AP-APTN-2330: Venezuela Chavez Thursday, 20 October 2011 STORY:Venezuela Chavez- REPLAY 4:3 Chavez says he's cancer-free after medical exams in Cuba LENGTH: 02:00 FIRST RUN: 2030 RESTRICTIONS: AP Clients Only TYPE: Spanish/Nat SOURCE: VTV STORY NUMBER: 710894 DATELINE: La Fria - 20 Oct 2011 LENGTH: 02:00 SHOTLIST VTV - AP CLIENTS ONLY ++4:3++ 1. Wide Venezuelan presidential plane arriving to the airport 2. Pan right military soldiers at the airport 3. Wide Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President, waving from the plane with his daughter, Rosa Virginia Chavez 4. Mid of Chavez shaking hands with Venezuelan military authorities 5. Mid of armed military soldiers in formation for inspection 6.SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan President: "Computerised axial tomography with contrast scans precisely, point by point, all the organs of the body, as does the MRI (Magnetic resonance) with contrast. These two tests allowed us to verify scientifically there is no active cancer cells in this body. They do not exist." 7. Mid of soldiers in audience clapping 8. Pan left Chavez waving to crowds from a moving motorcade 9. Pan left supporters lining the street holding banners and red flags for the motorcade 10. Zoom out Chavez, waving from his car 10. Zoom out priest during indoor mass 11. Wide of Chavez and congregation during the mass 12. Mid Hugo Chavez during the mass 13. Close of crucifix in church 14. Mid of Chavez and daughter during the mass 15. Mid of priest addressing congregation 16. Close of Chavez seated in church 17. Pan left Chavez supporters outside the church STORYLINE: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday he is cancer-free after a series of medical exams in Cuba showed no recurrence of the illness following two months of chemotherapy treatments. The 57-year-old leader announced the test results on live television after returning to home to Venezuela from Cuba. "Tests allowed us to verify scientifically there is no active cancer cells in this body. They do not exist." Chavez appeared on Venezuelan state television wearing military fatigues as he arrived in the south-western town of La Fria. Crowds of supporters cheered for Chavez as he rode in a motorcade to the town of La Grita, where he visited a church that is home to an image of Christ well-known among Venezuelans. Red-clad supporters filled a square in the town and waved excitedly to the president. Chavez underwent surgery in Cuba in June to remove a cancerous tumour from his pelvic region. Chavez underwent four rounds of chemotherapy, both in Cuba and in Venezuela, between July and September. He said that from now on he expects to undergo regular medical checks and repeat the exams every four months. The leftist president, who was first elected in 1998, is up for re-election in October 2012. Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: infoaparchive.com (ii) they should check with the applicable collecting society in their Territory regarding the clearance of any sound recording or performance included within the AP Television News service (iii) they have editorial responsibility for the use of all and any content included within the AP Television News service and for libel, privacy, compliance and third party rights applicable to their Territory. APTN (Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-10-20-11 1955EDT

Oklahoma: Heartland USA

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.

[VOTE 2008: NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER 06-44 DUB] [VARIOUS] DUB OF NIGHTLINE EDITMASTER NTL 06-44: 05:00 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART ONE 11/06/06 11:45 MORAN - BARACK OBAMA PART TWO 11/06/06 TERRY MORAN (VO) You can see it in the crowds. The thrill, the hope. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA, DEMOCRAT I love you back. TERRY MORAN (VO) How they surge toward him. You're looking at an American political phenomenon. In state after state, in the furious final days of this crucial campaign, Illinois Senator Barack Obama has been the Democrat's not-so-secret get-out-the-vote weapon. DEMOCRAT RALLYIST, FEMALE You've given us hope again. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Thank you, thank you. TERRY MORAN (VO) He inspires the party faithful. ANNOUNCER, MALE Senator Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) And many others like no one else on the scene today. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA And I believe that we all rise up together, or we fall together. TERRY MORAN (VO) And the question you can sense on everyone's mind, as they listen so intently to him, is he the one? Is Barack Obama the man, the black man, who could lead the Democrats back to the White House and maybe even unite the country? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We can make changes if we join together. TERRY MORAN (VO) Or is all of that just hype, a fleeting political fantasy? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How are you? TERRY MORAN (OC) Good morning. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I'm really sorry about being a couple of minutes late. TERRY MORAN (VO) Yesterday, we joined the junior senator from Illinois on a five-state swing, barnstorming through some of the hottest races in the country. TERRY MORAN (OC) And right now you are on a roll. You're, people - 'Obamania," they call it. The rockstar. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. You know this... TERRY MORAN (OC) You get a big cheer when you get up there. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA This has been an interesting ride. You know, two and a half years ago, nobody knew my name. And the nice thing is I had worked in almost total obscurity for 10 years in politics before I was elected to the US Senate, so I tend not to take it too seriously. You know, I'm suspicious of hype and I'm suspicious of our celebrity culture, which, you know, is part of politics. I mean, there's a showmanship aspect to it. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's early, it's Cleveland, and though he's not much of a morning person by reputation... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Good morning guys. TERRY MORAN (VO) Obama boards the chartered jet paid for with campaign funds and settles in for a long, hard day. Like everyone else in politics, he's handicapping the Democrats' chances to take over the Senate. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Tennessee, Montana, Missouri and Virginia... TERRY MORAN (OC) Make three of the four... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA We need three of the four, and those are all crapshoots. HOST, MALE Barack Obama. TERRY MORAN (VO) So how did this happen? A 45-year-old senator with less than two years experience in the Congress, anointed by millions as the savior of the Democratic Party. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was one speech, 17 minutes of unfiltered access to the American people at the 2004 Democratic Convention. Obama, then an obscure state senator, got a huge chance, and he hit it out of the park. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA But I've got news for them, too, we worship an awesome God in the blue states and we don't like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. TERRY MORAN (VO) It was a national debut like no other in recent history. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All right. We're making good time, huh? What time does church start? TERRY MORAN (VO) First stop on this day, Nashville, Tennessee where Obama's campaigning for the Senate candidate, Harold Ford Junior, who's locked in a critical and tight battle with Republican Bob Corker. In the closing days here, Ford's campaign was rocked by this ad in which a scantily clad white woman says this... CLIP FROM POLITICAL AD ACTRESS, FEMALE I met Harold at the 'Playboy" party... TERRY MORAN (VO) And ad that seemed to prey on old racist fears. ACTRESS Harold, call me. TERRY MORAN (VO) Ford is trying to become the first African American Senator from the South since right after the Civil War. Both men say the ad misgauged modern American voters. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA What has changed is that if people know you, then they will make the decision based on the individual. TERRY MORAN (VO) It's Sunday, and in time-honored Democratic Party tradition, Obama and Ford are going to church to fire up the voters. Obama introduces Ford with a quote from Martin Luther king Junior. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Then he said something that I'll never forget. He said, 'You know what? The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice, it bends towards justice. We can't always see it, we don't always understand what God is doing, but it bends toward justice as long as we help bend it in that direction." And that's what's happening in Tennessee right now, people. TERRY MORAN (VO) Appealing to voters' sense of justice and community through their Christian faith, that's something Obama, who is raised in a secular home and christened at the age of 27 in Chicago, thinks Democrats need to do more, a lot more. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The fact of the matter is, is that even in the most conservative, white evangelical churches, there are people who, I think, can be responsive to a message of justice and fairness and equality. But if we're not showing up, if, you know, it's only James Dobson and Pat Robertson who are defining what being a good Christian is, it's not surprising that people are gonna conclude that the Democratic Party is not speaking to them. What's going on, St. Louis? TERRY MORAN (VO) St. Louis, Missouri, this is one of the closest Senate races in the country. Democratic Claire McCaskill needs every vote she can find, and once again, Obama is a huge draw. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA There is no reason why we can't create a more just and fair and more equal world. TERRY MORAN (VO) The crowd is transfixed. You can sense their longing for him to run for president. MISSOURI RESIDENT, FEMALE 'Because I do believe that he's gonna offer something different. And I had the opportunity to speak with him briefly and he said to me, we're gonna make it happen. TERRY MORAN (VO) On this campaign, Barack Obama is working hard for other Democrats. But he's also, no doubt about it, testing the waters for a run at the White House. The question is, does he have what it takes? TERRY MORAN (OC) So when we come back, we talk to Barack Obama about running for president. TERRY MORAN (OC) So now let's go back on the road with Illinois's junior Senator and Democratic Party superstar, Barack Obama. He's only been a senator a couple of years less, actually. So why do so many people see him as a man who could run for president in 2008? TERRY MORAN (VO) For 16 hours, Sunday, Senator Barack Obama swept across the country, from Ohio to Tennessee, to Illinois to Missouri to Iowa, rallying Democrats to get out and vote. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA All across the country, people are saying, 'I think it's time for a change." TERRY MORAN (VO) And everywhere he goes, people want him to run for president, especially in Iowa, cradle of presidential contenders. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA How's it going, Iowa? TERRY MORAN (VO) Around here, they're even naming babies after him. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, how are you? This is baby Barack right here. Oh, you're so precious. Yes, you are. TERRY MORAN (VO) Along with the hope, however, there are fears for the emotions that a black, progressive candidate for president might unleash. IOWA RESIDENT, MALE I hope we do see him as president one day. But then, with the hatred that's still exists in this country, I don't know how long he would live. TERRY MORAN (VO) In an airplane hangar near St. Louis, in between stops, we sat down with Obama to ask him about his presidential ambitions. TERRY MORAN (OC) What experience do you have that you believe qualifies you to be president of the United States? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. Well, you know, I think that's a question I've got to ask myself before I make any decision. And then, ultimately, that's a question that I think that the voters of the United States have to ask any candidate. Obviously, I'm proud of the track record I've developed as a public servant, and before that, as a community organizer and as a constitutional law professor and as a state senator. But I think the real question is, do I have the judgment to be president? Do I have the vision to be president? Do I have the passion to be president? TERRY MORAN (VO) He certainly has a life story that has captivated much of the country, his father from Kenya, his mother from Kansas, raised in Hawaii and Indonesia. Obama seems to have found a way to reconcile many of the most painful differences in American culture. TERRY MORAN (OC) It seems, sometimes, that much of your politics is about bridging divides. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Right. TERRY MORAN (OC) Republican - Democrat, black - white, red -blue. It's almost as if the bridging of differences you did in your own life... SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Yeah. TERRY MORAN (OC) ...is something you're bringing to your politics. Is your politics about your biography? SENATOR BARACK OBAMA Well, there's no doubt my politics is informed by my biography. When I think about, you know, how I processed my own life and had to bridge racial issues and cultural issues, had to translate, you know, one culture to another, I think that is one of my strengths as a politician. And I think that's what the country is hungry for right now. What they're looking for is some recognition that the country is not as divided as our politics would indicate, and that we have the capacity to make good decisions around common sense, practical, rational assessments of the challenges before us. TERRY MORAN (VO) Does that rhetoric of inclusiveness, which, let's face it, a lot of politicians use, translate into leadership? Obama's already angered some on the left by insisting that should Democrats take control of Congress tomorrow they should seek to work with President Bush rather than try to impeach him or launch investigations into how the Iraq war was started. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA The American people are not looking for payback, they are looking for progress. And I think that it is important for Democrats not to be shy about the progressive agenda that I believe we should pursue. But I think that in order for us to accomplish any of those things, there's gonna have to be some discussion and dialogue with the President. TERRY MORAN (VO) For now, amid the crowds and hype and hope and presidential speculation, Obama is struggling to stay focused. SENATOR BARACK OBAMA I think it's, it's very easy to start just enjoying the attention. As opposed to thinking About what is it that you are actually accomplishing? Something I'm, I'm actually modestly proud of is, is that the older I get the less satisfying the vanities of politics become.