Like other incumbents, Obama wants to avoid being viewed as a candidate for as long as possible to limit the scent of politics in his presidential maneuverings.
On a conference call with hundreds of organizers, volunteers and campaign operatives, Obama played up the threats posed by Republicans to his agenda while boasting of “hav[ing] had the most successful legislative initiative of any president over the last 50 years.” The call was the culmination of a day-long roll-out of his re-election campaign, which began with the 5 a.m. release of a video entitled “It Begins With Us.” That was followed by an email to supporters, the filing of re-election paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and a more exclusive rally-the-troops conference call with top donors conducted by campaign manager Jim Messina.
He wants us to know he’s running for reelection; he just doesn’t want us to think of him as running for reelection.
You know, if Obama didn’t want to look like a candidate, he could have waited to declare his reelection bid. It’s not like any major Republican has jumped in with both feet. Nothing particularly decisive is likely to occur until the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa in August. But no, he had to start early . . . to fundraise . . . to reach that much-touted $1-billion-in-campaign-funds goal . . . in an economy like this one.
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