it’s early 2011. so why wouldn’t we be talking about the 2012 presidential election?

yes, it’s that time again (although maybe it shouldn’t be since, you know, it’s early 2011…) to jump back into the frenetic bid for the presidency. quite frankly, i’m not sure why anyone would want to jump into said frenetic bid based on the beating that president obama has taken from teabaggers, right wingers in general and even fickle democrats over the course of his first term. but alas, we’ve got a broad range of possible presidential contenders including sarah palin, mike huckabee, a dude named mitt and even donald trump. no, you’re not being punk’d by that list…

naturally, president obama will be seeking re-election and yesterday, he formally declared his candidacy.

the first bit of details for the obama campaign was a revamped website and renewed online focus. whereas there are still design details from the 2008 bid, there’s a new, cleaner look that is even more relevant for 2012. it’s clean, it’s stripped down & it’s particularly conscious of the importance of mobile devices. it’s still in its infancy in terms of design and development, but already, the website and online creative looks great.

if you visit the website, you’ll be greeted by a video that offers a glimpse into the new strategy by the obama campaign. here’s the video:

interestingly, the obama camp has decided up front to partner his enduring message of hope with the pragmatic reality that he got sorta beat up on all sides during the first 2 1/2 years of his presidency. the line that most stood out to me was the man from north carolina who said, “i don’t agree with obama on everything, but i respect him and i trust him.” that’s a key statement that the obama campaign is saying right up front: you might not have liked every single thing that he’s done, but he’s still someone you can trust and believe in—at very least, more than the other possible candidates.

as an incumbent, these are the types of messages that become a reality, particularly in light of such a polarized first term. so, it will be interesting to see how his campaign unfolds with some of these new themes.

another personal note worth making as he begins his re-election campaign is that i, obviously, am once again very openly stating my endorsement for barack obama as our president. this blog began in may 2008, just as the obama campaign began picking up quite a bit of steam. the blog became my primary platform to “volunteer” for the campaign in my own little way. quite frankly, this blog was a bit of a “coming out” for me politically.

it wasn’t that my political feelings were secret or that they changed at the onset of his 2008 campaign, but the blog was the first platform in which i could be publicly vocal about them. the fact is that many people simply weren’t aware of my political leanings until i began to openly endorse obama (for example). that endorsement, sadly, led to quite the fallout.

many people don’t like my theological ideologies. many people don’t like my choice of sports teams. many people don’t like my design aesthetics. many people probably don’t like that i’m right-handed or have a beard. many people don’t like a lot of things about me. but man, i never anticipated the incredible backlash i experienced when i expressed my intentions to support and vote for barack obama as president.

avoiding all hyperbole, i literally lost many friends. further, i lost speaking engagements and was ostracized from certain groups. i was further put at arm’s length by various family members. it was a response that i truly never anticipated. i suspected that some people in certain circles wouldn’t care for it, but i didn’t think it would cause people to completely cut me off socially and professionally.

through it all, i felt passionately about my support and i was deeply proud the night i was able to be a witness as the election returns confirmed that he would be our next president.

through the hatred from the right and the cyncism of many on the left over the last couple years, i have continued to support our president. i’ve certainly disagreed about many things (libya and guantanamo are current things, for instance), but i’ve never allowed it to let me lose sight of the fact that i truly believe this president is a valued asset to our country and a much-needed visionary when our country was desperate for fundamental change.

so, my point in this blog post isn’t to begin a virtual arm-twisting in order to get you to vote for obama next year. i mean, it is early 2011 after all. more than anything, i’m simply interested to see how this campaign will shape up. at times it will be fun and at times, i’ll just be ready for it to all be over with. either way, we’ll continue to watch as we march toward the presidential election in november 2012.