Obama back in Iowa Thursday

DES MOINES - President Barack Obama returns to Iowa Thursday for the second time this month for what his campaign team is calling a “grassroots event” at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

The event comes a day after the Obama campaign released two new ads. One called “Sacred Trust” highlights veterans' issues and the killing of Osama bin Laden. The other, called “Personal,” intertwines the story of Obama being raised by his grandparents and his Medicare policy.

It's the eighth time since January that either the president, first lady Michele Obama or Vice President Joe Biden have traveled to the Hawkeye state, one of nine swing states that are expected to determine the outcome of the 2012 election.

“Even though it's only six electoral votes, I think it's a state they can't lose,” said Chris Larimer, an associate professor of political science at the University of Northern Iowa. “There are states like Iowa and Florida that he won in 2008, and he's got to stop any sort of switch.”

The latest polling reported by The New York Times has Obama at 217 electoral votes and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney at 206 electoral votes. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win.

States still considered in play and their respective electoral votes are: Nevada (6), Colorado (9), Iowa (6), Wisconsin (10), Ohio (18), Pennsylvania (20), Virginia (13), Florida (29) and New Hampshire (4).

Obama's speech Thursday is expected to focus on the economy, an issue that consistently polls at the top of voter issues.

“I think it's an indication of how worried the Obama campaign is about Iowa,” said Eric Woolson, a veteran political strategist who worked on both Tim Pawlenty's and Michele Bachmann's caucus efforts last summer.

“They like the brag how a great start he got in Iowa, and he did,” Woolson said. “But (the frequency of visits) speaks volumes how the president is worried about Iowa.”

Romney, who took some criticism last summer for not putting on a stronger effort during the Iowa caucuses, was in Des Moines last week for a speech where he likened the nation's debt to a “prairie fire.”

Still, Romeny's Iowa effort doesn't appear to be as aggressive as Obama's, at least for the time being.

“We're going to be seeing more of him here,” Woolson said. “In recent years, Iowa hasn't been blue or red. It's been purple. It's going to be a close election in Iowa.”