President Obama officially launched his re-election campaign this week, with the release of a campaign video "It Begins with Us." Except for former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, few of the expected 2012 GOP presidential hopefuls have officially thrown their hats into the ring, including major players like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin.

Instead of featuring footage of the President Obama speaking, the video focuses on voters across the country who plan on voting for him. Of particular interest is a voter in North Carolina who states that, while he does not agree with the president on everything, he still plans to campaign for him. Washington insiders are taking this segment to mean that the campaign will focus on maximizing the president's personal appeal rather than his economic record, at least in the early goings of the campaign.

Administration Releases "Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future"

The Obama Administration last week released its "Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future, " which, among other things, aims to reduce oil imports by one third over the next decade. The plan envisions a combination of policies working together, including increasing domestic oil and gas production, vehicle and building energy efficiency, and research and development funding for clean energy sources. But the GOP response has been lukewarm at best.

"We are the only country in the world that has vast resources that we are not tapping, and we will not be able to cut one-third of our imports without developing our own resources," said Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX). "Right now, they are not permitting [drilling] in the deep water in the Gulf of Mexico, which is our second largest opportunity. Alaska is our first largest opportunity, and we are prohibited from most of the drilling in Alaska."

Lack of Republican support for the plan means that it is unlikely to form the basis of energy legislation that could move through the Republican-controlled House.

Ryan to Release GOP Budget Plan as Shutdown Threat Looms

Over the weekend, House Budget Committee Chairman Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his staff put the finishing touches on the Republican budget proposal. The plan is expected to be made public on this week, but Ryan has offered some of the details.

Of particular interest is how the plan will reform Medicare and Medicaid. Social Security is expected to remain untouched. While it is likely few changes will be made for current seniors, going forward the plan will change Medicare by implementing what Ryan calls a "premium support plan." It works like the Medicare prescription drug benefit, similar to Medicare Advantage today, which means Medicare puts a list of plans out there that compete against each other for business. Seniors pick the plan of their choosing, and then Medicare subsidizes that plan.

Requirements on states receiving Medicaid funds would be loosened under one of the proposal's provisions. Ryan's plan is expected to fund Medicaid through "block grants to the states," though the details will not be made known until the plan is released. Overall, the plan proposes to reduce the federal budget deficit by $4 trillion through budget cuts and reforms.

Democrats, meanwhile, have already attacked the plan based on what details are already known. They claim that Ryan's plan for Medicare is simply a voucher program that will simply not pay for future seniors' healthcare instead of bringing savings by reducing overall healthcare costs. Representative Chris van Hollen (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Budget Committee, attacked Ryan's proposals, stating that "although our Republican colleagues have not yet released their proposed budget resolution, all indications are that they would like to dismantle the Medicaid program, doing serious damage to the health care safety net in this country, particularly for senior citizens and persons with disabilities who rely on Medicaid for long-term care."

Republicans, meanwhile, expect the fight to get their budget proposal passed will be tough, but they consider it a necessary step in tackling the federal deficit. To gain greater leverage, Republican senators like John Cornyn (R-TX), Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) have stated they will vote against raising the debt ceiling later this month if "systematic reforms" to entitlement programs are not enacted.

Entitlement programs, especially Medicare, are the largest drivers of the federal government's long-term budget deficit. If the debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion is not raised once it is reached later this month, the U.S. government would default on its debt, with grave consequences for the American and world economies.

In addition, the nation is poised to endure a government shutdown in the coming days. No funds have been appropriated for federal departments past April 8, so once that date passes, the federal government will shut down, unless some type of budget compromise can be hammered out and passed by Congress.

Freshman House Republicans are demanding further cuts to discretionary spending, though it is uncertain whether Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) will be able to deliver on such cuts. Boehner spent the past week trying to keep Republicans united behind him while trying to get members of the Democratic caucus to back a compromise as well.

According to the president's official Facebook page, he "spoke to Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Reid today, urging both sides to reach a final solution and avoid a government shutdown that would be harmful to our economic recovery."