Obama Reintroduces Himself

Barack Obama is going back to basics as he launches his general election campaign, the Washington Post reports. The Democrat's first ad is a getting-to-know-you effort, recounting his biography and his values. “You can't presume that everybody was paying attention during the primary season,” explains one adviser—or, between the lines, that many Americans might still believe Internet-borne rumors.

Misinformation about Obama may be the candidate’s biggest weakness, but he has the financial edge to combat it. His initial ad is running in a whopping 18 states, including traditional Republican strongholds. “He is not trying to cobble together the old Democratic coalition of interest groups and get 48 percent,” said one GOP media consultant. “This is an aggressive leap… to play on Republican turf.” (More Barack Obama stories.)