U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at a Democratic Party fundraiser at the Navy Pier in Chicago, the United States, April 14, 2011. President Obama returned to his hometown Chicago on Thursday to kick start his campaign for a second term, and raise millions of dollars to finance his 2012 re-election bid. [Xinhua/Jiang Xintong]

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday on campaign trail he can make the case for a second term, and voters will come to see him as the candidate best prepared to serve as president by next year's elections, according to an interview he gave to the U.S. media.

In an exclusive interview he gave the Associated Press, Obama acknowledged that the state of the economy could be his biggest hurdle to clear in winning reelection.

"I think the economy's going to continue to improve, and I think I'm going to be able to make an effective case that... I am the person who is best prepared to finish the job so that we are on track to succeed in the 21st century," Obama said in the video interview conducted in Chicago, where he attended fund-raising events the previous night.

"I think I can make that case, and I think that, in the debates that take place over the next 18 months, the American people will feel that I deserve a second term," he said.

Chicago is Obama's home, and the president's reelection campaign headquarters is also located there. He made the reelection announcement on April 4. According to a Gallup poll released on Friday, Obama's approval rating stood at 41 percent, an all time low. Gallup said the figure was fueled by economic dissatisfaction.