2008: Obama - This Week!

Dem stud Barack Obama is set to announce his "plans" (meaning a run) for 2008 this week, as opposed to early next year, the original timetable, according to his sister in Hawaii.

Sen. Barack Obama will decide this week in Hawaii if he'll seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, his sister said Tuesday.
"He's going to make his decision here and announce it to us. Then he's probably going to officially announce his decision once he returns," Maya Soetoro told The Associated Press.

Obama, born and partially raised in Hawaii, is on vacation ( Or, according to Maya: "It's a much needed time for reflection." ) with his family there over the holiday, meaning that Obama's media announcement will still come close to 2007. No doubt he wants a quick jump on the post-Christmas news cycle, beating any announcements from Rudy, McCain or Hillary.

Here's another tidbit from that Chicago Tribune article previously cited in this post:

Another bit of Obama news is this. Gallup's pollsters are reporting today that nearly half of the public doesn't know who he is.
That's hard to believe given the saturation media coverage he's received. But that's what the Gallup survey indicates.

That must be a typo. How can half of Americans not have an inkling of who Barack Obama is? The name alone should make him stand out. Is this a possible problem yet to surface? Dunderhead W-esque voters that don't pay attention to any sort of media outlets on the planet?

At least Tom Daschle thinks Obama's hot.