Tagged: Barack Obama

President Barack Obama launched his reelection bid this morning. The announcement was made via a web video that was posted to the President's campaign website and through an email sent to supporters.

The news made headlines across the blogosphere:

• Politico: Obama kicks of reelection campaign with video
• The Washington Post: President Obama announces 2012 reelection bid
• The New York Times: Obama begins re-election facing new political challenges
• BBC News: Barack Obama announces re-election bid
• USA Today: Obama begins 2012 run with challenges, advantages
  

Here's a copy of the President's "Win the Future" speech at Northern Michigan University today:

Hello, Marquette!  It is good to be in the U.P.  It is good to be at Northern Michigan University! 

So, I have to say, I think some folks on my staff have it out for me.  Not because it’s 10 degrees here – I can handle that.  It’s because for the second time in two weeks, not long after my Bears went down, they’ve sent me to a town with a bunch of Green Bay Packer fans, even if we are in Michigan.  But I congratulate all the fans here, and we’ll see the Packers at the White House.

Of course, I haven’t come to Marquette to talk about winning the Super Bowl.  I’ve come here because it’s towns like this where the jobs and businesses of tomorrow will take root.  It’s towns like this where our economic future will be won.

JOIN THE LIVE CHATVISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

Update 12:40 p.m.:

We will carry the live feed of President Obama's speech in Marquette on our website at 1pm.

Update 12:01 p.m.:

Governor Snyder has released the following statement about President Obama's trip to Marquette:

“All Michiganders can take great pride in the national recognition earned by Northern Michigan University and the communities of Marquette County.  Their partnership to expand high-speed wireless internet services through NMU’s WiMAX network wisely recognizes the critical need to enhance online availability in the 21st century.  This cutting-edge approach benefits students and families while providing an essential tool that drives business development.

“At the state level, we are working aggressively to provide additional online and self-service alternatives for Michigan residents.  Expanding wireless capabilities in the Upper Peninsula complements our efforts and provides welcome conveniences to U.P. customers.  The President is right to highlight this initiative as a model of cooperation and innovation.  We welcome the President to Michigan and look forward to him sharing this Upper Peninsula success story across America.  We also applaud NMU and the Marquette area as they get their well-deserved attention on the national stage.  They are outstanding ambassadors for the Upper Peninsula and our entire state.”

Update: 10:58 a.m.:

Marquette, Michigan?? Wish we were going to Hawaii instead....

President Obama and his entourage of staff are flying aboard Air Force 1 to Marquette (Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is making his final flight).

The White House press corps is traveling along and they're not looking forward to the extreme cold temps.

Here's a "pool report" from the press:

Marine One touched down at Andrews approx 9:35 am. POTUS, wearing overcoat but no hat or gloves, on AF1 5 minutes later, followed by staff including Jarrett , Sutphen, Mastromonaco, and Gibbs, making his final flight as press secretary.

AF1 rolling, with a flight time of just over 2 hrs from Andrews to Marquette, where the temp is said to be in single digits with a wind chill of -19. Pool fondly remembering travel pool in Hawaii just over a month ago.

7:12 a.m.

President Barack Obama will visit the city of Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula today. The President will visit Northern Michigan University to promote his administration’s National Wireless Initiative.

It’s a program the President first announced during last month’s State of the Union Address.

The initiative would bring high speed wireless internet access to 98 percent of the nation’s population within five years.

Some say it’s a lofty goal, considering such technology is only now being built in major cities.

The initiative is part of the White House’s new focus on innovation and competitiveness as a way to “win the future.”

President Barack Obama will be in Michigan's Upper Peninsula on Thursday to discuss the National Wireless Initiative. The president will visit Marquette to talk about businesses that have prospered because of broadband access. The White House issued a press release detailing the trip:

In his State of the Union Address, the President called for a National Wireless Initiative to help businesses extend the next generation of wireless coverage to 98 percent of the population.  The next generation wireless network in Marquette is an effective demonstration of how the President’s proposal to open up airwaves will spark new innovation, put people back to work, grow the economy and help America win the future.

In his State of the Union, President Obama outlined a plan for America to out-build the competition to win the future. This plan for a 21st century infrastructure is about rebuilding our roads, rails and runways, but it is also about attracting new businesses to our shores and having the resources to ship American goods, products and ideas anywhere in the world.  In order to do that, America must have the most reliable ways to move people, goods and information-from roads and airports to high-speed rail and high-speed internet.

As the Detroit News reports:

It'll be Obama's first trip to the Upper Peninsula as president and comes six months after he visited General Motors Co.'s Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and Chrysler's Jefferson North Plant. The last time a president was north of the Mackinac Bridge was in 2004 when George W. Bush made a campaign swing through the region.