Obama Launches His Re-election

Obama has launched his campaign for re-election through an online video and emails to Democrats announcing his re-election for 2012. The president himself does not appear —neither does his voice. His slogan this time is: “It begins with us,” and his committee promises to use simplicity to gain votes.

Considered the number one candidate in the Democratic Party at the moment, Obama took the lead against the Republican opposition, which was divided among several competitors. He started his fundraiser 19 months before the election of November 2012. This conforms to the American political tradition, where the quantity of funds raised tends to define the winner of the elections.

The time for the announcement was selected and calculated with care. At the time there were no signs of serious disorder in the Arab world, and the Obama administration had just announced another decrease in the monthly unemployment rate, down to 8.8 percent in March. There was also the possibility of a lack of agreement on the fiscal year budget, and if the government were to be paralyzed by this, the negative fallout of public opinion would fall on the Republicans.

“Simplicity,” is the phrase that starts the 2-minute, 9-second-long video sent via email to millions of voters and registered supporters of Obama’s 2008 campaign. In the text that followed his image, Obama spoke directly to the recipient by his first name and informed him of his decision not to use “expensive TV ads or extravaganzas” for his final campaign, but “with people organizing, block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers and friends.”

The simple and austere style of his campaign does not affect the leadership objective to collect more funds. As in 2008, Obama is focusing on communication via the Internet. Electronic media and social networks will be at the top of his strategy to gain voters and supporters. The campaign will again be Chicago-based and will be run by former Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina. “The work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today,” said the message signed by “Barack.” The message appears next to a link designated for monetary donations.

The Republicans

Tim Pawlenty – Former governor of the state of Minnesota; did not run for the 2010 elections, but founded a political committee for his pre-candidacy in the Republican Party.

Mitt Romney – Entrepreneur; also the governor of the state of Massachusetts between 2003 and 2007; did not run for the 2010 election; in 2008, Romney lost his nomination to John McCain.

Newt Gingrich – Historian and emblematic figure of the Republican Party; elected in 1978 as speaker of the House; was re-elected 10 times; staying away from campaigns since 1999, he has become a political analyst.

Jon Huntsman – The U.S. ambassador in Beijing; will supposedly leave his post at the end of the month to run for the 2012 elections; he was the governor for the state of Utah between 2005 and 2009.

Michele Bachmann – Congresswoman for the state of Minnesota since 2007 and one of the founders of the tea party; as a lawyer, she will attract efforts and campaign funds from tea party members.

Sarah Palin – Former governor of Alaska who ran for vice president in 2008; founding member of the tea party and one of the most public conservative figures.

Mike Huckabee – Evangelical pastor and former governor of Arkansas; was a pre-candidate in the 2008 elections, but lost to John McCain.

Rick Santorum – Former senator of the state of Pennsylvania; partner in the law firm Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott; was targeted for his declarations against homosexuality in 2003; ever since, his name has become a popular neologism for anal sex on Google.