February 11, 2009 5:29 PM

Obama's '08 Decision Coming Soon

(CBS/AP)  Sen. Barack Obama is almost ready to make an announcement about his potential presidential campaign, he said Sunday on Face The Nation.

"I will have something to say about that fairly soon," Obama told Bob Schieffer. "Obviously, there's been a lot of talk. It's something that I've been considering. I've said I've been considering it. And we'll be making an announcement fairly soon."

When pressed for a more specific timetable, Obama only smiled and said, "It will be pretty soon."

Obama and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton have both hired senior aides while courting potential supporters in Iowa, New Hampshire and other key states.

Iowa's caucuses will kick off the nominating campaign in January 2008, to be followed by caucuses in Nevada and primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Clinton, who is on a weekend trip to Iraq, also has hired staff, met with activists and tried to settle on a Washington-area location for her campaign headquarters.

The moves by the two come as Democratic Senator Chris Dodd launched his campaign this week and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson prepared to make an announcement before the end of the month.

Obama and Clinton would clearly be the Democratic field's heavyweights — one vying to be the nation's first black president, the other the country's first female chief executive.

© 2009 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Add a Comment See all 44 Comments
by randalds January 16, 2007 3:48 PM EST
Give 'em Hall? (sigh) Got to proof read!
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by randalds January 16, 2007 3:27 PM EST
As of this morning he announced he is definitely in and I finally have re-discovered my enthusiasm for democratic politics again! Give 'em Hall Barack! You have my vote already!
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by longyang-2009 January 16, 2007 12:36 AM EST
01/19/98 Newsweek, Page 62

January 6, 1964, was a long day for Martin Luther King Jr. He spent the morning seated in the reserved section of the Supreme Court, listening as lawyers argued New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a landmark case rising out of King's crusade against segregation in Alabama. The minister was something of an honored guest: Justice Arthur Goldberg quietly sent down a copy of Kings account of the Montgomery bus boycott, "Stride Toward Freedom," asking for an autograph. That night King retired to his room at the Willard Hotel. There FBI bugs reportedly picked up 14 hours of party chatter, the clinking of glasses and the sounds of illicit ***--including King's cries of "I'm f--ing for God" and "I'm not a Negro tonight!"
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by toosweet_org January 15, 2007 10:15 PM EST
NO just changed my mind...
www.clintonedwards.com
and OBAMA as ATTORNEY GENERAL!
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by toosweet_org January 15, 2007 10:10 PM EST
Oh Come on Barack Obama, thats crasy...you dont think you can win in the primarys against Hillary Clinton do you??? Howabout the Clinton/Obama 2008 ticket...SOUNDS GOOD!
www.clintonobama.com
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by mdmx66 January 15, 2007 5:15 PM EST
Obama/Oprah '08. The O team
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by jsilver2th January 15, 2007 5:01 PM EST
Edwards & Obama? - lookin good
or
Clinton & Gore? - it worked before
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by edjohn66 January 15, 2007 3:29 PM EST
Barak Obama and Wesley Clark, 2008!!!
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by notblue January 15, 2007 2:48 PM EST
Who? Borat Obama? I keep hearing he is some kind of rock star, I guess the left wants someone with zero experience running the last of the worlds superpowers. Can't wait for the 08 election! I think him and Hillary will be great entertainment, a few laughs and a few songs.
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by processor2 January 15, 2007 2:03 PM EST
It will be interesting to see how the Clinton(s) politically destroy Barack Obama while simultaneously proclaiming to "feel the pain" of black people.

...........

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