Obama kicks off: Re-election campaign
Obama says he needs to begin mobilising for his re-election even though it is not yet time for him to begin.
WASHINGTON:
US President Barack Obama launched his bid for re-election in 2012 on Monday, capitalising on better news on the economy and pushing ahead of Republicans who are struggling to find a candidate.
Obama, a Democrat who won a sweeping victory over Republican Senator John McCain in 2008 with a message of change, said in a low-key email to supporters that he was filing papers to start his re-election bid in a formal way.
He said he needed to begin mobilising for his re-election even though it is not yet time for him to begin “campaigning in earnest.”
Obama has the luxury of ramping up his campaign slowly, in part because the field of Republicans who will vie to challenge him has yet to take shape. The Obama campaign is expected to raise an unprecedented $1 billion.
Several Republicans, including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, are laying the groundwork for their own campaigns but none of them has formally announced a candidacy.
Early polls show Obama leading potential Republican rivals.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2011.
US President Barack Obama launched his bid for re-election in 2012 on Monday, capitalising on better news on the economy and pushing ahead of Republicans who are struggling to find a candidate.
Obama, a Democrat who won a sweeping victory over Republican Senator John McCain in 2008 with a message of change, said in a low-key email to supporters that he was filing papers to start his re-election bid in a formal way.
He said he needed to begin mobilising for his re-election even though it is not yet time for him to begin “campaigning in earnest.”
Obama has the luxury of ramping up his campaign slowly, in part because the field of Republicans who will vie to challenge him has yet to take shape. The Obama campaign is expected to raise an unprecedented $1 billion.
Several Republicans, including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, are laying the groundwork for their own campaigns but none of them has formally announced a candidacy.
Early polls show Obama leading potential Republican rivals.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2011.