EMPORIA: US President Barack Obama said Tuesday he sees a "close" 2012 re-election contest due to what he described as "difficult circumstances" in the economy.
In a television interview, Obama said the November 2012 election would be crucial as it would determine "not just what happens over the next four years, but what'll happen over the next 20 or 30 years."
Obama, who spoke to ABC News while on a campaign-style bus tour through the crucial swing states of North Carolina and Virginia, acknowledged that the lame economy meant he had a battle ahead.
"I guarantee it's going to be a close election because the economy is not where it wants to be and even though I believe all the choices we've made have been the right ones, we're still going through difficult circumstances.
"That means people who may be sympathetic to my point of view still kind of feel like, yeah, but it still hasn't gotten done yet... This is going to be a close election and a very important one for the American people."
Obama said earlier this month that because of the sputtering economic recovery and 9.1 percent unemployment he would be the underdog when he faces off against an as yet unknown Republican challenger next November.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and the rising star in the opinion polls, former pizza company executive Herman Cain, are currently leading the battle for the Republican nomination.
Texas Governor Rick Perry has been plummeting in the polls after some poor debate performances but is still considered in the hunt.
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