First Read: "There were two things that stood out to us that the president tried to do in his stump speech during his official campaign kickoff events in Ohio and Virginia: (1) His attempt to answer - or re-frame -- the question, 'Are you better off than four years ago?' The Obama campaign knows that is a powerful question and a powerful argument against their campaign with a sluggish economy and they tried to pre-but it by asking, instead, "Will we BE better off" years down the road? It was the most important thing he tried to do -- and the first POSITIVE campaign ad from the campaign doubles down on this; and (2) He tried to paint Romney as an empty vessel, an unknown, just an investor, who will acquiesce and go along with whatever congressional Republicans will want to do."