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BY VICTORIA CRAIG Did President Barack Obama commit campaign fraud? That's the allegation coming from RNC Chairman Reince Preibus after a recent presidential tour. MSNBC explains the controversy. "President Obama made trips to campuses in North Carolina, Colorado and Iowa to talk about the cost of college. The Republican National Committee filed a formal complaint alleging taxpayer dollars are being used for his campaign events." Preibus filed the formal complaint this week to the GAO — the Government Accountability Office. In it, he expresses "concern" about the president's trips, which the RNC chair calls campaign rallies. The New York Times says the line between official presidential duties and campaign stops are increasingly blurred — and explains why some believe the president is mixing politics and policy. "The president sandwiched [a] 34-minute speech, billed as an official address on his so-called Buffett Rule ...amid three overtly partisan fund-raisers that accounted for the bulk of his time along the south Florida coast...The trips yield a payoff not only in donations...but also in local headlines trumpeting Mr. Obama's message of the day." So, campaigner-in-chief on the taxpayer dime? Or official stops for presidential duties? You decide. Check out this snippet from Mr. Obama's stop in North Carolina. "That's what drives me every single day: Your hopes, your dreams. And I'm not quitting now because in America we don't quit." Cheering crowds, partisan talking points. Still, not everyone is buying the argument the president is in perpetual campaign mode. The Huffington Post asks readers to think back to 2004... "George W. Bush encountered the same when he was running for re-election in 2004. The White House and Obama's campaign insist that they are in compliance with the law. The campaign (and Democratic National Committee) cover the cost of the president's campaign travel." So here's a look at the headlines eight years ago... USAToday: "Bush enjoys travel advantage on taxpayer-financed Air Force One." Washington Post: "Bush election officials broke electioneering law, federal agency reports" Spokesman Review: "Taxpayers to pick up Bush's travel" If it's a method used over and over again, why hasn't the American public caught on yet? CNN explains there's an important distinction to be made...but it isn't always clear-cut. "There's sort of this issue of who's paying for it — is it the taxpayers? Or is this a real official event? And we've heard that every time the president goes out on these trips to key battleground states and I think that's what's really irked the Republican Party." But anchors for "Fox and Friends" say official events or campaign rallies, it's the perpetual campaigning — for all presidents — that's really irking the American taxpayer. "If that's the case, then maybe it's time for a little rule change. Because it does seem like campaigning is almost imminent right after inauguration. And that bugs some people." A White House correspondent for CBS News notes — since the president filed for re-election a year ago, he's made 60 domestic trips, including 26 fundraisers.