2. Obama’s re-election bid U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday formally announced his 2012 re-election bid, saying the country needed “to protect the progress” it had made. “Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign,” Obama said in a statement. He explained that as his administration and supporters across the country “fight to protect the progress we’ve made — and make more — we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.” | 