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Subscribe to RSSPresident Obama and the first lady hit the campaign trail on Saturday in key battleground states. NBC's Brian Moor reports.
RICHMOND, Va. — President Obama launched his bid for a second term Saturday by working to mobilize supporters with a forward-looking message in the face of challenges that include sluggish economic recovery.
The question facing voters, he told a boisterous crowd during the second stop on the official launch of his re-election campaign, isn't whether Americans are better off today than four years ago. "The real question," he said, is "how we’ll be doing tomorrow."
Obama tried to accomplish this in two ways: Seeking to rekindle the enthusiasm surrounding his 2008 candidacy, and sending stark warnings about what it would mean if his presumptive Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, were elected.
Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave at a campaign event May 5 in Richmond, Va.
The word ‘Forward’ printed on placards was held by the crowds at both rallies, a kind of 2.0 version of the ‘hope and change’ theme that propelled the Obama campaign in 2008. The crowds at each were loud and enthusiastic, though the Romney campaign was quick to note that the Columbus arena wasn't filled to capacity. Both crowds were heavy on students, and the Richmond rally had a number of African-Americans in attendance, reflecting the area's large black population.
Analysis: Obama re-election launch seeks to define stakes of campaign
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said Saturday: "No matter how many lofty campaign speeches President Obama gives, the fact remains that American families are struggling on his watch: to pay their bills, find a job and keep their homes.”
That statement came because the former Massachusetts governor found himself on the receiving end of a broadside by the president on Saturday, one that took aim at a cornerstone of Romney's campaign, his claim of economic competence.
"When a woman in Iowa shared the story of her financial struggles, he responded with economic theory," Obama said, painting Romney as out-of-touch.
"Corporations aren't people, people are people!" Obama later added, dredging up Romney's quote at the Iowa state fair, when he compared corporations to individuals.
The election may hinge on the economy, but Obama's first formal day of campaigning suggested he won't cede that issue to Romney. He and the first lady both played to broad middle class frustration about diminishing social mobility.
"It's that fundamental promise that no matter who you are or how you started out—if you work hard, you can build a decent life for yourself and yes, an even better life for your kids, and an even better life for your kids," First Lady Michelle Obama said in Columbus.
There was much about Obama's campaign launch that seemed familiar from his 2008 campaign.
He said he was still "fired up" and "ready to go," drawing on a campaign slogan from his last election. His two stops on Saturday were in Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Va. — the state capitals of two crucial swing states Obama had won against Sen. John McCain. And two staple blocs of Obama's 2008 coalition, those young voters and black voters, showed up in throngs for this weekend's events.
He sought, in no uncertain terms, to draw a line from their effort that year to this fall's campaign, taking strides to remind them of the accomplishments in the meanwhile — his health care law, Wall Street reform, winding down the war in Iraq and killing Osama bin Laden, among other initiatives.
Melissa Harris-Perry and her panelists discuss President Obama's new campaign slogan of "forward," and how Republicans are reacting to his message.
"I didn’t run, and you didn’t work your hearts out, just to win an election," Obama said in Richmond.
He added, toward the end of his remarks: "If people ask you ‘what’s this campaign about?’ you tell them it’s still about hope. You tell them it’s still about change."
But the heady optimism from 2008 has been tempered, namely by an anemic economic recovery. The April jobs report found the U.S. economy added 115,000 jobs last month, falling below expectations and suggesting that the pace of hiring has slowed.
Perhaps in recognition of the new political reality, Obama dropped the gloves versus Romney and sharply criticized the former Massachusetts governor, linking him also to a deeply unpopular Republican House of Representatives.
"For the last few years, the Republicans who run this Congress have insisted that we go right back to the policies that created this mess in the first place," Obama said. "And now, after a long and spirited primary, Republicans in Congress have found a champion — they have found a nominee for president who has promised to rubber-stamp this agenda if he has the chance."
It might not have been the lofty rhetoric that drew so many admirers to Obama in 2008, but these new, sharper themes in this campaign still resonate with the president's most ardent supporters.
"I'm just as enthusiastic as the last time, because I think it's going to be a race between an average joe and a multimillionaire," said Marc René of Richmond, an emigre from Haiti in 1994 who works at a local nonprofit.
"My wife and I work, we have great careers, but we still try to make end's meet. We don't have a net worth of $280 million dollars," he said.
Meaghan Mcinnis of Richmond, a relatively recent college graduate who lost one of her first jobs out of school before finding a new one, attended the rally with her friend Jamie Dalton. Both women said they feared the notion of Republican-led "war on women" aggressively messaged by Democrats.
"I feel like there are much bigger issues, and I don't appreciate that 50 and 60-year-old men are making decisions for my 20-something-year-old body," said Mcinnis.
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its been four years and we know more about osama bin laden than we will ever know about hide my past obama
Mitt Romney has successful experience to lead the country with prosperity, he will do exactly what he promises. Every distraction about him from the President will not MOVE me. Because in 2008 I trusted the charismatic speeches, promises of the current commander in campaign Mr Obama , result I was loosing my home (forclosure) no jobs, no money. He promised so many things like it was heaven on earth, NOTHING has been delivered. My daughter lost her home (forclosure) she graduated form UNIVERSITY with a master degree in BUSINESS ACCOUNTING , she can't work till this day under this administration. It grieves me so much to hear other people criticize a candidate like Mitt Romney who's willing to TRULY CHANGE the disaster we are in today, it as well grieves me to hear people praising and believing in the FAILED ECONOMY and an admistration who failed us. Mitt Romney is talking about the economy, we need to pay our bills , food on our tables, save money for rainy days, have a job not being afraidd in the middle of the year we will be laid off due to bad economy., Mr President will NOT change the situation as he's given us such since 3 years and half.
Staneve, your daughter's situation is tragic and is being repeated all over America. Both my son and daughter are struggling, too. The question is twofold: How'd the richest nation in the world get to this point; and what are we going to do about it?
To the first point, wars are expensive in terms of lives and treasure. Needless wars are unconscionable. We will be paying for our reckless behavior for years, if not generations.
As to what do we do about it, we bite the bullet and reduce investments in programs we like to save programs we need. Apparently, some in Congress like to help oil companies by subsidizing their exploration costs. Why, when these companies are experiencing record profits?
We should be investing in our nation's infrastructure that has been deteriorating for decades. Construction jobs ripple throughout the economy and require all kinds of skills - including the accounting skills your daughter has. And at the end of the day, a new bridge or highway will serve America for much longer than a bombing raid in Iraq and Afghanistan did.
The truth is, no one is going to be able to stop the fall of America except the American people. If we continue to disobey God's laws we are doomed to fail. Immorality is the doom for any country.
The most immoral act for a nation is to start an unnecessary war that cost the lives of 4,500 American service members and cost our treasury trillions of dollars while families are struggling to put food on the table.
Bruce, I agree with you! That's one of our immoral problems.
Oh, if only it were true, Bruce. There are much greater sins.
And unfortunately, we have an aggressor called radical Islam and you can pretend turning the other cheek, sending them more money, and other methods of appeasement will win these animals over but they only understand one thing.
As Kenny Rogers said, "sometimes you have to fight when you're a man."
savant, brute force is a useless tool when fighting an idea. Ask how the Romans did trying to stop the early Christians.
I wouldn't say useless, but it is one of many tools. That said, you could say the same to the radicals (and many moderate muslims) who are also fighting our ideas of freedom and a rejection of the religion they believe should be forced on the world's population. Islam is a hard-sell to the highly educated and to the freedom loving west. But they're committed to cramming it down our throats.
I don't know what your solution is, but sending more flowers and money hasn't worked. We developed their only source of real income (the oil industry) and the thanks we get is constant screwing by OPEC and funding their sheiks to attack us. Sorry, I don't have a lot of warm fuzzies for these folks.
Mitt the mooch thinks he can solve the problem by investing money in a broke economy that has no incentive left to it sold out to the highest bidder. Democracy has a price. Feed me at the top ! We must not allow foreign companies to lease the rights to our resources then we would create real jobs. Trade bills that make sense that balance what we do is essential. Obama and mitt are out of touch with what America needs to remain strong. Do not bow down to foreign pressure fight back . Fairytale fools.
Smoke and mirrors, part 2. Same old bs, telling the naive and ignorant what they want to hear. Only problem is they are still waiting for all the promises from 3 1/2 years ago to take place. In the end, when all else fails, simply "Blame Bush."
Yep...The dems will be blaming bush when they just agreed to spend another 20 years in afghanistan! Wow. !!! Still in iraqi.. Economy! Don't go there . We lost of generation or more of kids who will never hardly have anything because the fed is a conglomerate and no jobs are being created due to poor trade agreements. .Society in america is dying and we have a third world educated man running the country. Its a shame.
Obama doesn't fulfill campaign promises in fact he has gone the other way on several of them take medical marijuana for instance. So it just shows you that you cannot trust one politician from another. A lot of Obama's votes in 2008 were because of his stance on medical marijuana, now he is telling the people I got your vote I don't need you anymore the issue is dead.
Our economy is anemic; we only added 115,000 new jobs last month.
In December 2008, the month before Obama was sworn in as President, we lost 700,000 jobs. If adding 115,000 jobs in April is deemed anemic, what word can describe our economy when Obama took office?
Name one thing Bush did to caused that job loss. If Obama is the answer, why is the U.S. economy not creating more jobs now.
The single greatest act that led to the financial disaster, aside from the idiotic invasion of Iraq, was the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act which opened the gates for financial institutions to enter risky markets just like the banks did in the Roaring Twenties. Glass-Steagall limited what banks could invest in. (It also created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which we still have.)
Commercial banks and investment houses used the repeal of Glass-Steagall much like children walking into a candy store with their parents' credit cards!
Yes, Bruce, but there was a trade off to Glass-Steagall. It enabled insurance companies and other entities to compete in the banking and investment arena. This forced banks, who enjoyed a monopoly, to compete and unfortunately their reaction was instead of cleaning house and operating more efficiently, they simply got into more risky stuff. At the helm of the banking and finance committees were Chris Dodd (D-Conn) in the Senate and Barney Frank (D-Mass) who were lulled into falling asleep at the wheel by large campaign contributions from Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and others they were supposed to be watching. Dodd and Frank were spared hearings because we elected an Administration that was friendly to both. I don't think Romney will do anything about them either at this point, but both should have been brought before a panel at the very least.
The Melissa clip is more like a cheer leading squad. Only Thing missing was the pompoms and booty shake. Was that supposed to be about news?
Obama had my vote in the last elections, but he has lost me with what has been done in Honduras. Let him celebrate for this will be his last days in office.
How much oil is BP taking from the GULF ? Enough to supply America ? Obama and cronies never do the math. Guess work. Figure there is enough oil to flood the Gulf. But noooo we let BP take it while we bail out banks.
Every US presidential candidate have released some form of tax returns when they decided to run for the presidency. George Bush released 17 years of tax returns, Clinton released 12 years. Obama 6 years.
This is an important matter, it gives the American's a chance to see how you made your money and how that can affect (or expose any hypocrisy) about how a candidate claim they will handle the country.
The question is, what is Romney hiding & doesn't want the American people to see in his tax returns? Who does he owe allegiance to?
what does that have to do with anything? How about obamas birth certificate that list a country that didn 't exist in 1961? Or a hosptial who stated he was born at did not exist in name. Really and you dumboheads are worried about romneys returns? get real.
Economy and jobs are the most concerns of the american voters. What will be done? are we better off todsy then 3 years and half? I'm NOT therefore no FORWARD for me.
Change subject please, we don't need to know about Romney tax returns. We need to know what jobs we will get today as some of us have bills accumulated for months and can't pay them.
Why has Obama not released the records from his college years?
We all know by now with all the posts that the Navy Seals took care of Bin Ladau. So should Obama... He said in the first time he ran he was going to give change.. He sure has NADA.. But can MItt do any thing he promises except spending money for the Rich and ulta rich. They all do no matter which party is in office, We no longer have a governmnet by the people and for the people!!! Think before you Vote don't be conned by the speeches they give all the forgetten promises they give you before they are elected!!!!!
Oh the same spirit of 2008 when the middle class had to bail out the reckless greed of the top 1% and save the economy. Oh don't leave out the 9% unemployment rate. Will someone please check if this big bag of wind and do nothing Obama is on drugs.
I don't like any candidate running currently.
However when Obama was elected our economy was already falling due to Bush (I know blame him for everything right lol) Lets just remember that the American People voted Obama and then the majority of reps working under Obama wind up being Republican because that year people decided to vote for Republican Reps. How do you expect a Democratic President to work properly with a Majority of Republicans writing bills?
If Obama had majority of democrats under his control and not republicans maybe ( just maybe) Bills like the NDAA sponsored by Representative Howard McKeon Republican-CA wouldn't of been passed...
Lets be honest as easy as it is to blame Obama we as American citizens put him in this predicament ( although I personally voted democrat for my reps).
We also as American citizens have a right to protest and fight Bills which pass the senate and the house. I will not vote for Obama because he did not fight against many of the bills which passed. Obama also continues to break his promises with the American people.
Just remember when you vote this year, don't vote for the guys who supported the NDAA or CISPA because both these bills go against our Bill Of Rights.
More people need to get involved with their state reps and get involed with many of these bills which hurt our constitution. Not enough Americans write their reps and protest about current bills which have passed. So don't just vote but get involved. I can't stand the people who just bitch about how our economy is plummeting and how everything has turned to crap when all they do is stay at home and watch the news. I have letter from Representatives on every Bill I oppose or support because I write all my reps ( and some other state reps) about current bills. Representatives can only work for the people if the people actually take the time to contact them and tell them to vote YES or NO on a bill. Instead what happens is most Americans do nothing then allow these companies to pay our reps to vote Yes or No on a bill.
In order for things to change people have to start taking real action, not just voting every once and a while!!
There won't be much left of this Country if we get four more years under Obama. We can't afford anymore of his change. As a senior citizen I've seen everything I've worked for go down the drain under his watch and every senior out there better think hard before they vote for that idiot again. Bush isn't in office anymore, he's not the problem, Obama is.
OBAMA CAMPAIGN LAUNCH IN HALF EMPTY STADIUM!!!
Great start for the "ONE", or should I say great continuation of campaign from start of Presidency. A miserable leader.
Pat,
Are you comparing the crowd at Obama's speech at The Schottenstein Center, on the campus of The Ohio State University, which seats only 18,806, to Mitt Romney's speech at Ford Field, which seats 65,000 (expandable to seat 70,000)?
At least at The Schottenstein Center, they did fill up the seats in the lower bowl, in addition to the crowd sitting in the upper bowl. Remember the crowd at Mitt's speech? Or did Fox News tell you that there were thousands at Mitt's speech?
FYI....http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/mitt-romneys-ford-field-fumble/
Pat, I've seen this post of yours from others with no mention of where this half empty venue was located. What appearance site are you talking about? What was the attendance and what was the capacity?
No truer words have been spoken by the Romney Campaign:
“When President Obama kicks off his campaign today in Columbus, he still needs to answer for the promises he made to Ohioans nearly four years ago.
From skyrocketing gas prices to increasing insurance premiums, President Obama’s economic policies have failed Ohio families and demonstrated that this President does not have what it takes to get our economy moving again.”
“No matter how many lofty campaign speeches President Obama gives, the fact remains that American families are struggling on his watch: to pay their bills, find a job and keep their homes.
While President Obama all but ignored his record over three and a half years in office, the American people won’t.
This November, they will hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.
“Four years ago, the country had high hopes for President-elect Barack Obama. He didn't have a lot of experience – even his own running mate had questioned if he was ready for the job – but he delivered eloquent speeches with soaring rhetoric.
But now the president has to run on his record. And he will have to explain to the American people why his vision for bigger government, more spending, and higher taxes will work over the next four years when it hasn't worked in the past three and a half years.”
Absolutely true. Mitt Romney January 20, 2013.....
Julie, what do you believe Congress needs to answer to?
I don't know which I hate more: our justice system or politics.Why you may ask? because BOTH just invovle smart people spinning things to make dumb people see it THEIR way. Logic and justice haven't got a DAMNED thing to do with it. It's just spin mixed with prejudice.
If an ass hole makes a perfectly logical argument people will disagree simply because he is an ass hole. So PREJUDICE has a lot more to do with both politics and our legal system than logic ever will. So give it a ****ing rest
I think I'll just print what I wrote and show it to the damned judge when called for jury duty so I can just go home and not be forced to participate in something I do not wish to participate in. You dumb people can figure it all out just FINE, right OR wrong, I'm sure, without me having to bang my head against the wall. Meanwhile I've got some gardening to do
The Thrill is Gone....
dude! the average family of 4 is worth $1,333,000!!! 100 trillion worth of private assets in the US dived by 300 million citizens comes to $333,000 a pop times 4 equals $1,333,000. So, like, why in the hell are YOU broke??
I have no Hope and only loose Change left in my pockets. Thanks Obumer.
dude! the average family of 4 is worth $1,333,000!!! 100 trillion worth of private assets in the US dived by 300 million citizens comes to $333,000 a pop times 4 equals $1,333,000. So, like, why in the hell are YOU broke?
There's nothing that 3 years and a magic wand should not cure. Except what the GOP did to this country...
Obama uses the Race Card ! Ohhh you hate me because I am fat. Ohhh wait there must be some logic in all this. The spinning wheels of liberal conservative bleeding heart bull crap. Throw it all out there at whatever the cost. YOU LIE ! Who wears the pants in the house ehh !
We need a president that has the balls to make changes that will better our country and restore our faith and standing in the world. Can Romney do this? I don't know. But I do know our current president clearly cannot. At what point does this madness end? We cannot keep raising the debt limit until tough choices take place, Real Tough Choices that everyone must be a part of. Here are my suggestions:
Cut ALL gov't programs (with the exception of Social Security) 7% across the board. Will this be painful? Absolutely! But a lost toe from gangrene is far better than losing one's leg. Cut ALL foreign aid to every country in the world. We have to get our financial house in order and worry about our citizens before we concentrate on other countries. Stop ALL corporate welfare. Tax breaks like those given to GE are disgraceful and immoral. Penalize any company outsourcing jobs overseas. Initiate a windfalls profit tax on oil companies as well as companies making a fortune in the over-the- counter derivatives markets such as ICE. Many companies such as Goldman and Morgan are long ridiculous amounts of oil contracts in a totally unregulated market, are driving oil prices higher, and are making insane amounts of money in the process. There should be position limits as well as disclosure of all participants in this market. It's pretty ironic that ICE is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia but is considered a foreign company because they bought the London Int'l. Petroleum Exchange. Eliminate all loopholes that enable corporations the ability to avoid paying taxes. Stop ALL aid to anyone in this country illegally. Have a 6 month window for those in our country illegally to become citizens, providing they have gainful employment and no criminal record. Put them on the payroll and have them pay taxes. If they fail to do so, deport them. Anyone receiving any gov't. handouts ( welfare, food stamps, etc;) must be drug tested monthly at random. If they fail the test, all assistance is cut off. ELIMINATE the Bush tax cuts immediately. Raise the capital gains back to 22.5%. The majority of those in this category might bitch and scream, but they can easily afford this and will not deter them from making money. Start billing ALL countries for our military presence in their country. This includes countries not at war such as Germany and South Korea. Once our debt is eliminated, restore the 7% back to Medicare. Once we have a surplus, leave it there for a rainy day.
Randy, sounds like you are in favor of a dictatorship. Presidents can propose all of the great ideas in the world, but nothing happens unless Congress agrees and passes legislation to make those ideas a reality.
Presidents don't write tax laws or write budgets; only Congress has that authority.
Bruce: Getting Congress to work together does not mean you are a dictator. If the POTUS spells out his plan, and tells everyone to write the officials who represent them to vote in favor of a plan, maybe something can be accomplished. Bill Clinton was able to get Congress to work together because he offered something that everyone would gain from. But when you still play the blame game and haven't solved the problem, basically you are incompetent.
...any the stadium was half-full. Nice bias MSNBC.
It was NOT a stadium! Mitt Romney held that miserable speech at Ford Field, which is A STADIUM! When you look at the pictures from the two events, any sane person can see that The Schottenstein Center, which is a basketball arena, was mostly filled, compared to Mitt's pathetic turnout at Ford Field, which is a STADIUM that seats 65,000+
Oblamo and Moochelle don't want to give up those multi million dollar vacations that all the middle class take.