President Obama formally kicked off his re-election campaign in Richmond, Va., and Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, and his theme was certainly not, shall we say, “it’s morning again in America” — President Ronald Reagan’s optimistic re-election slogan in 1984.

Obama’s central message was more like: “Hey, I realize things look bad, and I’m not going to pretend you want four more years of this. But just think how much worse it would have been without me and how much worse it’s going to get if you get rid of me.”