February 10 Illinois History Minute
It’s February 10th, and on this day in 2007, Barack Obama, the freshman senator from Illinois, stood before the Old State Capitol in Springfield to announce he was running for president.
OBAMA: “I know that I haven’t spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I’ve been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.”
The man who would become America’s first Black president said he advocated for change because he knew the nation was capable of it, that it had changed before when called upon to do so.
OBAMA: “Today, we are called once more, and it is time for our generation to answer that call”
Obama would make change the theme of his campaign, as he ran against older and more experienced candidates, on his way to a two-term presidency.