Last Saturday, President Barack Obama officially began his re-election campaign in Columbus, Ohio and Richmond, Va.
When the first lady introduced him, the audience applauded, saying “I love you.”
“And we love you, too. And it’s not just because we support one extraordinary man although, I’ll admit, I’m a little biased because I think our president is awesome,” Michelle Obama said.
Controversially, hours before the campaign was announced, the Republican National Committee claimed Obama was using White House trips for his reelection campaign.
The RNC filed a complaint to the Government Accountability Office stating Obama was using taxpayer dollars to fund his election and that he should refund the taxpayers.
“Obama for America has been cheating the American taxpayer by using taxpayer dollars to fund their general election efforts,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said. “The president, who has held more campaign events in 3.5 years than any other president did in their full term, should refund the taxpayers for the cost of these trips through his campaign account Obama for America.”
White House officials said they follow all rules and regulations when it comes to political travel and his recent travel has been a part of Obama’s responsibility to leave Washington D.C.
“When there is political travel, we follow all rules and regulations that all other administrations have followed,” spokesman Eric Schultz said.
Obama’s official slogan for his re-election campaign is “Forward.”
“We can’t just go back to the way things used to be. We’ve got to move forward,” Obama said.
In Ohio, Obama talked about former Gov. Mitt Romney being wrong when thinking the rest of America will inevitably prosper if the CEOs and wealthy investors make money.
When a woman in Iowa shared the story of her financial struggles, he responded with economic theory. He told her, “our productivity equals our income.” “Well, let me tell you something. The problem with our economy isn’t that the American people aren’t productive enough you’ve been working harder than ever. The challenge we face right now, the challenge we faced for over a decade, is that harder work hasn’t led to higher incomes,”Obama said. “It’s that bigger profits haven’t led to better jobs.”
Obama will be campaigning until election day on Nov. 6.
