United States President Barack Obama would seek a second term in office in 2012, a video released by his team’s official website to his supporters unveiled the president’s plans, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported Monday.
Obama has an online network of millions of Americans and his web campaign was widely seen as a key plank of his election success in 2008.
The announcement was widely expected, and his campaign team is set to file election papers this week. Obama does not actually appear in the video posted on YouTube as well as the official campaign website; instead, supporters look back to the 2008 campaign and talk of their hopes for the 2012 bid.
In his e-mail to supporters, Obama said the campaign would start small and grow over time, "with people organising block-by-block, talking to neighbours, co-workers, and friends.
"So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today".
Unveiling a new look for Obama's campaign website, his team told supporters: "The idea is to improve upon what's worked for the past four years, scrap what hasn't, and build a campaign that reflects the thoughts and experiences of the supporters who've powered this movement."
Analysts are of the view that the president would now work to convince US citizens he has delivered the type of change he promised America in 2008. And during the next 20 months before the presidential election, he would have to defend the policies his administration has worked to impose, like his health care overhaul and his efforts to revitalise the economy.
One inference is that nervy Republicans have their doubts as to whether Obama is beatable. But another conclusion is that the president knows he has lost ground and support since 2008, and realises he must get out of the blocks quickly.
There are a couple of interesting things about the video announcing the campaign. First, Obama is nowhere to be seen. And second, there's a strong grass-roots flavour to it, with individual voters talking about what they can do to help their man - ending in the slogan: "it begins with us."
A number of Republican presidential hopefuls are expected to seek the nomination to run against Obama. Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee are thought likely to run again, with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Haley Barbour, currently Governor of Mississippi, also tipped to stand.
John McCain's 2008 running mate, Sarah Palin, remains hugely popular with some Republicans but divides opinion nationally. However, as it stands, Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, is the only leading candidate to have formally declared his candidacy.
Obama took office in January 2009 with near-record approval ratings, but has seen his support fall during his first two years in office. In November 2010, Obama's Democratic Party lost control of the House of Representatives and shed several Senate seats in mid-term elections to Congress.
The president described the result a "shellacking" and vowed to listen to the concerns of US voters. Despite shedding some support, polling by the Pew Research Center suggests Obama is in a similar position at this stage to George W. Bush and a stronger position than Bill Clinton, both of whom went on to win re-election convincingly.
In the polling carried out in March, some 47 per cent of registered voters said they would like to re-elect Obama, with just 37 per cent saying they would vote for an as-yet-unknown Republican candidate.
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