[Alter Kaker]

Obama isn't weighing a run. He doesn't have the money or the political clout. He is, however, hawking a new book, and media coverage will push sales. This is exactly what Colin Powell did mid-1995, when he toyed with the idea of running for President, using the idea (which he never seriously entertained) to make a few million off a best-selling memoir.

[irishjuggler]

Obama isn't weighing a run. He doesn't have the money or the political clout.

I wouldn't be so sure. Considering the rest of the field (e.g., Hillary, Kerry, etc.), he'd have a decent chance of getting the Democratic nomination and he knows it. Plus, you have people like Oprah telling him that he'd be a great president. How many politicians can resist that? Yes, I know that Colin Powell resisted similar ego-stroking, but Powell isn't a politician. Powell never sought elected office. Obama, on the other hand, is a pure politician who loves the limelight.