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Obama Enters 2008 Presidential Race

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to supporters on Saturday at the state capital in Springfield, Illinois.
Mandel Ngan
/
AFP/Getty Images
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) speaks to supporters on Saturday at the state capital in Springfield, Illinois.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) tells a crowd at the Illinois state capital that he is running for the White House in 2008.

The first-term U.S. senator began his elected life at the state legislature 10 years ago.

If elected president, Obama would be the first black person to hold the nation's highest office.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mara Liasson is a national political correspondent for NPR.
Scott Simon is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First.
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