DeKALB — This week’s TIME magazine cover touches on “Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President.”

Some voters are anxiously waiting for the junior senator to announce his intention to run for president in 2008, but Senator Obama (D-Ill.) is keeping things quiet.

“The day after he was elected to the Senate, he said he is not running for president, and nothing has changed up ‘til now,” said Obama’s spokesperson Tommy Vietor.

Though a bid for the presidency may not be in the immediate future, Obama’s star power does bring a spotlight to the state.

“It does allow him to use some notoriety to bring the focus to Illinois,” Vietor said. “He’s in a unique position to speak out on these issues and get heard.”

The rumors of a presidential run have some speculating Obama’s potential as a candidate.

“When I look at a candidate, I ask, ‘What have you done for us?'” said State Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Hinckley). “That’s the question you should ask of Mr. Obama. I imagine it would be a rather short list, though that is nothing against him as a person.”

Obama’s young energy, however, could bring a fresh feeling to the country, Pritchard said.

“Right now, people don’t care [about politics],” he said. “There’s corruption on both sides of the aisle. [When Kennedy ran for president] he energized the nation and people were excited for the future. If Obama can do that, more power to him.”

Others believe that although Obama has the potential to be a presidential candidate, remaining in the Senate may be the wiser choice.

“He won’t have completed a single term as a U.S. senator by that point and many analysts believe he needs more experience in Washington before he tests the presidential waters,” said political science professor Matthew Streb.

“There would be a lot of excitement surrounding an Obama presidential bid, but he would be better off building more credibility by establishing himself as a major player in the Senate,” Streb said. “He is young and 2008 certainly won’t be his last opportunity to run for president.”