Senator Obama mulls bid for White House in 2008

WASHINGTON - US Senator Barack Obama today said he has thought about running for president in 2008 and will give it more serious consideration after the mid-term congressional elections on November 7.

"I have thought about the possibility but I have not thought about it with the seriousness and depth that is required," the first-term Illinois Democrat said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "After November 7, I will sit down and consider it."

Obama is less than two years into his first term in the Senate. He has previously said that he planned to serve his entire six-year term, which expires in 2010. But in recent days, he has acknowledged that he has informally considered a bid for the White House.

Obama, 45, is currently promoting his new book The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.

Obama, who was on the cover a recent Time magazine issue with the headline "Why Barack Obama Could Be the Next President," played down his lack of experience.

"I am not sure if anyone is ready to be president before they are president," he said.

Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats losing candidate in the 2004 presidential election, said on Sunday he would make a decision about running again after the November 7 election.

Obama's prominence in national politics grew rapidly after delivering an address at the Democratic National Convention, where Kerry accepted the party's nomination to run against Bush.

Asked on ABC's "This Week" program how he would feel about running against Obama, Kerry said, "Whatever he wants to do. Look, this is a free country. If he thinks he's ready to run for president and wants to run and ... I've made a decision to run, then we'll go out and have a great contest. If I'm not in it, good luck to those who are."

- REUTERS