President Obama launched his 2012 re-election campaign Wednesday afternoon in his speech to students at George Washington University. It had been billed as an address about the federal budget, but, from the outset, it was the kickoff for his re-election bid.

Unfortunately, his speech centered on dividing the people in this country based on class and wealth. This is not healthy for this country and is guaranteed to ignite extremely strong debate in Congress as well as throughout the country.

As has been noted numerous times, just a few days before the November 2008 presidential election, Obama told a large crowd of supporters that they were only days away from the opportunity to bring about “fundamental” changes in this country.

He acknowledged in his Wednesday speech that this is his vision and goal for America. He wants government to control the lives and activities of more and more Americans, a gradual drive into a welfare state, socialism and class-against-class divisions. It will pit old against young and vice versa, poor against wealthy and vice versa, healthy against the ill and vice versa, the employed against the unemployed and vice versa, and on and on.

It’s not healthy for this country, and he is using the historic debt he is creating as justification for his long-time and deep desire to change this country. As he said, it is a fundamental change.

It should be remembered that his former chief of staff said, “never let a good crisis go to waste.”

The president is following up on this advice and using the very genuine fiscal crisis facing this country as the platform for his re-election effort. Other Obama campaign advisers prior to the 2008 election also advised him that “fear” is the most powerful and effective device to use in a campaign.

Obama’s upcoming debt ceiling and budget battles and the current fiscal crisis all feed into the Obama re-election strategy.

There seems justification to have serious concerns about the Obama dream and vision for changing this country. For sure, it is almost guaranteed to bring about a heated, bitter, divisive campaign that has the potential to divide rather than bring this country together.

How many Americans want to fundamentally change this country? This will be the question facing those who go to the polls in 2012 to select this nation’s president.