Pro-Abortion Senator Barak Obama to Consider 2008 Presidential Run 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 23, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Barak Obama, a pro-abortion Illinois senator and a leading African-American politician, says he will consider a presidential bid in 2008. Obama, in comments made over the weekend, indicated he will make a decision about a possible candidacy after November’s congressional elections.
Obama, who is in his first term as a senator from the Midwestern state, has been mentioned by numerous lawmakers and political observers as a possible presidential candidate.
He has made a name for himself with his oratory skills and his appearance at the 2004 Democratic convention. Since then he has crisscrossed the country campaigning for Democrats.
"Given the responses that I’ve been getting over the last several months, I have thought about the possibility, but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth that I think is required," Obama said on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
"After November 7th, I’ll sit down and consider it, and if at some point, I change my mind, I will make a public announcement and everybody will be able to go at me," he added.
Obama has developed a strong pro-abortion record during his short time in the Senate.
He has voted to use taxpayer funds to pay for and promote abortions in other countries and voted twice against a bill that would have supported parental notification and consent laws in dozens of states.
The lawmaker also voted to force taxpayers to fund embryonic stem cell research, which involves the destruction of days-old unborn children for their stem cells.
Obama also came under fire for criticizing pro-life groups that were urging people to boycott American Girl dolls because of their partnership with a pro-abortion girl’s group.
“It’s just silly,” Obama said about the pro-life boycott. "This is a classic example of overreaction and a lack of proportion.”
Obama’s comments came during a speech to the Omaha, Nebraska chapter of Girls Inc., a group that helps girls with self-esteem and school-related issues but also supports abortion and the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized it.
Earlier, the American Family Association called on pro-life advocates to write to American Girl to ask them to end their association with the group and to stop selling their "I Can" bracelets. The Pro-Life Action League launched a boycott.
American Girl’s partnership with Girls Inc. eventually ended quietly.
Obama could find himself in a two-way race with pro-abortion New York Sen. Hillary Clinton if he decides to enter the contest as one Democratic strategist said the two would make it difficult for other Democrats to gain traction. Clinton is widely considered the current front-runner.
"If he runs and Mrs. Clinton runs, I don’t think there’s a lot of room for anyone else," Steve Elmendorf, who was a top adviser to former House minority leader Richard Gephardt, told the Washington Post. "The two of them take up an enormous amount of political space."
Other potential Democratic presidential candidates in 2008 include former nominee John Kerry and his running mate John Edwards, former nominee Al Gore, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold.
All of the potential candidates back abortion and no pro-life Democrat is considered a possible presidential nominee.
