Hawai'i supporters yesterday applauded Isle-born Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's latest — and strongest yet — move toward seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 2008.

"We're glad he's answering the call to unite the country with his leadership," said Brian Schatz, Hawai'i chairman of Draft Obama, a national group that has been urging him to run and is sponsoring advertising on his behalf.

Obama announced yesterday in a Web site video that he was forming an exploratory committee to consider running and would disclose his decision on Feb. 10 in Illinois.

Schatz said there were no immediate indications that Obama would stop in Hawai'i before then, but that yesterday's step was important nonetheless.

"I think Hawai'i just became relevant in presidential politics, which helps us all here," Schatz said. "To have a Hawai'i-born candidate and to have Hawai'i's values at the table is something that is good for the nation, but it also increases our clout nationally."

Obama's committee had no immediate comment about his upcoming schedule. Schatz said his group will likely coordinate fundraising and other activities here, but that its structure is still being defined.

Just how much Hawai'i and Obama could mean to each other on the campaign trail — or in the White House — remains to be seen.

He grew his political base in Chicago, has not overly stressed his Hawai'i childhood during public appearances, and kept a low profile during a vacation here last month.

ISLES PUT ON MAP

With just four Electoral College votes, Hawai'i is not viewed as crucial in presidential politics. States with much larger populations have as many as 55 votes. And with a solid Democratic majority here, the party's nominee traditionally carries the state, so there's little suspense.

But his Isle roots and rapid political rise have intrigued many here.

"I think it's very inspiring that someone born and raised in Hawai'i has a chance to run for president," said Christina Stidman, a University of Hawai'i junior.

And Obama's early years here are bound to draw attention nationally.

"It obviously makes Hawai'i a little bit more visible, because much of the story that's important to his life is the story about living here," said UH political science professor Neal Milner. "And that's related to what is a more indirect way that Hawai'i becomes a part of this: One of his appeals is that he has a different way of talking about race, and mixed-race and ethnic experiences, which he's been very effective at doing in Chicago as well as elsewhere."

Obama's father was black and from Kenya; his mother was white and from Kansas. The couple met in Hawai'i while attending UH, then separated while Obama was 2.

His maternal grandmother and a sister still live here. His maternal grandfather, a World War II veteran, is buried at Punchbowl cemetery.

Chuck Freedman, who helped organize the Draft Obama group here, said he believes Hawai'i helped shape Obama's character.

"He understands our approach to problem-solving, has a multicultural understanding and excitement about what's possible when all kinds of people get together to solve problems, as opposed to a more one-dimensional view," Freedman said.

HAWAI'I CHILDHOOD

Hawai'i is not the only place to develop such a perspective, he noted. But "it will be great to have a candidate who understands Hawai'i issues without having to be briefed on them."

Obama lived in Hawai'i for most of his childhood and graduated from Punahou School in 1979 before completing his education at Columbia College and Harvard Law School.

He recounted his Hawai'i years in his best-selling 1995 autobiography "Dreams From my Father," in which he described struggles with self-identity and a growing awareness of racial preconceptions and prejudice.

The 1979 Punahou yearbook includes several pictures of "Barry" Obama, as he was then known. One shot shows him smiling on the basketball court, under the caption "We go play hoop."

Much of Obama's time here was troubled, he recounts in the autobiography. He describes a period in which he used alcohol, marijuana and cocaine before focusing on his education and moving on to community organizing in Chicago.

More than 70 copies of the book were either checked out from the state library system or in transit yesterday — one indication that his story has sparked interest.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.