By Karen Ocamb

Hang on. With Sen. Barak Obama’s Jan. 16 announcement that he formed an exploratory committee to consider seeking the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, followed days later by an official announcement by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton that she is running and is “in to win,” the country embarked on a historical, expensive, thrilling roller-coaster campaign season.

''I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics, so I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need,'' Obama, the first-term African-American senator from Chicago, said in his Web site video. He will make a formal decision on Feb. 10. "You know, after six years of [President] George Bush, it is time to renew the promise of America,"

"I have never been afraid to stand up for what I believe in or to face down the Republican machine,” Clinton, the re-elected senator from New York and former first lady, said in her Web site video. “After nearly $70 million spent against my campaigns in New York and two landslide wins, I can say I know how Washington Republicans think, how they operate and how to beat them."

While many will weigh their positions on Iraq and other major issues, Obama and Clinton also offer inspiration to those excited by the possibility of having an African American or a woman become president of the United States. Also, on Jan. 22, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson joined in, hoping to become the first Hispanic president.

They join a slew of Democratic hopefuls—declared and undeclared—that includes former North Carolina senator and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (who spoke at ANGLE Jan 24); Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd; Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich; Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden; Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry; the Rev. Al Sharpton; and former Vice President Al Gore, whose success with his documentary on global warming, An Inconvenient Truth, spurred draft-Gore rumors.

“The more people that get in the race, the more options for the LGBT community. It is all good,” longtime politico David Mixner told IN. Mixner, who galvanized the LGBT community to support his friend Bill Clinton, endorsed Sen. Russ Feingold, who later decided against running.

Meanwhile another rising black Democratic star, former Tennessee Rep. Harold Ford Jr., was recently named as chair of the influential Democratic Leadership Council, the conservative group that backed Bill Clinton. In his Senate race against Republican Bob Corker last year, Ford repeatedly touted his congressional votes in favor of a constitutional amendment banning marriage equality.

“[Ford’s] willingness to lightly amend the U.S. Constitution and to exploit gay families for political gain should alarm Democrats across the country,” said National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Joanne Wyrick.

While anti-gay attitudes seemed to have gone on hiatus with the Democratic takeover of Congress, they will surely re-surface during the general election in 2008.