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:

Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Launch Video - "It Begins With Us"  Transcript

Ed, North Carolina: Well it seems like the last couple of elections that we've had have been almost kind of turning point campaigns.

Gladys, Nevada: Kind of nervous about it. It's like it's coming. Here it is. 2012, the election.

Katherine, Colorado: I think it needs to reflect the changes that we've seen in the last 2 1/2 years. Then we had an underdog Senator. Nobody thought that he had a chance, and now he's the President.

Mark, New York: I just saw the energy and hope that he had for this country. Even though I couldn't exactly vote at the time, I knew that someday I'd be able to help re-elect him. And that's what I plan on doing.

Gladys: We're not leaving it up to chance; we're not leaving it up to oh, you know, the incumbent. The type of thing is an election that we have to win.

Alice, Michigan: And unfortunately President Obama's one person. He cannot go—plus he got a job, you know, we're paying him to do a job so we can't say hey could you just take some time off and come and get us all energized. So we better figure it out.

Ed: I can't not be involved. There's just too much that is fundamentally important right now that's going on.

Gladys: As a community we all have the same concerns. We all want our kids to go to school and learn, we want them to graduate, we want jobs to be out there, we want people to have homes, we want people to have opportunity.

Ed: I don't agree with Obama on everything, but I respect him and I trust him.

Gladys: There are so many things that are still on the table that need to be addressed, and we want them to be addressed by President Obama.

Katherine: I had this perception that politics was all show, it was all sound bites, but politics is how we govern ourselves. That's what politics is. At the grassroots level it's individuals talking to other individuals and making a difference.

In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.

We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.

This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.

There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012

Thank you,

Barack