The loud cheers coming out of the Midtown Global Market on Saturday morning were in support of  U.S. Sen. Barack Obama who, through satellite uplink from hundreds of miles away in Springfield, Ill., was making his formal entrance into the 2008 presidential foray

“I stand before you today to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America,” the Democrat from Illinois said, causing dozens of supporters in Minneapolis to burst into a long cheer.

Obama, cloaked in a knee-length overcoat, was addressing thousands of supporters from the footsteps of the old Illinois State Capitol, where President Abraham Lincoln launched his candidacy nearly 150 years ago.

The parallel was clear in Obama’s words. “I gather with you to transform this nation.