Video: 'Obama Exploratory Committee Announcement 1/16/2007'

(Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 10:00 a.m. EST) — Two years after arriving in Washington, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois made clear today his intention to enter the Democratic presidential race, creating an exploratory committee while preparing to open a full-fledged campaign next month to become the nation’s first black president.

“Our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common-sense way,” Obama said, speaking in a video address sent to his supporters. “Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can’t tackle the big problems that demand solutions.”