Obama goes ‘forward’ from Ohio and Virginia

WASHINGTON

REUTERS photo

U.S. President Barack Obama is kicking off his official re-election campaign on May 5 with college rallies in Virginia and Ohio, two battleground states that are important to his strategy of retaining the White House after the Nov. 6 election.

During rallies at Ohio State and Virginia Commonwealth universities, the president will “speak about how far we’ve come and lay out the very real stakes in this election: Whether we choose to keep moving our country forward, or go back to the failed policies that crashed our economy and left the middle class struggling to catch up,” according to a campaign statement. First Lady Michelle Obama will accompany him, according to reports. The Obama campaign released a lengthy web video on April 30 under the title “Forward.” The slogan has been called less catchy than the “hope and change” mantra of 2008, and mocked by rival Mitt Romney, Obama’s likely Republican opponent. “’Forward’ is his new slogan, and it’s like, forward, what – over the cliff?” Romney said.

A recent poll indicates Romney has pulled into a virtual tie with Obama in the crucial swing states of Ohio and Florida. Romney gained ground on Obama over the last month in Ohio and Florida, fiercely contested battleground states that will be critical to deciding the winner of the election. The poll found Romney with 44 percent to Obama’s 43 percent in Florida, where Obama had led by 7 percentage points in late March. In Ohio, where Obama had led by 6 points in late March, Obama had 44 percent to Romney’s 42 percent.