Obama decision set for Feb. 10
Obama decision set for Feb. 10
By Christi Parsons
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published February 1, 2007
WASHINGTON -- When he makes the expected announcement this month that he will run for president, Sen. Barack Obama will do so at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., a venue rich in historic and political significance where Abraham Lincoln served as a lawmaker, lawyer and orator.
The Obama campaign on Wednesday confirmed the location of the event on Feb. 10, when the Illinois Democrat is expected to announce his run for the White House in 2008 in a morning rally with supporters.
Lincoln frequented the building as a member of the state legislature, which met there for part of his career. He also used the governor's reception room in the building as a political headquarters before and after the 1860 presidential election. His last funeral services was held in the Representatives Hall there in May 1865.
The building is also the site of the famous 1858 Lincoln speech in which he condemned slavery and urged preservation of the Union, drawing on biblical references to warn, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Reference to the 16th president is implicit in Obama's choice of the location, said Tom Schwartz, the Illinois state historian.
"Lincoln was able to use that space to accept the Republican nomination to run for the Senate, and eventually that led to a series of debates which have become the gold standard for political discourse in this country," he said. "There's symbolism everywhere."
Obama hasn't said explicitly that he is running for president. But he is putting together a campaign team and on Wednesday announced that billionaire Penny Pritzker will be national finance chairwoman of his exploratory committee.
On Wednesday, aides said the Feb. 10 event would be free and open to the public.
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cparsons@tribune.com
By Christi Parsons
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune
Published February 1, 2007
WASHINGTON -- When he makes the expected announcement this month that he will run for president, Sen. Barack Obama will do so at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., a venue rich in historic and political significance where Abraham Lincoln served as a lawmaker, lawyer and orator.
The Obama campaign on Wednesday confirmed the location of the event on Feb. 10, when the Illinois Democrat is expected to announce his run for the White House in 2008 in a morning rally with supporters.
Lincoln frequented the building as a member of the state legislature, which met there for part of his career. He also used the governor's reception room in the building as a political headquarters before and after the 1860 presidential election. His last funeral services was held in the Representatives Hall there in May 1865.
The building is also the site of the famous 1858 Lincoln speech in which he condemned slavery and urged preservation of the Union, drawing on biblical references to warn, "A house divided against itself cannot stand."
Reference to the 16th president is implicit in Obama's choice of the location, said Tom Schwartz, the Illinois state historian.
"Lincoln was able to use that space to accept the Republican nomination to run for the Senate, and eventually that led to a series of debates which have become the gold standard for political discourse in this country," he said. "There's symbolism everywhere."
Obama hasn't said explicitly that he is running for president. But he is putting together a campaign team and on Wednesday announced that billionaire Penny Pritzker will be national finance chairwoman of his exploratory committee.
On Wednesday, aides said the Feb. 10 event would be free and open to the public.
----------
cparsons@tribune.com
posted by Carlos T Mock at 7:49 AM
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