Barack Obama, 2012 Presidential Election | featured news

A new round of polling shows President Obama ahead of the two leading Republican candidates in the 2012 election. But 11 months before the votes are actually cast, how much stock should be put into these findings? Polling experts say check back in about two to three months.

After a dreary summer marred by the fight over government borrowing, rank-and-file Democrats say they are growing more optimistic about President Barack Obama's political prospects in 2012. They cite his tougher, more populist tone and what they view as a chaotic primary fight among Republicans.

A "super PAC" associated with Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign launched a $3.1 million ad buy in Iowa on Thursday, starting with an ad attacking President Obama's job-creation record and touting Romney's.

With an eye on recruiting volunteers, President Barack Obama is launching the first TV ads of his re-election campaign. Campaign officials said Tuesday the ad buy is "tiny" on national satellite TV stations but aimed at learning whether television is a good way to find volunteers. In the two 30-second ads, Obama urges viewers to call a number on the screen or visit the website , which invites people to enter their email address and zip code to become involved with the campaign. www.JoinObama.com

The 2008 election was a reminder of the demographic forces that are changing America and potentially the political balance in the country. The most diverse electorate in the nation’s history added to the favorable winds that pushed President Obama to victory. He will need the assistance of those shifts even more in 2012 if he is to avoid defeat.

For much of the presidential election of 2008, Barack Obama’s campaign was Emma Guerrero’s life. She was one of a dozen volunteers who showed up at an Obama campaign office here every night, taking time from her studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to be part of what she still remembers as the most exciting period of her life.

New polling shows President Obama and Mitt Romney are nearly tied in three states that are traditional lynchpins in the path to the White House. A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday shows razor-thin margins between Obama and Romney in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania. President Obama won all three of the states in question in 2008 and no Republican has ever won the White House without taking Ohio, where the president leads Romney 45% to 42%. That margin is just outside the 2.7% margin of error.

A conservative group is running ads against President Obama by comparing him unfavorably with a predecessor. No, not Ronald Reagan. Bill Clinton.

He shouldn't have to concede any states for lack of money – and he already has raised more than his Republican rivals combined. His approval ratings are down and the economic recovery is sputtering. But President Obama brings to the 2012 campaign one strategic advantage that previous Democratic presidential candidates would have envied: the money to compete everywhere.

There’s no question that President Obama faces one of the most challenging political environments in modern memory as he prepares to try to win a second term next November.