OK the Obama plan so far is good, organizations in 50 states but of course focusing more on a smaller set of swing states.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/07/AR2008060702222.html?hpid=topnews

Start with the sates Kerry won then add CO NV NM, IA, VA and NC and hold OH too.

Comments:

Nice to see the expand the map strategy leavened with a strong dose of reality: in the end it comes down to a fairly predictable handful of swing states.

(Um, as HRC been sayin'.)

Concerns:

Why don't they mention MI and FL where Obama is behind right now?

FL is 4th largest state and growing, why let it slip out of our grasp this time, which could mean it goes red permanently like Texas.

TX 2 or 3d largest, I forget which; We've got Cal. forever; we've got NY which is shrinking in population; we've got tons of Democrats moving from the Midwest and NE to FL, we've got an advantage in Jewish voters in FL, we have AAs there, the snowbirds moving there in retirement are not so richy rich, we have inceasingly more Central American and other non right wing Cubans there...what say we fucking take it back and put it out of "the South" and into our camp permanently. Right? Instead of ....giving it away.

That way we'd have 3 of 4 largest states, a great base for winning the electoral college election after election and getting to those 60 Senators we need to actually pass anything.

We should be dreaming big.

Meanwhile we can't afford to be letting MI slip either.

And the current polls, some of them showing Obama just one point ahead of McCain, show we are far, far behind where we should be when Democrats generically and on the issues are waaaaay ahead of Republicans.

Another note: we need every single Latino in CO NV NM and every single white Democratic or swing voter in NC and VA.

So, we need SW states with latinos, Southern states where the swingiest voters are white and we need to hold and/or get OH MI (full of Archie Bunkers and "urgan ethnics" in the old neighborhoods and rural deer-shootin', snowmobiling, gun lovin' Reagan Democrats).

Meanwhile we seem to be writing off Fl AR WV and states like KY where a Harold Ford came within about 4 points........

Hopefully Obama spends his vast resources and does his ground up organization in all those types of states, and all those demographics, too.

Food for thought.

Unity, y'all.

Backpedaling. (Spelling counts)

Ford TN not KY

Fixed it, thanks.

It's nice to see that after 40 years, the UW is trying to catch up to Western.

I can't wait to hear what the NRA has to say about the Tokyo knifing.

Knives don't kill people, people kill people!

@1

Who is PC?

Oh look, Iraq's democratically-elected leadership is offering Iran assurances about what the U.S. military will or won't do on Iraqi soil. It's so cute how they think they're in charge of what happens in their country.

Remember, Iraqis, your democracy is based on the U.S. model -- your vote only counts if you vote for what the rulers have decided they were going to do anyway.

@ 6

The NRA would say that if the people had guns they wouldn't have been stabbed. Never bring a knife to a gun fight lol.

Anyways being in a red state, NC, I am glad that Obama will be visiting my state and hopefully with some regularity. I think Obama could actually pull Va and if not win bring NC into a playing field. The good thing with Obama, and I do support him if there was any doubt, is that he has the money to go to every state. Old man McCain doesn't have the money right now, and may never have the money. Obama is going to put McCain on the defense in the red states and McCain isn't going to have the ability to go on an offensive in the blue states. I think that Obama's ability to spend money well, as shown by taking on Hillary Clinton and winning, will do good against the Republican Machine.

In response to a query, askthebugman took a dim view of birdmitemania a few weeks ago:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/31/HO3110URJF.DTL&hw=richard+fagerlund&sn=004&sc=344

A: Bird mites will move into buildings and bite people if their normal host, pigeons, are eradicated and the nests aren't removed and the area treated.

They won't burrow into your skin, or crawl in your eyes, nose, ears or other orifices. Most people who claim they have mites doing that are victims of delusions of parasitosis.