Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and possible presidential candidate, flew into the San Francisco Bay area on a book tour that resembled a campaign stop.

Obama drew an adoring crowd of 1,200 people who paid $125 each to hear him speak for 10 minutes at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael, then stand in a long line to shake the senator's hand and have their copies of The Audacity of Hope signed, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

In his brief speech he said the people are tired of the slash and burn style of politics and are seeking common values and common ideals. The country, he said, is in a serious mood.

The cameras never stopped clicking for Obama, 45, who admitted on television's Meet the Press that he had thought about the possibility of running for president in 2008.