Arizona GOP Chief Echoes Ben Quayle: "Barack Obama is the Worst President in History." Dems Say Arizona's "in Play" for President

President Barack Obama announced yesterday that he will seek a second term in office, despite the piss-poor economy, the high unemployment rate, the border mess, Libya, Japan, the housing crisis, and flaking on campaign promises like closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Let the rhetoric commence.

On the Republican side, GOP Party Chief Tom Morrissey played the card made famous (more like infamous) by Congressman Ben Quayle in last year's election. 

"Congressman Ben Quayle was right when he said Obama is the worst President ever," Morrissey says in a statement.

Morrissey cites how "retail gas prices have doubled, food prices have risen 30 percent (the highest since Jimmy Carter), the national debt has increased by more than 40%, and foreclosures and unemployment are running at historic highs."

"Obama has spent about $500 million in his 'humanitarian' bombing of Gadhafi while ignoring the human carnage of civilian deaths in Mexico," he continues. "He is deploying American Marines around the world to secure foreign borders while refusing to secure Arizona's border with Mexico to protect American citizens from international terrorists, as well as the ruthless criminal acts of drug and human smuggling cartels. America cannot withstand another two years of Obama's feckless policies let alone the specter of another term of an Obama Administration."

Despite all that, Arizona Dems think normally Republican-voting Arizona is "in play" for the president.

Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Luis Heredia cites a New York Times article, in which Obama campaign manager Jim Messina says the campaign could win in the Grand Canyon State.

"If you look at the new census numbers, you would think that Georgia would be in play. You would definitely think that Arizona would be in play -- as I think it is. Those are states where we didn't play in last time," Messina is quoted as saying in the article.

Obama nearly won Arizona in 2008 -- but he was running against Republican Senator John McCain who'd managed to piss off even the top brass of Arizona's Republican Party. Obama also didn't have his own record working against him in the 2008 campaign.