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Sen. Obama announces White House bid

SPRINGFIELD, Ill., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., Saturday announced his entry into the 2008 presidential race with a rousing speech in Springfield, Ill.

"I'm fired up," said Obama, who is seen as the first African-American candidate to have a good chance of winning a major party nomination for the U.S. presidency. He recalled his time as an Illinois state legislator and invoked the spirit of President Abraham Lincoln as he announced his bid.

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"It was here, in Springfield, where North, South, East and West come together, that I was reminded of the essential decency of the American people -- where I came to believe that through this decency, we can build a more hopeful America," Obama said in the frigid cold.

"And that is why, in the shadow of the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln once called on a divided house to stand together, where common hopes and common dreams still, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States."

Obama delivered his speech at the site of Lincoln's "House Divided" speech and now the home of the Lincoln Presidential Library. Obama, 45, served eight years in the Illinois General Assembly before he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2004.

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