During an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett suggested that President Obama's quest for reelection in 2012 will look a bit different than the operation he ran in 2008 to win the White House.
"Because he's the President of the United States, he's not out there running the way he was before when he was the U.S. Senator," she explained. "The American people expect him to lead. He's their President. He's everybody's President regardless of party affiliation."
Jarrett went on to elaborate, "That doesn't mean that at some point he's not going to get out there and launch a campaign, but the most important thing that he can do for the American people is think of them every single day and let them guide his actions."
According to Jarrett, a priority for Obama heading into the new year will be to step outside of Washington, DC more frequently with the goal of engaging more readily with the American people. "It's really what gives him his energy and his strength, and so we're determined in the new year to make sure that his schedule reflects that priority," she said.
The Chicago Tribune reported over the weekend that Obama will likely return to the Windy City -- the base of his 2008 campaign -- to set up headquarters for his run for reelection in 2012:
A key factor favoring Chicago's selection is the anti- Washington climate that has swept the country. Another is the insurgency candidacy anticipated from Obama's rivals, who are expected to make the case that the times are bad, the nation's capital is broken, Obama has been captured by Washington -- and they offer voters an alternative.
Running the reelection effort out of Chicago wouldn't stop those arguments, but it could blunt them.
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