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Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
President Barack Obama speaks to an estimated 14,000 people at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- With his wife at his side and Air Force One as a campaign plane, President Barack Obama was holding his first political rallies of the 2012 presidential race on Saturday -- targeting two swing states, Ohio and Virginia, that could be critical to his bid to retain the White House.
The events at two universities, Ohio State and Virginia Commonwealth, were billed as the official kickoff of Obama's re-election bid, even though he's been solidly engaged in his campaign and over a year ago filed the necessary paperwork to run again.
Since Mitt Romney became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee, Obama has criticized his opponent in formal and informal situations -- a sign that he is more than ready to start the attacks that are expected to characterize a potentially ugly and negative campaign.
At Ohio State, Romney was on Obama's radar, NBC's Ali Weinberg reported from the rally.
"Governor Romney is a patriotic American who has a wonderful family, who has much to be proud of. Ran a financial firm and a state. But I think he has drawn the wrong lessons from his experiences,” Obama said to the 14,000 at Ohio State University’s Sottenheim Center.
Republicans accuse Obama of infusing politics into his official White House events and scoff at the notion that his campaigning is just starting.
The Republican National Committee released a statement Saturday in the mocking form of fake prepared remarks for the president's rally in Columbus, Ohio.
"Ohio, thanks for the tepid welcome. I know I'm not as popular here as I once was, so I'll take what I can get," the RNC said in the imagined speech it dubbed "as prepared for reality."
In this week's address, President Obama speaks about his recent trip to Afghanistan, where he met with U.S. troops and signed an agreement that will help put an end to the war.
Obama released an email of his own to encourage supporters to watch his first rally and donate money.
"The crowd's starting to form in Columbus, and they're ready to go," he said in the email. "In a little while, I'll go on stage for the first rally of 2012."
The Obama campaign has mapped out several scenarios to win the 270 electoral votes needed to capture the presidency, and the choice of states for his inaugural rallies was not coincidental.
MSNBC analyst Karen Finney and Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Public Policy Center talk about President Obama's foreign policy record. The president's record is strong, but will it resonate with voters?
Ohio, with its large cache of 18 electoral votes, is a particularly coveted prize. No Republican has made it to the White House in the last century without winning the state. Obama bested Republican rival John McCain there in 2008.
Ohio has struggled with a loss of manufacturing jobs, but its unemployment rate, at 7.5 percent in March, is below the national average, which was 8.2 percent in March and dipped to 8.1 percent in April.
That could help blunt Romney's attacks on Obama's economic record. The president's campaign also hopes to capitalize on union anger over an attempt by the state's Republican governor, John Kasich, to limit collective bargaining rights for firefighters, police officers, and other state workers. The law was later repealed.
Polls show Obama is leading Romney in Ohio and Virginia. An average of polls by RealClearPolitics showed the president ahead in Ohio by 4.2 percentage points and ahead in Virginia by 3.2 percentage points.
Republicans are criticizing President Obama for campaigning on his victory in killing Osama bin Laden, saying he is politicizing the event. Former US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs P.J. Crowley joins the conversation.
Virginia had an even lower unemployment rate in March, coming in at 5.6 percent. The Obama campaign will also try to capitalize on an advantage with women voters in the state, where the governor -- Republican Bob McDonnell -- promoted legislation that would have required women to undergo an invasive trans-vaginal sonogram before getting an abortion.
In the face of continued economic unease, Obama's rallies Saturday's were intended to recapture some of the youthful, hopeful energy of his 2008 campaign.
The campus settings were likely to create the atmosphere where Obama is at his best, feeding off the energy of an enthusiastic crowd. Young voters were a crucial voting bloc in 2008 victory.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
the tea party want a chruch and state nation..but the church over the state.huh tea nuts don't say it ain't so..look at the new laws y'all have pass already
Sorry, but you are wrong there. A portion maybe, but there are just as many communists in the democrat party as there are people that want a theocracy in the tea party. What new laws are you talking about?
you see people a portion I told you so..remember you calling me a liar about it?
womens body ..who gets healtcare..no gays so on
what idiocy!
Elvis
Are you aware that Obamacare is so bad, that Obama is borrowing money from foreign nations because he needed to create a slush fund to pay for women's preventive health care needs?
You are aware that Obama created a debt crises at the beginning of August, 2011 which is still going on?
Are you aware that the 21st century type bread lines that Obama has created will cease to exist the moment his government runs out of money and his credit is cut off?
If you aren't, you should be.
Lets see...killed Bin Laden in quick time after eight years of nothing out of bush!!
Had a sinking ship of an economy dropped in his lap by the totally incompetent bush...saved it and General Motors inspite of the GOP!!
Good stuff!!!
Four More Years!!!
Got Bin Laden......that was good.
How does Obama get credit for saving General Motors, when he used a bill that was written during Bush?
Romney let it go by by..
the economy was fine until about 2007 ,and started tanking under a democrat controlled congress and senate
the so-called BAIL OUT of GM was nothing more than a bribe to the UAW...
Of course he has to start with university students. Liberal professors have already laid out the ground work for indoctrinating and brainwashing college students. It is easy to brainwash them because the majority of students are liberal minded and most often are under the influence of alcohol from partying and binge drinking. And they have the attitude that college education gives them the wisdom to justify wrong as right.
He couldn't use anyone that has life experience and is in the job market. He has to rely on those that are still naive and gullible.
can i look at you vagina.its the law now
The goober has never left the campaign. God help us if he gets re elected
Yes God is going to help us..he is a two termer.thank you lord from protecting us from these fake christian tea party people
I don't think that God has anything to do with this. He's left it up to his people to have the smarts to get this Muslim out of office.
We know that Cheney was the "real President" under Bush. Now it seems that Grover will have his hand stuck up Romney's behind pulling the strings:
Grover Norquist:
All we have to do is replace Obama. ... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.
The requirement for president?
Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.
I guess the song played when the President enters won't be Hail to the Chief, it'll be "Hail to the Working Digits"
A crowd of 14,000...won't see those numbers at Romney's rallies, will we?
OBAMA/BIDEN 2012
We don't need a pop start, we need a leader.
yup that just proves that one need not be smart to vote or to support a candidate
Then you guys better get another candidate. Frankly, I'm beginning to think Romney's schizoid. Elect him and you won't be sure who the hell will be sitting in the Oval Office on any given day. I wonder how much it would have cost him to give 14,000 people sandwiches to attend his rally?
"
It's official: Obama starts campaign with Ohio, Va. rallies" . . . . This guy started he re-election bid in 2009 in Grant Park.
Let's be honest here. Obama LOVES to campaign. He's great at talking with dumb-dumb's. He's just not a good President!
RonMarie, you have this as an accomplishment "Spoke at the annual dinner of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization (2009)". Seriously, this is an accomplishment to post for a president?
I spoke to three gays today, whew, I feel I'm presidential now. How about not giving more fodder to the opposition. You are part of the problem. But if one is to point out a problem, then they should offer a solution. So my solution to your counter-productive Obama posts, is to simply quit typing or go elsewhere on the internet.
i cant believe that anyone still supports obama .obama has done more damage to america than the radical muslims that arent in the white house
wait a minute, Obama is responsible for the subprime mortgage collapse? is he responsible for the Iraq war? get serious! by the way, you can say what you want but he will win again in November!!
B.O. 2012
Obama was elected to reversed the debt ceiling and put this country on solid footing again. That was his promise in his first campaign.
He wasn't elected to abandon this promise and just implement Bush economic policies that led to a never ending, ever growing debt crises that has pushed the debt ceiling to $16.7 trillion.
Obama's own words condemn his actions as failed leadership. I agree with him, why don't you?
BO -
He helped contribute it when he was a lawyer for ACORN and sued the banks because they did not want to give loans to people who could not afford to pay them back.
Obama 2012 his views are clear precise and for country,Flipper he's pro something one day against it the next "I'm severly conservative" a few weeks later he's moderate he's like a box of chocolates problem is you dropped the box.
Romney plans to use his business experience to improve the economy. Sell most of the red states, along with their peons, to China which will end the drag on the rest of the country.
You got my vote Mr. President!! Forward!!
forward over the cliff!
FORWARD
He does not want to take our country back(ward).
OBAMA 2012
There is one candidate that stood on the Senate floor to raise his voice in warning of how raising the debt ceiling puts this country at risk. In this short, but impassion speech, which not only moves the reader, but also educates by making his points in
clear and precise language. Rather than tell you about it, why don’t you read it for yourself.
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.
It is a sign that the U.S. Government can’t pay its own bills.
It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. … Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally.
Leadership means that “the buck stops here.” Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.
America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.
From Sen. Obama's floor speech, March 20, 2006
At the time, Senator Obama was urging Congress not to tolerate
an increase that would bring the debt ceiling to $9 trillion.
Let us look at the debt ceiling raises from 2000 until today to see how Obama’s words
are just as pertinent now as they were in 2006.
January 2012 - $16.7 trillion
August 2011 - $15.19 trillion
February 2010 - $14.294 trillion
December 2009 - $12.394 trillion
February 2009 - $12.104 trillion
Obama becomes President
October 2008 - $11.315 trillion
July 2008 - $10.615 trillion
September 2007 - $9.815 trillion
Obama’s speech on the dangers of raising the debt ceiling
March 2006 - $8.965 trillion
November 2004 - $8.184 trillion
May 2003 - $7.384 trillion
June 2002 - $6.4 trillion
Bush becomes President.
August 1997 - $5.95 trillion
If Bush, raising the debt ceiling by $3.02 trillion in 4 years is a danger to our country, then how is Obama’s raising the debt ceiling by $5.38 trillion in 3 years not a danger to this country?
It will taken more than 4 years to clean up the s$$$ that the Teapublicans left. Especially since they were formatting their plan on the night of Obama's inaugeration. Fight him no matter what and if we end up screwing Americans, consider them collateral damage in our battle for the White House. They started from day one to make sure Obama was a one-term President and they won't be satisfied until they can hang a Mission Accomplished banner over the White House. They party of "NO" have over played their hand and Americans are finally seeing those their BS! Obama/Biden 2012.
Obama out in 2012 ....
Save what's left of America ....
oldlady -
The only thing that will help is taking away the country's credit card and cutting it up. The deficit spending is bankrupting us faster than ever.
Although we may already be past the point of no return, it's still worth a try.
oldladyisback
I've clearly shown that with Obama implement the Bush economy policies combined with his out of control borrow and spend policies, Obama isn't capable of cleaning up anyone' mess.
The experts claim that it will take 10 to 15 years before employment reaches normal under Obama actions. Do you really thing with Obama's never ending, ever growing debt crises, this country will still exist in to 10 to 15 years?
In Obama's own words, he condemns himself as a failed leader. The facts prove he has just cause to believe this.
Obama needs to stop the chicanery. Stop the grandstanding. The 8.1% unemployment rate is nothing to brag about. It has dropped because of people who have given up looking for work. The U-6 gives an accurate and grim picture;
U-6 ; unemployment rate of 14.7%. 22.5 million unemployed/marginally attached to the labor force. Americans that work as little as 1 hour per week are included in this count.
Notice the Campaigner in Chief is flitting around the country going to college campuses, BS'ing them who have mounds of debt and will not find good jobs when they finish school. When he landed here in VA, our local news showed about 50 people waiting to see him at the airport.
I don't think the airport would have been able to accommodate the 14,000 people gathered to see him, do you?
CAN THE USA SURVIVE GIVEN
THE FOLLOWING?
The folks who are getting free stuff, don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff,
because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay
for both the free stuff and their own stuff.
The folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop, and
the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free
stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!
Now... The people who are forcing the people to pay for the free stuff have
told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff, that the people who are
PAYING for the free stuff, are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.
So... The people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need
to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are
forcing some people to pay for their free stuff, and giving them the free stuff
in the first place.
We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more
people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.
Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide
somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason?The
voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by
electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange
for electing them.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "The democracy (Republic) will cease to
exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those
who would not."
The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 235
years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers
the people paying for the free stuff. We have one chance to change that On
Nov 6th, 2012. Failure to change that spells the end of the United
States as we know it.
all obama does is spout bull@!$%# incessantly!
I hope they end then you all we feel the true Obama policies when we default like Greece and go into a deep depression that you all will cry that the rich are not paying enough because the rich and major companies will leave to other countries with better tax rates. You libs are all idiots
My Right(Correct) friends, I would just leave this site. All it does is aggrevate you. Do you ever jump off of Fox and watch Rachal and Ed, for the entertainment value, or to see what the enemy is doing? It just amazes me how hateful they are! WE are the silent majority. WE will win. If we don't, America will cease to exist as we know it. God help us all if he gets elected again.
right on Scott.......obama is poison....
Tax rate means nothing if loopholes big enough to hold Alaska are in place.
It is a shame that so many have become so preoccupied with small things like ideology corrupted by materialistic gains and a right wing extremist supreme court who has destroyed the constitutional right of all. They have no right to make all decisions.
I have never understood why fiscal conservative always leave the largest deficits, increase government jobs (cronies) and throw money at department of defense even thought the DOD cannot account for 15% of their budget.
To keep this crooked system in place the nationalist republicans speak out the side of their mouth. The goal is to make this country not free according to the constitution but depending on government overreach especially in civil rights.
Go search history back to Hamilton and find out why these guys are autocratic, wealthy and careless about people rights.
Sure we need to reduce government, but not with republicans.
They will not release power for the sake of freedom. They want citizen to be enslaved by their ignorance and poverty and religion, like in the old days.
You are ignorant of history bound to repeat like other countries before you.
I dont know how anyone could vote for Obama he has done nothing to help us ...not one thing as I know of except spend your money along with the other Democrats...clean house in November.
"It's official", all the clown does is campaign. He just landed here in VA on Air Force One, on our dime once again.
Go Ohio! Go Bucks!! Go Obama...we are all behind you. You truly saved this nation from an inevitable catastrophy created by the big-mouthers (but fake!) in this forum.
Yea ....
We can't wait for Obama to be gone ....
Once agin with feeling:
Grover Norquist:
All we have to do is replace Obama. ... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget. ... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.
The requirement for president?
Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.
ROMNEY = GROVER'S WORKING DIGITS!!
With this scenario, instead of a President, why don't they hire someone to rubber stamp their agenda?
Obama will go down as the worst president in the history of history ....
Even longer than that .... "LOL"
Sounds like a hatred and racist comments!
Sounds like the truth Patriot from Columbus.
NO President before has created a never ending, ever growing debt crises that pushed the debt ceiling to $16.7 trillion and has put this country at risk.
Here is a raciet comment that you can compare to Bens: Barry is a low life scum bag Black Panther loving, baby killing loser!
.