GOP takes aim at Obama's re-election bid

Republicans are taking aim at President Obama's formal entry into the 2012 presidential election, with particular focus on the Democrat's record on creating jobs.

In a new website, ad and fundraising campaign launched today, the Republican National Committee says "hope isn't hiring." The RNC ad features a clip of Velma Hart, the Obama supporter who told the president at a town hall meeting in September that she was "exhausted" defending him and his policies.

The RNC is asking supporters to donate toward a goal of raising $270,000 in the next 72 hours -- or $1,000 for every electoral vote needed to win the White House. Obama filed the paperwork today to run for a second term, signalling that he will begin fundraising in earnest for the next campaign, which is expected to cost more than $1 billion.

Here's some of what RNC Chairman Reince Priebus had to say:

President Obama's reelection campaign is off and running, meaning once again the president is putting politics ahead of the work of the people. ...As the debt and reckless spending championed by this administration threatens to snuff out the recovery and future job growth, the President's conscious decision to take a back seat on leadership is downright irresponsible. Simply put, America can't afford four more years of Barack Obama.

GOP presidential hopefuls are also targeting Obama and his campaign announcement. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney said on Twitter: "I look forward to hearing details on your jobs plan, as are 14m unemployed Americans."

GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is slamming President Obama's record on creating jobs.

Ex-Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, the only GOP candidate so far to file the papers for a presidential exploratory committee, pokes fun with a video of his own by using a catch phrase that Obama has been using lately.

"How can America 'Win the Future' when we're losing the present," Pawlenty asks. "In order for America to take a new direction, it's going to take a new president."

USA TODAY's David Jackson has more on President Obama's re-election campaign in The Oval.