Obama announces re-election bid...

…and former MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty is the first to hit back, with this web ad:

National Journal goes through various aspects of Obama’s quest for four more years (shudder).  He’s facing a couple of bottom lines, though. One, unemployment remains unacceptably high in spite of his having spent a trillion dollars to lower it. And two, his job approval rating remains in the 40s and even low 40s.  At the moment he would beat a generic Republican nominee (or would he? It depends on which poll you look at), but soon enough the nominee won’t be generic. Skyrocketing gas prices, an extremely poorly run humanitarian not-war in Libya, home values stagnating or continuing to decline, and the general feeling that whatever he aspires to be, Barack Obama simply isn’t a solid or qualified leader all play into his electoral weakness. President Obama goes into 2012 as a weak, failed president — he is very beatable.

As for Gov. Pawlenty’s first punch, I like it. It frames the national situation nicely and in 35 seconds makes a simple case: If you want the nation to move in a better direction, it’s going to take a new president.