Robert Novak's indispensable "Inside Report" has the goods:
Prominent Illinois Democrats are advising Sen. Barack Obama, now finishing his second year in the Senate, to consider making a run for the 2008 presidential nomination.
One such Democratic stalwart is telling the 45-year-old Obama to run only if prospective front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton does not. But others are advising the popular freshman senator to go for it even if Clinton is a candidate.
These boosters calculate that Obama, the son of a black father and a white mother, could break the Republican presidential hold on the South by maximizing the African-American vote in states such as South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi.
Could it really be time for Barack? There's certainly even more buzz in the air than usual. Novak's column coincides with this New York Times piece from today:
Senator Barack Obama insists, as always, that he is not running for president. But there are compelling clues that he is not exactly not running, either.
The most obvious was his keynote appearance here on Sunday at Senator Tom Harkin's legendary steak fry, a popular Democratic ritual in Iowa — and a prominent staging ground in this first presidential caucus state.
The trip, which had been hyped for weeks, took on greater significance when news leaked that Mr. Obama had invited along Steve Hildebrand, a political strategist who ran Vice President Al Gore’s campaign in Iowa in 2000.
Mr. Harkin, a legendary political figure and the sponsor of the event, seemed amused by the Obama phenomenon. “Honestly, tell you the truth — I really tried to get Bono this weekend,” Mr. Harkin said in his introduction. “I couldn’t get him, so I settled for the second biggest rock star in America today.”
Man. It would be something. He could pull it off, but only if the environment is just right. Hillary, if nominated, will lose the general election. If someone could convince her of this before she embarks on a both destructive and likely successful Democratic primary campaign, she might bow out—leaving the way open for the most inspiring national Democratic candidate since Robert F. Kennedy to enter the race, and be handed the nomination.
9/19/2006 10:41 AM
MrEd wrote:
Gee - People from Obama's own state want him to run. Way to go out on a limb! And of course "there are compelling clues that he is not exactly not running..." He gets a ton of attention and therefore more power the more people who think he might run. He gets all the benefits of running without having to actually do it. Reply to this
9/19/2006 5:10 PM
Pat Allison wrote:
Senator Obama spoke at a Democratic rally in Louisville last week and "wow"ed every one. He is such an elequaint and inspirational speaker. He certainly is more of a charmer than Hillary, but I just want a solid Democratic winner. As long as they are for stopping this war and getting healthcare, clean air, getting jobs back on track, and ARE ELECTABLE, I'll take any Democrat! --Pat Allison Reply to this
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