Groundswell of support tries to sway Obama

He wowed them in New Hampshire last week, and everyone seems to be talking about a possible presidential run in 2008. Despite his flirtation with the idea, Democratic Senator Barack Obama of Illinois insists that he hasn't made up his mind.

But the volunteer group Draft Obama has produced a television ad to air this weekend on cable networks in New Hampshire and Washington, D.C. Composed of recordings of his speeches and wildly applauding audiences, the ad shows an image of Obama with voters and of President Bush while Obama speaks to an enthusiastic audience, saying, "Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?"

The ad, viewed 40,000 times since it was posted Wednesday on YouTube.com, according to the group -- is meant to spark a grass-roots movement and send a strong message to the senator, organizers said.

"We wanted to make sure that . . . [he] knows that there are thousands of supporters ready and rearing to go," said Ben Stanfield, a Maryland computer technician who registered the domain name draftobama.org two years ago and began posting on the site in October.

Political observers say it is early in the presidential campaign season for a draft ad. But some also point out that Obama has a book coming out and is riding a wave of popularity that should be exploited.

Stanfield said he and a representative of www.runobama.com gathered about 12,000 signatures from people who said they would support his candidacy.

Zephyr Teachout, director of Internet Organizing for Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, has signed the petition, Stanfield said. Stanfield said he is working with John Hlinko, founder of the website DraftWesleyClark.com, which had urged the retired general to enter the 2004 presidential race.

Democratic media consultant Bud Jackson designed the draft Obama ad.

April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com.