Officially, President Obama's visit today to Ohio is to discuss his strategy for reviving the economy and is not a campaign trip.
But in choosing the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, the president also happens to be making his first work-related travel of 2012 to the heart of a battleground state that will be crucial to carrying the state in November.
Cleveland is a huge media market, and turning out the vote in November in the Democratic stronghold will be necessary to offset the GOP-leaning areas elsewhere in the Buckeye State, said Jerry Austin, a Cleveland-based Democratic strategist.
"Wherever they went first in the new year, they knew it was going to send a message," Austin said. "It's not just that they're coming to Ohio. They're not going to Cincinnati; they're not going to Dayton; they're not going to Columbus; they're going to Cleveland. Cleveland is the key to victory in Ohio for Obama."
The White House would reveal few details about the speech he will deliver at Shaker Heights High School that will focus on his vision for growing the economy and creating jobs -- and setting his strategy apart from Republicans.
Obama beat Sen. John McCain 52%-47% in Ohio in 2008, and the 2012 race is shaping up to be even closer. Ohio's economy has struggled mightily but has made progress as the economy has slowly recovered. The unemployment rate, which stood at a staggering 10.6% two years ago, is now 8.5%.
GOP presidential contenders Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney narrowly edge Obama, according to last month's Quinnipiac University poll.
Obama's trip to Ohio will begin an effort to spotlight his administration's effort to create jobs, while charging that Republicans -- most notably those in the House of Representatives-- have stood in the way.
Paul Beck, a political scientist at Ohio State University, said that the strategy of framing Republicans as obstructionists could be perilous for Obama.
"He faces a dilemma," Beck said. "He wants to appeal to independents, and that's where the election is going to be won or lost in 2012, and he needs to be careful in not looking too partisan in doing that."
