Obama '08?

Back to the subject: Walter's link points to a speech that's in many ways typical for Obama. If you read it rationally, he isn't really saying anything mind-boggling. But he manages to express even ordinary messages in a way that inspires people. If I was a Republican candidate facing a presidential TV debate with Obama, I'd be very, very afraid.

Hey, thomas-
Do you resemble Phil Collins in person? Because that's who your avatar reminds me of...

snood wrote:

Hey, thomas-
Do you resemble Phil Collins in person? Because that's who your avatar reminds me of...

Hi -- sorry, I missed your question on the first pass somehow. No, I don't look like Phil Collins at all; nor do I look like Douglas Adams, the guy on my avatar. Of all the avatars I've had so far, I'd say the one who resembles me most is Antonin Scalia. There are photos of me in the threads about the London, New York, and Chicago gatherings.

Sen. Obama to headline Iowa party event

Sen. Barack Obama, whose name has come up in speculation about the 2008 presidential race, will be the headline speaker at the Iowa Democratic Party's highest profile event this year in a state that traditionally holds the first delegate-selection caucuses.

Obama will be the featured speaker at Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin (news, bio, voting record)'s annual steak fry in September, an event which annually draws thousands of activists.

"I think his standing has risen rapidly," Harkin said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.

The Illinois senator dismissed suggestions that the Iowa speech was tied to presidential ambitions.

"This is simply me accepting an invitation from Senator Harkin and hopefully an opportunity to assist other congressional candidates," Obama told reporters.

Obama said Harkin had been very persuasive and added, "basically my rule has been if I can help in the '06 cycle, then I'm going to do it. And the only reason not to do it has been sort of the symbolism of Iowa which probably was not a good reason for us not to help out."

Obama will make his Iowa debut in September at Sen. Tom Harkin's annual steak fry. The venue is one of the most sought-after platforms in Democratic politics, a rural fairground south of Des Moines that has hosted Bill Clinton three times and a string of political luminaries over nearly three decades.

"Basically, my rule has been that if I can help in the '06 cycle, then I'm going to do it," Obama said Thursday. "The only reason not to do it would be the symbolism of Iowa, which probably wasn't a good reason for us not to help out."

In an interview, Obama said no greater significance should be attached to his trip to Iowa. Harkin extended the invitation and he accepted, he said, just as he has for other Democrats.

"I've already been to 30 states," he said. "Why not Iowa?"

But in Iowa, a steak fry is not always simply a steak fry.

The state's precinct caucuses have helped launch the race for the White House for 30 years. Seldom does a week go by--even in off-presidential years like this one--when an ambitious Democrat or Republican isn't dropping by the state to court activists for 2008.

The Harkin event marks Obama's first dip into the circuit.

... ... ...

I gotta admit, ...
the thought makes me a little giddy, in spite of what I know about the reality of 'electability'.

Here's a rundown of where he stands on various issues (as of 2004, anyway...)

http://www.issues2000.org/Senate/Barack_Obama.htm

-sigh- Good stuff -sigh-