In an attempt to recapture his ailing 2008 campaign image, President Obama is considering relocating his 2012 election headquarters to Chicago as opposed to basing it in Washington, DC.
Report from Sify:
US President Barack Obama is trying to win re-election by apparently risking, for the first time in history of the country, to move the campaign base to Chicago, according to sources with knowledge of the campaign planning.
According to Politico, never in US modern history has a sitting president tried to win re-election with campaign operation based beyond the Potomac.
According to strategists, this daring step of Obama could help him recapture some of his 2008 voters.
Although no decision has been made so far about the location of the campaign that is expected to take shape in the next few months, knowledgeable sources believe that selecting Chicago as the campaign headquarters a near certainty.
“Reelection campaigns are typically based in Washington because that puts the leadership closer to where[the candidate] lives. In modern presidential history, this is kind of revolutionary,” Jamal Simmons, a Democratic consultant and veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, said.
Democratic consultant Karen Finney backed the statement by an aide to a likely Republican 2012 presidential candidate, who said that Obama wants to send a message that he still considers himself more of a Chicagoan than a Washingtonian.
I’m not sure that being seen as a “Chicagoan” is any better than being seen as a “Washingtonian” given both labels carry a left-leaning stigma nowadays. Either way, this is another indication that President Obama shows little sign of taking the 2012 race for granted.
