Obama Enters 2008 Presidential Race

By Mara Liasson,

Scott Simon

Published February 10, 2007 at 10:59 AM MST

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.

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Mara Liasson

Mara Liasson is a national political correspondent for NPR. Her reports can be heard regularly on NPR's award-winning newsmagazine programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Liasson provides extensive coverage of politics and policy from Washington, DC — focusing on the White House and Congress — and also reports on political trends beyond the Beltway.

Scott Simon

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.