Seen by many as America’s great white (!) hope for re-uniting a divided and damaged country, Senator Barack Obama has been seen as a front runner for the Democratic vote in the 2008 US Presidential elections.
He ruled himself out of the running before, and then softened his tone. Now the BBC says that he has begun the first step towards a presidential race – he’s set up an exploratory committee.
Since the congressional mid-terms all eyes have fallen to the US Presidential elections. With George W. Bush forbidden from running and Cheney too old to even be considered, the whole thing is seen as wide open.
There are plenty of people who have already filed with the US Federal Elections Commission, and more that have set up exploratory committees. The most notable name so far to file with the FEC is John Edwards, Democrat candidate for vice-president in 2004. Obama seems to be on his own in the “exploratory committee” category for the Democrats, but big names on the Republican side include John McCain and Rudy Giuliani. Current caucus favourite for the Democrats, Hillary Clinton, has not made any move just yet.
The next 2 years should be interesting in American politics.