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SPRINGFIELD - Sen. Barack Obama recalled a historic event as he stood in front of the Old State Capitol Building in Springfield.
As he spoke of Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech given in the capitol building nearly 150 years ago, his words echoed off of the stone walls to the silent crowd standing before him in the bitter cold.
"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 live, I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States," Obama said.
The crowd, which local police estimated to be between 15,000 and 17,000 people, erupted with chants of "Obama!" and raised blue signs proclaiming "Obama '08" to celebrate the senator's announcement Saturday. Obama, the 45-year-old Harvard-educated civil rights lawyer, gave a 22-minute speech in which he announced his White House bid.
Obama said a failure in national leadership had caused the nation to be politically divided and he hoped to be the one to repair the rift.
The festivities for the freshman senator's campaign announcement began at 9 a.m., when lines of people that had looped around the blocks by the Old State Capitol were ushered through the wrought-iron gates surrounding the building. Police closed the surrounding streets, and snipers perched on nearby buildings.
As the crowd flooded onto the grass and trampled planters full of ivy, people began offering money for hats and gloves to the nearest taker.
Jenny Bursell drove from Bloomington to see Obama's speech. Crammed on the lawn of the capitol building, she said she was glad to be there, even if she couldn't feel her toes.
"I'm insane," Bursell said. "But I just thought it would be cool to be here."
She said that being a part of a crowd that stood shoulder to shoulder, bundled in winter coats came as no surprise.
"I assumed it would be pretty full," she said. "I think he has a lot of supporters, especially in Illinois."
The crowd waited an hour before the National Anthem was performed and Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin introduced Obama, along with other elected officials who attended the ceremony. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who did not speak, was greeted with a mixture of cheers and jeers.
The Hawaii-born Obama took the stage,where recalled his life as a non-native son of Illinois. He moved to Chicago two decades ago and working as a community organizer for $13,000 a year.
After he announced his presidential campaign, Obama said he hopes this will be the generation to end poverty in America and that the country should universalize healthcare. He stood staunchly against the war in Iraq, saying that it never should have been fought, but that there was one thing remaining is the conflict that he felt could be done right.
"That is the homecoming of the men and women - our veterans - who have sacrificed the most," Obama said. "Let us honor their valor by providing the care they need and rebuilding the military they love."
The senator also said he hoped to restore financial prosperity to America's middle class.
As he finished his speech, he took his wife by the hand and waived to the cheering crowd.
But not all who turned out to the event were supporters of the senator.
Marching just outside of the fence around the capitol building, a group of more than 20 anti-abortion protestors held signs with pictures of aborted fetuses chanting "Life yes - Obama no" during his speech.
The senator did not talk about his stance on abortion issues.
One protestor, who remained long after the speech ended, held signs in both English and Spanish that read "Justice for all, without exception."
David Skrzypczynski of Downers Grove said he normally stands outside of places such as Planned Parenthood on the weekend, but saw Obama's speech as an opportunity to send a message to the senator.
"I hope he takes into account the needs of young mothers and doesn't turn his back on black mothers," he said.
However, the supporters far outweighed the protestors at Obama's speech. Some even showed up in costume.
Patrick Kane of Boston and his two friends drove through snowstorms and dodged traffic accidents with semis just to be there to don their Superman costumes.
The three explained their superhero duds were inspired by a video on www.YouTube.com that compares the freshman senator to Superman.
"The guy really does inspire a sense of awe in people," Kane said. "When he spoke, everything just got silent."
The three said they initially heard Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and hoped for his presidential bid in October. Kane said Obama's announcement did not disappoint.
"The drive was more than worth it," he said.
Obama's speech was not merely a national event, as news crews from Korea, Australia and other nations turned out.
While some skeptics of Obama's campaign have cited his lack of experience as a detriment, the senator had an answer for them.
"I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington," he said. "But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."
alicia_wade@dailyegyptian.com 536-3311 ext. 258
