Obama turns to Lincoln and heats up Illinois

Obama turns to Lincoln and heats up Illinois
By Andrew Ward in Springfield, Illinois
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: February 10 2007 18:22 | Last updated: February 11 2007 19:27


On a rainy day in February 1861, hundreds of people gathered at the Great Western Railway depot in Springfield, Illinois, to bid farewell to Abraham Lincoln, the city’s most famous son, when he boarded a train to Washington to take office as US president.

Almost 146 years to the day later, Springfield witnessed the start of another political journey when Barack Obama, the junior Democratic senator for Illinois, launched his bid for the presidency outside the city’s Old State Capitol building.

While Lincoln was heading directly to the White House, Mr Obama’s journey promises to be long and winding, with the risk that it could hit a wall in the Democratic primaries next year.

But the scale of Saturday’s rally – the crowd was in the thousands despite freezing temperatures – and the frenzied excitement surrounding it showed that Mr Obama is already in possession of that most precious of political commodities: momentum.

“I know it’s a little chilly, but I’m fired up,” he told the crowd.

For the next 20 minutes he dazzled his audience with the sparkling oratory that has become his trademark, calling for a new generation to reject the “smallness” and cynicism of contemporary US politics and build “a more hopeful America”.

There were some concrete proposals amid the rhetoric, including a plan to return combat troops from Iraq by March 2008 and a vow to introduce universal healthcare coverage by the end of his first term. But it was clear that Mr Obama’s campaign will rest as much on his promise of a new style of leadership as it will on policy.

“I know I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington,” said the 45-year-old first-term senator. “But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways must change.”

It was in a speech at the Old State Capitol that Lincoln famously called for the abolition of slavery by warning that a “house divided” cannot stand.

By inviting parallels with the man widely regarded as America’s greatest president, Mr Obama was also answering critics who believe he lacks experience. Lincoln served four terms in the Illinois state legislature and two years in Congress before seeking the presidency – exactly the same career path so far trodden by Mr Obama.

For many, Mr Obama’s youth and freshness are his greatest appeals.

“It’s time for change and we’re more likely to get that from Obama than Clinton,” said David Hudson, a young Democrat, referring to Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner for the party nomination.

Andrew Smith, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire, said Democrats were falling in love with Mr Obama in a way they never had with Ms Clinton.

“Hillary brings experience and the sense of someone who can get the job done. Obama brings the Kennedyesque or Reaganesque vision that Hillary seems to lack.”

Del Ali, of Research 2000, a non-partisan polling firm, said Mr Obama’s consistent stance against the war in Iraq gave him an important advantage over Ms Clinton and other candidates whose positions had changed. But the odds were stacked against him because of her greater fundraising power, Mr Ali added.

Another uncertainty is whether America is ready to elect a black president.

“It is the issue that no one wants to discuss,” said Mr Ali. “Democrats see the 2008 election as theirs to lose. Are they prepared to take a risk on Obama if he can’t pick up any states in the south?”

Back in Springfield, Mr Obama urged America to look beyond old divisions and prejudices.

“The life of a tall, gangly Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible,” he said, referring to Lincoln. “He tells us that ... beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people. He tells us that there is power in hope.”

Video: Barak Obama’s presidential announcement at http://www.barackobama.com/