Barack Obama said that he would be a "viable candidate" in an interview with the Chicago Tribune editorial board yesterday, adding: "I wouldn't run if I didn't think I could win." Obama also asserted that he didn't want to be cast as the "un-Hillary," and added that he could raise the money for a Presidential campaign: "I don't want it to sound like raising $50 million to $60 million is easy. It's hard, but I think it's something that we could do."

"Do I have something that is sufficiently unique to offer to the country that it is worth putting my family through a presidential campaign?" Obama continued. "Politically, I think I would be a viable candidate. So that's a threshold question and I wouldn't run if I didn't think I could win." Obama promised a decision in January. Full interview here.

Update: Here's some video of the Tribune's Jim Warren on Hardball last night discussing the meeting with Obama. Among other things, Warren commented on Obama's confidence about being able to raise the money for a White House run, adding that the Senator said he saw a big spike in donations after his gag appearance on Monday Night Football.