Didn’t Just Pick Edwards As A Running Mate!”
Hopefully someday. But I get the impression most people (and he himself) want to see him gain a little more experience first.
But I sure do like the guy.
If Obama ran in '08, people would say the same. The hype got so intense so quickly - especially after his speech at the last Democratic convention - that he had to be really aggressive about saying he had no designs on the Presidency.
Now that I’ve typed it, I realized that “OBAMA in '08” would sound terrific and look great on a bumper sticker. It’s euphonious and pleasing in a way that few combinations of candidates and years could ever be. (Speaking of which, the James Bond people are blowing a similar synchronicity - they don’t plan to release a Bondd movie in 2007.) But it’s not happening.
The simplest way I can put it, as somebody who voted for Obama, is that he’s a natural. I think some people who liked Edwards felt that he was the same thing, but Edwards came across as somewhat fake and Clinton-lite by comparison.
During the run up to a presidential race, charisma always trumps experience–until the media turns and devours you. Head-turning, eyes-misting, heart-thumping charisma is a rare commodity. Throw in youthful vigor, good speechwriting and minority status, and it’s no surprise the media are salivating over Obama. They know he will build market share and sell commercials. He’s good theater.
Otherwise, I agree. Obama has nothing really substantive to run on, other than image. Basically he’s a Rorschach.
Who ever heard of Jimmy Carter? You don’t need to be a famous senator to become president.
However, he’s well aware that he needs more experience and has no intention of running in '08. I suppose he could change his mind, but I doubt he will.
Agree, I don’t see my 80-year old Southern raised granpappy and his buddies voting for President Obama- maybe if he changed his name to something less threatening.
Jimmy Carter was Governor of Georgia. Unless I am misunderstanding you…
It’s true, and I’m still trying to figure it out. Some folks mentioned this at lunch once, and I mentioned that perhaps it was because Governors were Executive, while Senators were Legislative. From the blank looks, I realized that that might not be the reason, at least if their grasp of politics was the norm. It just must be part of the national consciousness without a real reason?
You might think twice if you had driven through southern Illinois in 2004. Realistically, it’s redneck country – deep southern Illinois is just about as redneck as it comes.
In all of those small towns, and along the back roads, there were Obama signs in yards and bumper stickers on the trucks. Lots of yards. Lots of trucks.
These people weren’t just opposing the Republican candidate, otherwise they would have stayed home on election day. They were actively supporting Obama. That’s one of the reasons – the BIG reason – he’s been talked up as a candidate for the last two years.
Obama won 53% of the vote in the Democratic primary – against 6 other candidates. He got 70% of the vote in the general election. Sure, the Illinois Republicans were in a shambles, but Obama got 700,000 more votes than John Kerry, and 1,000,000 more than George Bush – Hell, Obama got more than 2/3 the number of votes as Bush and Kerry combined.
I’m not saying there aren’t a sizable number of racists among the electorate, but Obama seems to give them an excuse to say “but this guy’s okay.”