Obama believes he is underdog for 2012 polls

Absolutely, Obama said in interviews when asked whether he was an underdog for re-election.I dont mind. I used to being an underdog. I think that at the end of the day, though, what people are going to say is, whos got a vision for the future that can actually help ordinary families recapture that American dream, Obama said.As recently as the week that ended on September 18, only 68 per cent of liberals told Gallup they approved of the way Obama was handling his job as president.When I ran in 2008, the basic idea was that ordinary folks who are working hard doing everything right, just werent getting ahead. Wages, incomes had flatlined. Costs were going up -- everything from health care to college education, he said.The whole approach of everything Ive tried to do over the last three years is to say, what are those big changes that we have to make so that our kids are getting the best education, weve got the best infrastructure in the world, weve got the tools that allow us to succeed again, he said.The president also admitted that Americans were not better off now than they were four years ago.Obama said he hasnt decided yet what would be his slogan for the 2012 elections. In 2008 polls, it was Yes You Can.I havent quite boiled it down to a bumper sticker yet, but I think whatll define 2012 is our vision for the future. There is going to be a contest of values and vision in 2012.Nobodys going to deny that were not where we need to be, that the economy is not producing enough jobs that pay well and give people a leg up on life. And so the question is, whats most likely to get there? he said.Now, there are going to be some folks who make the argument that if you just slash spending, eliminate regulations that prevent us from polluting our air, polluting our water or, you know, we bust labor unions, that that in and of itself is going to restore the American dream, Obama said.I dont think most Americans believe that. I think they understand that weve got to invest in making sure we got the best education system possible; that weve got to invest in basic research; that part of what made us an economic superpower was we had the best technology, the best infrastructure, and that government has some role to play in that. And so the questions going to be, you know, which vision is more persuasive to the American people? he said.There is going to be a contest of values and vision in 2012. Nobody is going to deny that we are not where we need to be, he said, referring to the economy and high unemployment.