Obama declares himself candidate for re-election

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama  declared himself a candidate for re-election in 2012 on Monday,  jumping ahead of a slow-starting Republican field and hoping an  economic recovery will boost his case for a new term.

Obama’s announcement, made through an email and video sent  to supporters, set in motion a plan to tap donors and raise as  much as $1 billion, which would shatter the $750 million  campaign finance record he set in 2008.

Five months after his Democrats were routed by Republicans  in November congressional elections, Obama looks in fairly good  shape for re-election when paired against any of a group of  potential Republican challengers.

It is early yet. The economic recovery has picked up pace  in recent weeks but could be slowed by rising gasoline prices  or any number of unpredictable events in the next 18 months,  such as an unexpected expansion of the Libya conflict.

The stubbornly high jobless rate was the leading factor in  Republican victories last November and Americans weigh the  state of their pocketbooks far more than anything else when  they vote. The jobless rate has dropped a full percentage point  to 8.8 percent in the last five months.

“If the economy does chug along the way it is now a lot of  people may be more comfortable going with Obama,” said Peverill  Squire, a political science professor at the University of  Missouri.