Barack Obama announced his bid for president Saturday, a black man evoking Abraham Lincoln's ability to unite a nation and a Democrat portraying himself as a fresh face capable of leading a new generation.
"Let us transform this nation," he told thousands shivering in the cold at the campaign's kickoff.
Obama, 45, is the youngest candidate in the Democrats' 2008 primary field dominated by front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and filled with more experienced lawmakers. In an address from the state capital where he began his elective career 10 years ago, the first-term U.S. senator sought to distinguish himself as a staunch opponent of the Iraq war and a White House hopeful whose lack of political experience is an asset.
"I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change," Obama said to some of the loudest applause of his 20-minute speech.
Meanwhile, the contender I'm supporting, Rudy Giuliani, is getting praise from the Pittsburgh Tribune: "As America rushes into the wide-open 2008 presidential primary season, about the only thing that is certain is this: Bush fatigue. Republicans desperately need a new face painted on their party. Enter center-right Rudy Giuliani. For many, he appears to be holding the right brush."
UPDATE: Giuliani apparently wowed the GOP in California yesterday. Later this week I'll do a write-up on why I support Giuliani and why he would be a good choice for the Republican Party.
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