Obama Joins Race With Goals Set High

But Obama can point to remarks he made in the fall of 2002 in which he not only called the war "dumb" but also predicted the dangers of the long occupation that followed the successful invasion. In his announcement speech, he described the war as a "tragic mistake."

"It's time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war," he said Saturday. "That's why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by March of 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunni and Shia to come to the table and find peace."

Beyond the setting itself, Obama invoked Lincoln throughout the speech, even to the point where the tall, thin Obama recalled a "tall, gangly, self-made Springfield lawyer" who ended slavery and led the nation though one of its darkest moments.

"He had his doubts," Obama said of Lincoln. "He had his defeats. He had his setbacks. But through his will and his words, he moved a nation and helped free a people."

But in issuing a call for a new generation to take its place at the center of public life, Obama summoned up memories of President John F. Kennedy and his 1960 campaign.

Obama, 45 and the son of a black Kenyan man and a white Kansas woman, worked as a community organizer in Chicago before graduating from Harvard Law School and returning to the city to become a civil rights lawyer. He ran for the state Senate in 1996 and served four terms there before launching what seemed a long-shot campaign for the U.S. Senate. Even before he won the seat and became the only African American in the Senate, Obama was seen as a rising star in his party because of the keynote speech he gave at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. His two best-selling books -- and his appearances on "Oprah," on ESPN's "Monday Night Football" and in the pages of People magazine -- have spread his appeal widely over the past few months, even as his name recognition across the electorate remains relatively low.

In his announcement speech Saturday and in interviews leading up to it, Obama began the process of both laying out his professional experience and arguing that experience in Washington is not a requirement for becoming president.

Critical of Bush's presidency and what he said are the nation's unmet challenges, Obama decried the cynicism that he said pervades the political process and called on those disillusioned by a culture of special interests and gridlocked politics to join him in his campaign.

"The time for that politics is over. It is through. It is time to turn the page, right here, right now," he said, and the crowd responded with chants of "Obama, Obama, Obama."

Although his campaign infrastructure is still being built -- his advisers moved into their Chicago headquarters only last week -- Obama's launch had the trappings of a campaign that has been building for months. That included a new Web site launched in conjunction with the announcement and a new campaign logo, a blue "O" that evokes a rising sun and that appeared on buttons, placards and T-shirts.

The crowd was filled with committed Obama supporters who lifted signs -- "Barack the Vote" was among the more creative -- and cheered in waves as the candidate spoke.

From Illinois, Obama flew to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a town hall meeting with more than 2,000 people. Obama spent an hour fielding questions about Iraq, North Korea, the No Child Left Behind Act and the cost of college tuition.

He said he believes many Americans feel that something has been lost since the promise of the Kennedy era.

"What's been lost is that our politics feels very much like an insider's game," he said. "People feel like you've got the two parties splitting the pot, and ordinary voters are left out of the process."

Opening the session, Obama talked about the challenges facing the country and his own ambitions to be president.

"I want to win," he said, "but I don't just want to win. I want to transform this country."