Obama makes case in major swing state ad ‘Go,’ launches $25 million ad buy

President Obama’s campaign is out with a minute-long ad, “Go,” touting the administration’s record and reminding voters how bad things were in 2008.

The Obama campaign is planning to spend $25 million on ads this month, senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters Monday.

The ad starts with grim footage of the economic meltdown — “all before this president took the oath.”

Over shots of tea party protesters, the narrator says, “Some thought our best days were behind us, but not him. He believed in us.”

The ad highlights the auto industry rescue, the death of Osama bin Laden, the end of the war in Iraq and job growth. It’s a more focused version of Web videos put out by the campaign last month touting Obama’s accomplishments and highlighting the crisis he inherited.

“We’re not there yet. It’s still too hard for too many,” the ad concludes. “But we’re coming back, because America’s greatness comes from a strong middle class. Because you don’t quit, and neither does he.”

The use of bin Laden’s death is a sign that Obama will keep using that foreign policy victory, which Republicans have deemed inappropriate, on the campaign trail.

The new ad will air in Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Nevada.

The $25 million buy will include different ads in different states, but “Go” will air in all nine. “This is foundational; everyone will see this,” Axelrod told reporters. The campaign also plans to “respond vigorously” to attacks from former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, Axelrod said.

While Obama seeks to remind voters how bad things were when he took office, Romney is emphasizing how bad they are now.

“Americans will hear a lot from President Obama in the coming months, but what they won’t hear from him is the fact that his policies have wreaked havoc on the middle class,” said Romney campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg in a statement. “Americans know they’re not better off than they were four years ago.”