Barack Obama Announces

Just to show you how much the politics of this nation have changed, Barack Obama announced his bid for the presidency in the shadow of the Illinois capitol building, essentially claiming the mantle of another Illinois politician with a thin resume, the Republican Party's greatest president, Abe Lincoln, who incidentally celebrates a birthday Monday. So is the Democratic Party the new "party of Lincoln"?

These are Obama's words claiming that mantle:

"The life of a tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer tells us that a different future is possible," Obama said. "He tells us that there is power in words. He tells us that there is power in conviction. 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."