Obama announced 2012 re-election campaign with "It Begins With Us" video, website, e-mail: "Say you're in"

</object Obama 2012 re-election video

WASHINGTON–President Obama kicked off his 2012 re-election bid near dawn Monday morning, telling supporters in an e-mail that “lasting change” does not come “quickly or easily” and a 130-second video titled “It Begins With Us.”

Obama said in an e-mail sent out near 6 a.m 5 a.m. est, “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.”

The note to Obama’s 18.9 million followers on his Facebook page said, “The 2012 campaign is just getting started — and it will only succeed if we work together. Help shape it from the very beginning by saying you’re in.”

“Kind of nervous, here it is, 2012 election,” a woman says in the launch video, designed to crank up the grassroots. A young man notes that he was not old enough to vote for Obama the first time around.

Obama’s re-election campaign began the way he officially started his 2008 contest, with a launch video—with the difference being that Obama does not appear in it, letting other people make the point they have to get to work on the campaign because he is too busy being president.

The video is designed to recreate the movement that fueled the Obama 2008 campaign with voters from almost every demographic.

The logo on the Obama 2012 website uses the famous 2008 O logo–the one with the strips and semi-circle with the O in 2012 this time around–not Obama.

Obama is expected to host a conference call today with major supporters and the mega donors who will be pressed to help him raise more than the $750 million he collected in 2008. Vice President Biden is in New Hampshire on Monday afternoon, talking to students under the Democratic National Committee’s Organizing for America banner, the group spawned from the 2008 “Obama for America” campaign.

Message from the web site: “This campaign is just kicking off. We’re opening up offices, unpacking boxes, and starting a conversation with supporters like you to help shape our path to victory. 2012 begins now, and this is where you say you’re in.”

My column on the challenges facing Obama in 2012 is here.

My March 31 scoop on Obama filing for re-election as early as Monday is here.

My March 30 scoops on Obama 2012 fund-raising and other details is here.

My March 28 scoop on Obama’s national headquarters in Chicago’s Prudential Building is here.

Obama kicked-off his presidential campaign—exploratory phase–on Jan. 16, 2007; my post from that day and Obama’s full statement framing why he wanted to be president is here.

Here’s the text of the e-mail the Obama team sent out to backers near 6 a.m est:

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.

As we take this step, I’d like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:

Follow Lynn Sweet on Twitter: @lynnsweet