Obama to announce bid for re-election, sources say

[underpants]

Source: CNN

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama plans to send supporters a text or e-mail message announcing his intention to run for re-election, multiple Democratic sources tell CNN.

The message, which might include a video that would be posted online as well, could come as early as Monday morning. The sources say Obama's team also hopes to file papers with the Federal Election Commission on Monday to launch his 2012 re-election campaign.

The timing of the announcement and the filing could change depending on outside events. The White House is closely watching negotiations on Capitol Hill over the 2011 spending bill, which must be resolved this week to avoid a government shutdown.

So far no Republican contenders have formally announced. But these days the likely Republican presidential contenders are making endless visits to key early voting states and meeting with supporters across the country.



Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/02/obama.re.election.launch/index.html?eref=mrss_igoogle_cnn

---

Additionally, top Democrats say two former White House staffers are likely to set up a third-party outside spending group. Former Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton and Sean Sweeney, former aide to then-Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, have been approached by Democratic donors who are concerned about countering the influence of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers in the upcoming 2012 election.

[Drale]

1. Someone un'rec this?

Really people?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Itchinjim]

14. bowens who?

eom
KNR

[INdemo]

15. We need a real progressive to challenge him or we lose...

Why are Republicans wasting their time and money with Republican primaries..when Obama is the best Republican corporations could buy...

[MissDeeds]

16. Ouch

But I agree.

[Shining Jack]

20. True.

[TomCADem]

33. I Am Sure Sockpuppets from The Alleged "Left" Will Try To Claim That Obama Is A Conservative. Yet...

The vast majority of people who disapprove of his job performance do so because they think he is too liberal. Also, as Ohio and Wisconsin showed, there is vast difference between Democrats and Republicans, who will try to use the election as a mandate to crack down on workers' rights. Nonetheless, corporate funded propaganda groups will not only organize tea parties on the right, but they will also sponsor sock puppet propaganda campaigns from the "left" similar to the Latinos for Reform group that attacked Harry Reid for not doing enough to push immigration reform, but was revealed to have been funded by Republican affiliated groups.

So, beware of folks pushing the narrative that there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. They could just be wrong or they could be part of a Latinos for Reform type sock puppet campaign.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/11/15/rel16a.pdf

(1) Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president?
(2) (IF DISAPPROVE) Do you disapprove because you think his policies and actions since he became president have been too liberal, or because you think his policies and actions have not been liberal enough?

Approve: 48%
Disapprove, too liberal: 38%
Disapprove, not liberal enough: 9%
Disapprove, unsure: 3%

[EFerrari]

41. It's been pointed out to you over and over that Latinos for Reform

was one right wing guy and not a group.

[TomCADem]

70. When is it not really a case of some corporate thug pulling the strings? Look at the tea party...

At the center of this so-called movement, you have an astroturf campaign run by just a few folks: Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes at Fox News, the Koch Brothers, and Dick Armey at Freedom Works, who funnel corporate money into a false grass roots campaign. You have the Koch brothers also contracting with PR firms to airbrush internet references to them as noted by Think Progress. Finally, you have Fox News who is always willing to provide a platform for people on the left with the proviso that they bash on other Democrats from the "left." Have you ever wondered why Kucinich is often featured Fox News or why Jane Hamscher was once featured with Grover Norquist?

Heck, even our liberal media is getting bought out by corporate America. Comcast buys NBC and fires Keith Olbermann. The Huffington Post then gets bought out by AOL.

It is really sad that the only way the left can get any recognition by the corporate media is to make a deal with the devil and bash on Democrats, but give Republicans a free pass.

[OKDem08]

75. "Deleted Message"

[Drunken Irishman]

83. Posts like this show how delusional the left is...

And why no one really takes them seriously.

[fascisthunter]

95. you keep telling yourself that

whatever gets you through the day

[INdemo]

109. So how would you define a Democrat?

Democrats aren't suppose to be liberal? Or are we suppose to be moderate or in other another definition,a Republican Lite??
Whatever Obama is he is damn sure is not a Democrat. And he is a hell-of-lot closer to being a Republican by his actions and the manner in which he has favored the Republican way..Like big Banks,Wall St. Subsidy for Insurance Companies etc..So don't talk to me about liberal..I voted for Obama and yes he turned out to be a Bush third term or maybe even worse..So unless we have a real progressive running as an Independent or whatever I wont be voting for a Republican again.

[DCBob]

115. Most Democrats support Obama.. like about 85% last I saw.

So the real question is how do you define those 15% who dont support the President?

[DCBob]

113. What a dumb comment.

both of them.

[Name removed]

28. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Well that's a surprise

I thought he had a preference for CHANGE. :rofl:

[bloomington-lib]

3. And the pubs are already asking why Obama won't focus on jobs instead of re-election

They themselves need to start worrying about jobs...hopefully their own.

[JTFrog]

4. Obama 2012!!!

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

[JJW]

5. He can run on change, again

[madrchsod]

8. i sent my 10 bucks to.....

http://www.facebook.com/ProgressivesUnited?sk=wall

i won`t be sending anything to the national party but i`ll be sending money to my congress critter and senator.

[Beacool]

30. Don't forget "hope".

Hope people can find employment, hope we leave Afghanistan, hope we close Guantanamo, hope that we are not in Libya a year from now, etc., etc., etc.

:eyes:

[madrchsod]

6. wow they really are clueless are`t they or...

they don`t want to admit that the wellstone -dean and union wing of the democratic party just put the smack down on the koch brothers.

we are to fucking busy to give a shit what he`s going to do...

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[laconicsax]

10. I asked this back in '08, and I think it deserves to be asked again...

What is he going to run on? He can't be the "change" candidate anymore, and "status quo you can rely on" isn't going to get people very excited.

[Pholus]

13. Looks like your weather is clearer than mine tonight...

(Not that that says much given the amount of white you have)

Signed,

Fellow skywatcher.

[laconicsax]

37. Yeah...that transparency line is a killer.

Saturn's at opposition this weekend, and I've got nothing close to clear skies.

I'm gonna find whoever bought new gear around here and take them to task for bringing clouds upon us.

[Pholus]

112. Well they say you've made professional based on your reaction to cloudy....

Amateur: Damn, it's cloudy.
Pro: Woohoo, what's on TV?

I much prefer the former....

Clear skies!

[ixion]

23. Yeah, no kidding... what a disappointment he's been

change my arse. :grr:

[ChadwickHenryWard]

24. I just read "The Mendacity of Hope"

and the author, without making much of it, notes near the beginning that Obama's time in the Senate was a breathtakingly undistinguished 2/3 of a term, not to mention voting "present" dozens of times in the Illinois statehouse. I remember that criticism being leveled against him at the time, and it seems startling now that it didn't have more impact then. I recall one not-entirely-convincing defense, namely that his lack of time in Washington had spared him the inevitable moral degradation of "politics as usual." I don't think anyone can argue at this point that he is anything other than a politician in the worst sense of the word.

For my own part, I contributed my clothespin vote in the singular expectation that he could not possibly be worse than Bush in the area of civil rights. I was pretty dramatically wrong. If I believed voting did anything, I would feel pretty guilty. I won't make the same mistake twice.

[tinrobot]

40. He'll run on the "I'm not as scary as the other candidate" platform.

[grahamhgreen]

61. Crap, you're right.

[gtar100]

72. That's about all he's got for progressives.

I'll take corruption by money over sociopathic idiocracy any day...but don't expect me to sing rah-rah if he wins. It just means we have to keep fighting but at least not with the crazies at the wheel.

[NYC Liberal]

81. Continuing the work that was started on 1/20/2009?

There's still a lot more to be done.

[JoeyT]

91. How about

Marginally Less Crappy Than the Other Guy! (Most of the Time!)

Our Sandwich Has 10% Less Shit!

Change You Can Believe In, I Really Mean It This Time!

[Scurrilous]

11. K & R

:thumbsup:

[They_Live]

12. Is he running as a Democrat?

:hide:

[grahamhgreen]

62. Good question.

[jerseyjack]

17. '12 Campaign Slogan ---

"Obama again! As good as any Republican."

[alp227]

18. check out this thom hartmann commentary about republican strategy for 2012

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/13663057

starts at 1 hour 19 mins...Hartmann says that because Obama got only a 1 yr extension of unemployment benefits in 2012 the Republican strategy appealing to the unemployed and "low-information" independent voters will be "blame Obama!"

So as always once again politics becomes the lesser of two evils and there's always some degree of evil in political candidates. But we all know which party has the worse. ;-)

[on point]

19. I hope there are enough 'professional' insiders he can count on

because us 'professional' leftists and real progressives are looking for a real alternative

[Shining Jack]

21. +1 n/t

[RickFromMN]

22. Although President Obama disappoints me, I'd rather him as President than a Tea Party Republican.

[humbled_opinion]

32. Your type are the ones that the DLC

is counting on, remember you were the one you were waiting for, hows that Hopey Changey stuff working out for ya?????? Do the right thing and vote for local Democrats and write in Dennis Kucinich unless of course your really OK with a corporate owned warmonger for President then why would it matter to vote for whatever Repub or Obama.... the truth is that Obama drags the party down.... because he doesn't stand up for principles.

[chervilant]

38. AMEN!!

I am definitely writing in Kucinich or Grayson, or ANY viable candidate, and I will be putting a lot of time and energy into encouraging enough of us to do the same and MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!!

[Shiver]

44. Except, you know, it won't.

[chervilant]

51. hmph

A girl can dream... I keep putting more faith in the human race than is warranted, I realize. Our species is pure-dee ate up with the dumbass.

[DeSwiss]

117. It only need matter to oneself.

"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." ~ John Quincy Adams

[rep the dems]

56. Kucinich and Grayson

ain't viable candidates. The only difference your vote will make is increasing the likelihood of Palin, Gingrich, Pawlenty, Romney, etc moving into the White House.

[chervilant]

67. Yeah,

that tired old chestnut is total justification for continuing to support a dishonest 'two-party' system rigged to insure that the Corporate Megalomaniacs can protect their current wealth, and continue to amass ever burgeoning amounts of wealth to the detriment of the hoi polloi, and our entire planet.

I've said it before, and it bears repeating: we humans are pure-dee ate up with the dumbass.

[rep the dems]

104. Is it wrong to wish we had a viable third party option? No.

But unfortunately that "tired old chestnut" is a reality. Do you think Dennis Kucinich would cut into the Republican base and taking away votes from a Palin or Pawlenty? Of course not. As evidenced by this thread, it's people on the left who would vote for Kucinich and thus split the Democratic vote. Sometimes you just have to vote strategically unless you actually think that a Republican would be no worse than Obama. And if you believe that, then you better believe we should repeal health care, re-institute Don't Ask Don't Tell, go back into Iraq, cut funding for Planned Parenthood and NPR, and give corporations the same 1st Amendment Rights as individuals.

[emilyg]

71. Really?

[rep the dems]

102. Yes, really. Sorry to break it to you.

[StarsInHerHair]

106. yet the GOP has found itself running against a THIRD PARTY-the Tea Party

very small group, a few got voted in & the Republiscum are in an uproar over appeasing them...........

somehow you must have missed that...........

[rep the dems]

110. They ran on the same message and have been casting the same votes

as the "non Tea Party" Republicans. They were on the ballots as Republicans. And even if there is a real difference between the two, they were elected at the state and local level, not in a Presidential election.

[StarsInHerHair]

111. wrong the TP are demanding bigger cuts & fighting the GOP

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6dc3f97a-3548-11e0-aa6c-00144feabdc0.html
..."An initial spending cut of $40bn proposed by the Republicans was rejected by Tea Party members, who demanded a figure more in line with pre-election promises of $100bn."....

http://www.mrc.org/biasalert/2011/20110211121850.aspx

CBS Touts 'GOP Power Struggle' in Congress and 'Infighting' at CPAC
By: Kyle Drennen
Friday, February 11, 2011 12:11 PM EST


During a report on Friday's CBS Early Show, congressional correspondent Nancy Cordes emphasized division in the new Republican Congress: "The prospect of a mutiny had sent Republican leaders scrambling to craft an even leaner budget, and make good on their promises to the Tea Party....Just this week, small groups of conservatives defeated two of their own party's measures on the House floor"...

how did you miss that?

[rep the dems]

121. Disagreements within the party does not mean the Teabaggers aren't still Republicans.

There are Blue Dog Democrats in Congress (albeit not as many as there were 6 months ago). Many of them voted against Health Care, a major piece of legislation of Obama's term. I'd love it if by 2012 there are big enough divisions on the other side that they end up running both a Republican and Tea Party candidate; but why would I want that for my own party?

[humbled_opinion]

94. How About

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/04/hillary-clinton-obama-john-phillips.html

[rep the dems]

103. Difficult to see her running as a candidate against the Administration she's a significant part of.

I think that's partly why Obama offered her Secretary of State. Regardless, I didn't see Hillary as a better choice than Obama in '08 and I wouldn't in '12 either.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

73. Neither of them are remotely viable.

[chervilant]

79. OBVIOUSLY!

Unless a candidate has been hand-picked or vetted by the Corporate Megalomaniacs who've usurped our government, our media, AND the global economy, he/she doesn't have a snowball's chance!

Still, I refuse to go quietly into the night...

[Starbucks Anarchist]

97. No, it's because they can't even get Dems to vote for them in the primaries.

Not everything is a massive conspiracy. People won't vote for those two because they're too extreme for them and have no national appeal.

[chervilant]

100. Yeah, well,

that's your opinion, and we all know that everyone has one...

[Jester Messiah]

39. Did you really just quote Sarah Palin to make your point?

Seriously, put the derp down and walk away.

[freshwest]

118. The meme has sunk into Democratic brains as well..

[Jester Messiah]

119. That's a charitable take.

Reeks to me of someone who can't remember who he's shilling for at the moment.

[pnorman]

55. yessss, there's not a dime's worth of difference between......

How did that work out for us in 2000?

Full disclosure: I not only voted for Ralph Nader in 2000, but I ACTIVELY supported him. That was a perfectly safe move in a state like WA, and the purpose was ONLY to send a "message" to the DLC. But after seeing how easy it is to steal a close election, it's not something that I'd casually do again!

[ChadwickHenryWard]

57. As much as I'd hate to see someone with half her brain missing in the White House

I can't vote for someone that I don't want to be President. It doesn't work that way.

[krabigirl]

99. I refuse to vote for the lesser of 2 evils again.

[chervilant]

105. Puh-leeeeeeeeeze!

Our political system has been completely co-opted by the corporatists who are singularly invested in protecting their wealth and primacy at any cost! We the People have to SUCK IT UP and do whatever is necessary to take back our country! If we continue to vote for a candidate who is 'the lesser of two evils,' we will continue to get the same broken system, and we will continue to bend over and grab our ankles for the corporatists. They, of course, will continue to laugh at us, as they sip their dirty martinis and smoke their Cuban cigars.

[jakestake]

25. Good - he should win easily.

[russspeakeasy]

26. Are he and his entire staff so tone deaf that they think this is a

good time to make this announcement??

[tavalon]

64. Well, if there is one overriding theme of this administration,

tone deaf would certainly be it.

[DeadEyeDyck]

27. I truly think the stage is set for Dennis Kucinich to run

this is his time. The issues that are his are at the forefront. A time comes along for a candidate. That time is Kucinich time.
I wished he would see it.

[rep the dems]

58. Isn't that what he and his supporters said in '04 and '08? nt

[grahamhgreen]

63. Not this one. 2012, will set him up for 2016 against incumbent Republican

[rep the dems]

101. Ah so the *fourth* time will be the charm!

And this is what you want? A Republican President from 2012 to 2016, assuming Kucinich can actually beat that Republican in 2016?

[grahamhgreen]

116. N, that's what we're gonna get

unless Obama radically changes his policy positions.

[Drunken Irishman]

84. LOL

[Drunken Irishman]

85. Oh wait. You were serious.

[Drunken Irishman]

86. LOL again...

[Name removed]

29. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

31. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[slay]

43. +1

even though Bernie is an Independent - his goals and values are what traditional Dem values USED to be before they decided to join up with the republicans and let corporations take over everything.

i'm with ya 100% - I'd back Bernie in any party, or no party at all. The man is just plain right.

[on point]

78. +3

[Faryn Balyncd]

54. +2

:kick:

[Gman]

34. Obama has my 100% support

no questions asked.

[tavalon]

66. No questions asked?

I think that's what got us into this and many other pickles.

Why no questions?

[kimsarah]

76. Draft

Jesse Ventura for president.

[IamK]

35. for which party? n/t

[slay]

42. ouch

nice one. i wonder that myself based on his actions.

[mistertrickster]

49. hahahaha . . . good one. nt

[Drunken Irishman]

88. Probably the party where a huge majority of its members approve of the President...

But then, I don't know what party many of you here belong to because, frankly, most of you don't sound like Democrats.

You whine like Republicans and bitch more about Pres. Obama than they do.

[slay]

89. Like when Reagan had a HUGE majority - or when Nixon had a HUGE majority going into re-election?

just trying to figure out which other catastrophic failure by a presidential POLITICIAN (not known for being very honest and you trust him why?) you are comparing Obama too - cause I agree - all three have been terrible for this country.

Sorry the (D) by his name blinds you to the fact that he has embraced the republican world view and abandoned most all Democratic values. Hope and change? Yeah, I bought that bridge to nowhere 3 years ago.

Since when have a majority of American people actually known best? Just look at history.

[Drunken Irishman]

120. I really don't know what you're talking about...

Seriously. Your post is filled with a bunch of words that have nothing to do with my reply.

I don't ever remember Nixon or Reagan having a huge majority of Democratic support...

Did they run in the Democratic primaries? Maybe I missed something.

[Name removed]

36. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[brooklynite]

45. So, you anti-Obama folks better get cracking...

Anyone who's been calling for a primary opponent or has been saying they won't vote for President Obama better shut down you computer and start working to find another candidate who meets your exacting ideological standards -and- is willing to campaign long and hard (if they won't, maybe they're not actually that respectable). Better open your wallets as well to start coughing up the multiple millions of dollars it will cost to campaign.

Or, you can just stay at home and gripe for the next year. Your choice.

[chervilant]

50. hmph

Your sarcasm is unwarranted. We will need our puters, and every other means of communicating, to put forth a candidate who isn't a Corporate Sock Puppet or a changeling who will betray his/her promises at the earliest possible convenience.

If you are truly convinced that Obama is all that and a bag of chips, why don't you offer a cogent rebuttal?

[arcane1]

46. I'm all about the local elections this time around

I expect Obama to run again, and I expect him to win. But if I find myself in a random political conversation in the grocery line, I won't be talking about federal elections. What we are seeing in several states is how much impact a local election can have!!!

[BlueJazz]

47. When Obama caved in to the Republicans on the "Rich-Tax", He lost me. Period.

[mistertrickster]

48. Unreccing because "fool me twice, shame on me." nt

[kimsarah]

77. What is it

when it's fool me three times, four times, five times, etc. ?

[Drunken Irishman]

87. It's time for you to consider that maybe YOU'RE the problem and not him...

Think about it.

But I doubt you will. Most people here don't think. They just whine.

[ProSense]

52. The 2012 campaign is

going to be entertaining.

[rpannier]

65. Sad part is

There will be a whole lot of clowns running -- just watch the republikkan primary.
The other sad part is, we're not talking funny clowns, we're talk clowns like the one from Stephen King's It

[Orrex]

53. Me, I plan on voting for "Deleted Message"

[JusticeForAll]

108. Me too

Message Deleted

[grahamhgreen]

59. Crap. I'd wish he'd let some other Dem have a go.

[Hardrada]

69. You mean you wish he'd let some Democrat have a go.

[slay]

90. +1

the charade has become obvious when he has shown himself to be even more to the right than the DLC. while foxnews screams kenyan socialist as a distraction - everyone overlooks that we actually have a republican president in barack obama. it took me awhile to see it but now it's so obvious it's painful. :(

[grahamhgreen]

98. Right!

[grahamhgreen]

60. Crap. I'd wish he'd let some other Dem have a go.

[humbled_opinion]

107. If he had that kind of moxy....

He wouldn't be in the predicament he is in now...

[HDPaulG]

68. Any progressive candidate except Obama !

No leadership, excellent talking point's, in love with Wall Street and Department of Defense, is an awful negotiator...Say good bye to the hand turn coat.

[Paradoxical]

74. "Deleted Message"

:o

[Sherman A1]

80. Good for him

He will run, probably be re-elected (the GOP field is pretty weak), but will do so without my vote or money.

[ObaMania]

82. Good luck with that one, Barack. n/t.

[eilen]

92. Here is my opinion -- remember, everyone has one...

Obama is not my dream. He is not "the one." He pretty much has been one of the greatest disappointments of the millenium. In fact, I have read and heard "disappointment" in regard to Obama more than any other adjective across the continuum of Democratic constituencies.

However...

The Tea Party Republicans, a wholly owned subsidiary of the John Birch Society Koch Brothers--so long as they have any political power, must be worked against with whatever leverage we have. Even if all we have is a tepid, give away the store before he dickers, wanna-be popular, "I'm so above it all, warmongering Barney the dinosaur.

So that is the sorry state of things today.

My focus will be to work very hard on developing and pushing local candidates in elections. For National offices I will be holding my nose. I think a strategic plan for 2016 needs to be hammered out for those who wish to end the feudalism and the rightward swing of the Democratic Party. If there is no taking it back, we have to look at replacing it with a new one.

With choices like these I wonder what will become of us.

[RickFromMN]

93. I agree. We need to hold our nose and get Obama re-elected. I wish I'd voted for Clinton in 2008.

If we want to "protest", certainly vote for Kucinich or my choice, Bernie Sanders, in the primary,
but I'd much rather Obama as President than Palin or Bachmann or who knows who the Republicans will dig up.

The day after Obama is re-elected, start working to get Kucinich elected for 2016.
Make him a viable candidate. Get him favorable, national attention.
Beat back the negative vitriol and lies the Republicans will be spouting.
Make the words, liberal and socialist, respectable again.

Why, oh why, has the word Liberal become a pejorative?
Why is something almost guaranteed dead if it gets the socialist label, whether it deserves the label or not?

I do believe we call ourselves Progressives because the word, Liberal, has become a "bad" word.
I treat the words, Liberal and Progressive, interchangeably. Some will disagree and say there is a difference.
Some will claim one can be a liberal or one can be a progressive or one can be both liberal and progressive.
Please see URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/whats-the-difference-betw_b_9140.html

Maybe if (or should I say when) the Tea Party and Republicans wreck Medicare and Social Security,
the general population will finally wake up and realize Social Security and Health Care should be rights,
not privileges for those with the ability to pay.

[Name removed]

96. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DCBob]

114. This is smart... make it crystal clear Obama is the nominee... so there is no confusion.

It short circuits any talk of a challenge. I suspect many will will already begin donating and organizing. Looks like 4 more years to me.