Barack Obama's re-election e-mail falls flat next to 2008 Invesco Field speech in Denver

Barack Obama.

A few minutes ago, as I was looking across I-25 toward Invesco Field at Mile High, an e-mail popped up from the man who'd given such a stirring speech at that stadium in August 2008: Barack Obama. But compared to the soaring emotions and symbolism of that night -- the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech, a night when change seemed truly possible, not just a hope -- this morning's message falls flat.

In announcing his second campaign for the presidency, Obama is again relying on the grassroots technology that changed the game in the 2008 campaign, communicating first (after the pollsters and other pundits) with the millions of people on his e-mail list. His message reads:

Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.

We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.

So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.

We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest...

In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.

We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.

This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.

There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012

Thank you,

Barack

The delivery may be unusual, but the message is politics as usual. The more things change...

Here's the first Obama 2012 campaign video, titled "It Begins With Us."

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