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Obama Launches Re-Election Bid

   VOA News  April 04, 2011
   US President Barack Obama (official portrait)

Photo: White House

   US President Barack Obama

   U.S. President Barack Obama has launched his campaign for re-election,
   telling supporters the time is now to start laying the foundation for
   his campaign.
   In a message to supporters Monday, Obama said he is filing the required
   paperwork with the Federal Election Commission, which allows his
   campaign to begin soliciting donations for the November 2012 election.
   He said his administration and supporters throughout the country are in
   a "fight to protect the progress" made, and he called on his backers to
   help shape a campaign that is, in his words, "more innovative than
   anything we've built before."
   President Obama's political standing has improved a bit since last
   November when Republicans won a resounding victory in mid-term
   congressional elections, retaking control of the House of
   Representatives and reducing the Democratic majority in the Senate.
   For the most part, the president, who has seen his popularity fall
   since taking office, remains at about 50 percent approval in most
   public opinion polls. Most experts give Obama a slight advantage in a
   race against a yet to be determined Republican opponent.
   Obama is scheduled to hold his first campaign fundraiser in his
   hometown of Chicago on April 14, with others to follow in New York and
   Los Angeles.
   His campaign staff has said it expects to raise between $750 million
   and $1 billion for Obama's bid for a second, four-year term.

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