O-Ba-Ma: White House 2012 Rocks Boca

Using the State of the Union to tacitly respond to months of GOP debate potshots, or using the surrogates to zing Romney on his tax returns on Twitter isn’t anything like finally, with Santorum falling by the wayside, taking the gloves off, lacing up the track shoes and entering full campaign mode.

If Obama, playing the long game, is able to plod along for interminably long stretches in classic wonk style, parsing differences, holding out for consensus (whether it comes, or in most cases, it doesn’t) and arbitrating between his team of rivals, nothing gets him going, nothing ups his tempo like a campaign. Shades of Denver and Berlin, the “Buffet rule” blitz in the bizarro-land of Florida will serve, in so many single scenes, as a preview of coming attraction to be played and replayed from now until the last lever handle is pulled in November.

Fasten your seatbelt for:

Oh, so much running.

So many stadiums, and analogies to sports and championship runs, and seas of floating cell screens, and maybe even a replay, in some form, of the critique of the Prez as all too celebrity- and “One”-like.

Impassioned encounters with seniors not so keen on losing the Medicare.

And young people, fickle as they are, getting some of that hope-electricity flowing again.

Finally, enough of that boring and near-futile governing business. It’s show time!

(photo 1: Marc Serota / Getty Images caption: People listen and take pictures as U.S. President Barack Obama speaks on the economy at Florida Atlantic University on April 10, 2012 in Boca Raton, Florida. The President made the case for the Buffet Rule, a principle for fairness that ensures that millionaires pay at least the same effective tax rate as middle class families pay.photo 2: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters photo 3, 4 & 5: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.)