President Obama Officially Begins Campaign

With the GOP nominee almost a certainty, the two-man race is about to begin. President Obama is about to hit the campaign trail, now that his presumed GOP opponent has virtually been named – all that is left is the convention in Florida, making Mitt Romney the official nominee. This coming Saturday, the President and First Lady Michelle Obama will kick of his campaign for a second term by holding two public rallies in Columbus, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia.  There he is expected to speak about his accomplishments thus far and to spell out in detail the very real stakes in this election.

According to the President, the choices are plain:  Are we going to continue to rebuild an economy that will last, with a growing middle class and more Americans getting a fair shot? Or are we going back to the failed policies of the past that caused a recession, and left too many folks still struggling to make ends meet?

These kinds of rallies have become vintage Obama from his last campaign when millions of people first came to know and support candidate Barack Obama in 2007 and 2008, where they met him at rallies, town hall meetings, church and school gatherings in their communities.  The campaign is nearing the end of the primary phase and is looking forward to begin the general election phase of the campaign for the President’s second term – and he is in campaign mode.

The economy and healthcare are two of the primary focuses that the President will deliver to the American people as he hit the campaign.

On the Economy

President Obama has said that he would continue his efforts to “put America back to work,” according to his campaign website.  He also said, he has “added more than 4.1 million private sector jobs,” and his plan to add more includes creating clean energy projects; investing in technologies that would create manufacturing jobs; and creating easier access to patents for inventors.
In addition, to maintain and secure the gains that the President has made, his Obama administration’s consumer-finance watchdog agency says that it is cracking down on lenders that discriminate against minorities and women.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in a letter to lenders recently that it will strictly enforce laws against discriminatory lending practices and it will go after subtle forms of discrimination that result from lenders’ policies. It said some policies appear to be fair but have discriminatory effects.

The CFPB is also offering consumers information about their rights and possible warning signs of discrimination by lenders and furthermore, it will scrutinize mortgages, student loans, credit cards and auto loans. This agency was set up after the financial crisis to protect consumers from loans and other services that include high fees and other traps, and to create and maintain transparency and integrity in the financial markets.

On Healthcare

According to his website, “President Obama passed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to restore health care as a basic cornerstone of middle-class security in America. The ACA will make health care more affordable for families and small businesses, and bring much-needed transparency to the insurance industry. When fully implemented, the ACA will keep insurance companies from taking advantage of consumers-including denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and canceling coverage when someone gets sick.

“Because of the new law, 34 million more Americans will gain coverage-many who will be able to afford insurance for the first time. Once the law is fully implemented, about 95 percent of Americans under age 65 will have insurance…”

The ACA gives financial incentives to small business employers who pay at least half of their employees’ health insurance, making more people eligible for Medicaid/ Medi-Cal, and an increase in Medicare tax for wage earners making more than $200,000 ($250,000 for couples).

His expected opponent in the November election (Romney) and other conservatives continue to criticize the reforms, mostly calling them too expensive.  However, most recent polls show President Obama ahead of Romney though in some cases, the race is a dead-heat.

These are some of what the President will continue to highlight as the campaign heads into the final stretch towards November.

Read more: http://www.nnpa.org/news/president-obama-officially-begins-campaign/#ixzz1uCYRunSV