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Obama to launch White House bid Obama launches presidential bid
(about 6 hours later)
Democratic Senator Barack Obama is set to officially launch his presidential campaign with a speech in Springfield, Illinois. Democratic Senator Barack Obama has officially launched his presidential campaign with a speech in Illinois.
The 45-year-old is widely considered to be the first African-American candidate with a realistic chance of winning the presidency. Mr Obama is considered by many to be the first African-American candidate with a realistic chance of winning.
It is just two-and-a-half years since Mr Obama burst on to the national scene. He, along with Senator Hillary Clinton, is leading the race for the Democratic Party's nomination for the 2008 vote.
He delivered a stirring keynote speech at the Democratic party convention. But the BBC's James Coomarasamy in Washington says he has little national experience, causing some to question if his skills match his ambition.
His declaration that there was no white or black America, but a United States of America helped the son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansas mother win a seat in the US Senate that year. A large crowd of supporters had braved the sub-zero temperatures in Springfield, Illinois to watch Mr Obama make his announcement.
HAVE YOUR SAY Senator Barack Obama could help the US to win world support. V Siva, Toronto class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5511&edition=1">Send us your comments And as it has turned out, it set him on a fast track to a run at the White House. 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 Barack Obama 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.
State senator 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."
With his youth and mixed race background, Barack Obama promises a new type of politics. Changing politics
He has pointedly chosen to launch his campaign on the very spot where Abraham Lincoln once denounced the divisions in America caused by slavery. Ahead of Saturday's speech in the city of Springfield Mr Obama appeared in an online video message to his supporters.
Unlike previous black presidential candidates, Mr Obama was not part of the civil rights movement, which makes some African-Americans wary of him. 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".
His was an unconventional upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia before he went to study law at Harvard and became the first black president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. Instead of being cynical about politics he asked people to believe in the possibility they can make an impact on people's everyday lives.
Later on, after community work in Chicago, he entered Illinois state politics, serving in the senate there for several years. HAVE YOUR SAY Senator Barack Obama could help the US to win world support. V Siva, Toronto class="" href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5511&edition=1">Send us your comments Mr Obama burst on to the national scene two-and-a-half years ago, delivering a stirring keynote speech at the Democratic party convention.
Yet, with relatively little national experience and formidable opponents, not least Hillary Clinton, many question whether he can really secure the Democratic nomination, whether he has the depth of policy to match his undoubted charisma and ambition. 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.
Mr Obama has tried to answer critics in recent weeks, introducing a bill that calls for the phased redeployment of US troops from Iraq. 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 his speech here in Illinois will be closely watched for both its policies and its passion. 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.