Obama kickoff: Hope, change and Mitt

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Politico:

COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Barack Obama has been in campaign mode for months, but he made it official Saturday in front of a crowd of enthusiastic young supporters at an event that illustrated some old strengths and significant new hurdles for the incumbent.

In a sharp shift from his mostly positive 2008 message, Obama directly attacked opponent Mitt Romney, praising him as a “patriotic American” but ridiculing Romney’s infamous claim that “corporations are people,” a legal truism that has proven to be a favorite Democratic attack line.

“Corporations aren’t people — people are people!” shouted Obama, who was hoarse by the end of his 35-minute speech at Ohio State University.

Romney, Obama said, “has drawn the wrong lessons from [his] experiences. He sincerely believes that if CEOs and wealthy investors like him make money, the rest of us will automatically prosper as well. … The challenge we face right now — the challenge we faced for over a decade — is that harder work hasn’t led to higher incomes. … Governor Romney doesn’t seem to get that.”

Romney spokesperson Andrea Saul responded by blasting Obama’s record.

“No matter how many lofty campaign speeches President Obama gives, the fact remains that American families are struggling on his watch: to pay their bills, find a job and keep their homes,” Saul said in a statement. “While President Obama all but ignored his record over three and a half years in office, the American people won’t. This November, they will hold him accountable for his broken promises and ineffective leadership.”

The big Obama show — heralded by a huge “Forward” banner atop OSU’s Schottenstein Center and a fire-’em-up presidential introduction from first lady Michelle Obama — was less targeted at the national media than his 2007 announcement in Springfield, Ill., when the Obama campaign sought to project the image of an unstoppable nationwide movement.

This time, Obama’s team is localizing its message and targeting key constituencies — students, veterans, women, Latinos, African Americans — in too-close-to-call states such as Ohio and Virginia, while firing up young voters and volunteers whose support Obama sorely needs.

If the carefully choreographed kick off was any indication, Obama will face some challenges in recapturing the 2008 magic — especially among young voters who weathered three years of souring job prospects and rising college costs.

The campaign was only able to muster 14,000 supporters in an arena designed to hold more than 18,000. Several thousand empty seats ringed its upper deck, mostly out of view from the cameras.

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The Hope is gone as Round Two officially begins...