|
Job numbers out Friday highlighted the challenge Obama faces in convincing voters he is the right steward for the nation's economy. Job growth slumped for a second straight month. The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1 percent but largely because more people stopped looking for work and therefore were no longer deemed unemployed. In the face of continued economic unease, Obama will aim in Saturday's rallies to recapture some of the youthful, hopeful energy of his 2008 campaign. Both rallies are being held on college campuses: Ohio State in Columbus and VCU in Richmond. The campus setting is likely to create the atmosphere where Obama is at his best as a speaker: feeding off the energy of an enthusiastic crowd. It will also allow Obama to appeal to young voters, a crucial voting bloc in his 2008 victory that the Obama team is intensely targeting again this year. The president will be joined at both rallies by Michelle Obama. The popular first lady has become a regular on the campaign fundraising circuit this year. By formally opening his campaign in Ohio and Virginia, Obama is underscoring the critical role both states will play in his efforts to keep his job. In 2008, Obama won perennial battleground Ohio while reversing decades of Republican dominance in Virginia. Since then, Virginia has swiftly swung back toward the GOP in statewide elections. Both Obama and Romney advisers acknowledge that the state is up for grabs six months before Election Day. During a campaign event in Portsmouth, Va. Thursday, Romney said, "This may well be the state that decides who the next president is."
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching & Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries
Community |
Perspectives
|
Law & Courts |
Leisure Time
|
Spiritual Life |
Health & Fitness |
Teen Scene
Calendar
|
Letters to the Editor