President Barack Obama pressed his case for a second term on Saturday by attacking presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney while insisting: “It’s still about hope. …It’s still about change.” The rallies, which came amid fresh anxiety over the economy, marked a new and more aggressive phase in Mr. Obama’s increasing transition from president to re-election candidate.
Six months before Election Day, the polls point to a close race between Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney, with the economy the overriding issue as the U.S. struggles to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 8.1 per cent nationally, although it has receded slowly and unevenly since peaking several months into the President’s term. The most recent dip was due to discouraged jobless giving up their search for work.
Mr. Romney has staked his candidacy on an understanding of the economy, developed through a successful career as a businessman, and his promise to enact policies that stimulate job creation.
But Mr. Obama said his rival was merely doing the bidding of the conservative powerbrokers in Congress and has little understanding of the struggles of average Americans.
Mr. Romney and his “friends in Congress think the same bad ideas will lead to a different result, or they’re just hoping you won’t remember what happened the last time you tried it their way,” the President told an audience estimated at over 10,000 supporters at Ohio State University in Columbus. Aides insisted it was his first full-fledged political rally of the election year.
Mr. Romney “doesn’t seem to understand that maximising profits by whatever means necessary, whether it’s through layoffs or outsourcing or tax avoidance, union busting, might not always be good for the average American or for the American economy,” the President said.
“Why else would he want to cut his own taxes while raising them for 18 million Americans,” Mr. Obama said of his multimillionaire opponent.
While Mr. Romney has yet to flesh out a detailed economic programme, he and Republicans in Congress want to extend all the tax cuts enacted during President George W. Bush’s administration that are due to expire at year’s end. Mr. Obama and most Democrats want to let taxes rise for upper-income earners.
The President’s campaign chose Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University for the back-to-back rallies. Mr. Obama won both States in his successful race in 2008, although both have elected Republican governors since, and are expected to be hotly contested in the fall.
The staging of Saturday’s events eliminated any doubt about his purpose. Official campaign rallies can free Mr. Obama up to take more direct aim at Mr. Romney.
While the President is notably greyer than he was four years ago, he and his campaign worked to rekindle the energy and excitement among students and other voters who propelled him to the presidency in 2008.
“When people ask you what this election is about, you tell them it is still about hope. You tell them it is still about change,” he said. It was a rebuttal to Mr. Romney’s campaign, which has lately taken to mocking Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign mantra as “hype and blame.”
Unlike Mr. Romney, who struggled through a highly competitive primary season before recently wrapping up the nomination, Mr. Obama was unchallenged within his own party. As a result, his campaign’s most recent filing showed cash on hand of $104 million, compared with a little over $10 million for Mr. Romney. His campaign has worked to build organisations in key States for months.
“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,” Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Mr. Romney, said Saturday in a statement. “This November, they will hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.”
But in the aftermath of recent Supreme Court rulings, modern Presidential campaigns are more than ever waged on several fronts. Polls show that concern about the economy is the biggest challenge Mr. Obama faces as he campaigns for re-election. His rallies followed the release Friday of a monthly unemployment report that showed the economy added just 115,000 net jobs in April and that more Americans have dropped out of the workforce.
It promises to be one of the nastiest, divisive and intensely fought elections on both sides between now and November.
Six months before Election Day, the polls point to a close race between Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney, with the economy the overriding issue as the U.S. struggles to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s. Unemployment remains stubbornly high at 8.1 per cent nationally, although it has receded slowly and unevenly since peaking several months into the President’s term. The most recent dip was due to discouraged jobless giving up their search for work.
Mr. Romney has staked his candidacy on an understanding of the economy, developed through a successful career as a businessman, and his promise to enact policies that stimulate job creation.
But Mr. Obama said his rival was merely doing the bidding of the conservative powerbrokers in Congress and has little understanding of the struggles of average Americans.
Mr. Romney and his “friends in Congress think the same bad ideas will lead to a different result, or they’re just hoping you won’t remember what happened the last time you tried it their way,” the President told an audience estimated at over 10,000 supporters at Ohio State University in Columbus. Aides insisted it was his first full-fledged political rally of the election year.
Mr. Romney “doesn’t seem to understand that maximising profits by whatever means necessary, whether it’s through layoffs or outsourcing or tax avoidance, union busting, might not always be good for the average American or for the American economy,” the President said.
“Why else would he want to cut his own taxes while raising them for 18 million Americans,” Mr. Obama said of his multimillionaire opponent.
While Mr. Romney has yet to flesh out a detailed economic programme, he and Republicans in Congress want to extend all the tax cuts enacted during President George W. Bush’s administration that are due to expire at year’s end. Mr. Obama and most Democrats want to let taxes rise for upper-income earners.
The President’s campaign chose Ohio State University and Virginia Commonwealth University for the back-to-back rallies. Mr. Obama won both States in his successful race in 2008, although both have elected Republican governors since, and are expected to be hotly contested in the fall.
The staging of Saturday’s events eliminated any doubt about his purpose. Official campaign rallies can free Mr. Obama up to take more direct aim at Mr. Romney.
While the President is notably greyer than he was four years ago, he and his campaign worked to rekindle the energy and excitement among students and other voters who propelled him to the presidency in 2008.
“When people ask you what this election is about, you tell them it is still about hope. You tell them it is still about change,” he said. It was a rebuttal to Mr. Romney’s campaign, which has lately taken to mocking Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign mantra as “hype and blame.”
Unlike Mr. Romney, who struggled through a highly competitive primary season before recently wrapping up the nomination, Mr. Obama was unchallenged within his own party. As a result, his campaign’s most recent filing showed cash on hand of $104 million, compared with a little over $10 million for Mr. Romney. His campaign has worked to build organisations in key States for months.
“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,” Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Mr. Romney, said Saturday in a statement. “This November, they will hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.”
But in the aftermath of recent Supreme Court rulings, modern Presidential campaigns are more than ever waged on several fronts. Polls show that concern about the economy is the biggest challenge Mr. Obama faces as he campaigns for re-election. His rallies followed the release Friday of a monthly unemployment report that showed the economy added just 115,000 net jobs in April and that more Americans have dropped out of the workforce.
It promises to be one of the nastiest, divisive and intensely fought elections on both sides between now and November.
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