Obama announces 2012 candidacy

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President Barack Obama announced his candidacy for re-election Monday morning, kicking off what some reports pegged as possibly the most expensive campaign in history.

The revelation marked the first official bid for the presidency ahead of the general election to be held in November 2012.

The re-election bid was announced through a video posted Monday on barackobama.com and in an email to supporters. Reports have estimated the effort could cost $1 billion.

The Associated Press quoted Obama’s email as acknowledging the promise of “change” he ran on during the 2008 election cycle has been slow in coming.

“But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we’ve made — and make more — we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest,” Obama said in the email.

No Republican contenders officially have announced their plans to challenge Obama, though media speculation has settled on a pool of prospective candidates, and therein, some say, lies the real story.

Matt Grossmann, an MSU assistant professor of political science, drew parallels between now and the nearly two dozen or so months ahead of the November 2008 election where candidates lined up to succeed former President George W. Bush.

Some names thrown around in the media — in part because some have formed candidacy exploratory committees to feel out a possible run — include Republican power player Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, a former presidential candidate and Massachusetts governor and son of a former Michigan governor.

“It’s interesting that some of the central (Republican) candidates have said they don’t feel they need to announce before the summer,” Grossmann said of potential GOP candidates. “Last time, people spent quite a bit of time campaigning.”

Some news reports pegged Republicans as criticizing Obama for announcing his candidacy days ahead of a potential government shutdown, which is looming because Congress has yet to agree on a budget for the fiscal year set to end in September.

The time between now and the election gives Obama a chance to tout key points of his record while in office, Grossmann said. A lot of election success, though, might depend on the state of the economy and other factors late next year, he said.

What’s more, the latest presidential opinion survey by national polling firm Gallup conducted during the weekend indicates a statistical dead heat. Forty-six percent of those polled say they approve of Obama’s work with 45 percent disapproving.

That fact could make the president vulnerable, said Andrew Walker, chairman of the MSU College Republicans.

Prospective GOP candidates likely are biding their time before making any announcements to see how the candidate pool changes in the coming months, Walker said.

“It’s a long process and right now, I just think we are in the beginning stages,” he said.

Joe Duffy, president of the MSU College Democrats, countered that the president’s first term has been productive, highlighting controversial measures such as health care reform.

“I’m really confident that when you stack up President Obama’s record against any Republican’s that he’s going to come out on top,” Duffy said.

Do you approve of President Barack Obama’s bid for re-election?

If the presidential election was held today, would you vote for Obama?

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