Obama camp sees possible win without Ohio, Florida

[ecstatic]

FLINT, Mich. (AP) - Barack Obama's campaign envisions a path to the presidency that could include Virginia, Georgia and several Rocky Mountain states, but not necessarily the pair of battlegrounds that decided the last two elections - Florida and Ohio.

...
In a private pitch late last week to donors and former supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe outlined several alternatives to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House that runs counter to the conventional wisdom of recent elections.

...
At a fundraiser held at a Washington brewery Friday, Plouffe told a largely young crowd that the electoral map would be fundamentally different from the one in 2004. Wins in Ohio and Florida would guarantee Obama the presidency if he holds onto the states won by Democrat John Kerry, Plouffe said, but those two battlegrounds aren't required for victory.

...

"You have a lot of ways to get to 270," Plouffe said. "Our goal is not to be reliant on one state on November 4th."

...

He wraps up the pitches by asking Democrats to imagine Obama taking the oath of office. On Friday at the Capitol City Brewery, about a block from where that would happen, Plouffe pointed toward the Capitol steps to reinforce the visual.

http://news.aol.com/elections/story/_a/obama-camp-sees-possible-win-without/n20080616041109990002?cid=435

GOBAMA!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. If Obama wins every state that Kerry won, and picks up VA, CO, NM or any

number of other states in play like NC and even GA, then he doesn't need OH and FL. But I don't want his camp writing off those states because people continue to tell him that he can't win. He WILL win MI and MO. I believe that he'll also win VA, CO and even has a shot in NM and NH. Yes, I said it: New Hampshire. NH is turning bluer with every election. I believe that states trending blue like CO, like VA, like NC and even NM are up for grabs. Hell, I think McSame's home state of AZ is even up for grabs. Napolitano is very, very popular and may help Obama. The demographics are rapidly changing as well, with more college students and Hispanics.

[mod mom]

20. Well seeing that Ohio now has a fair SoS and we're busy registering many new voters

and Kerry would have won Ohio in 2004 had not purges, and disenfranchisement of Af Am occurred, I don't see why Sen Obama can't win Ohio.

[40ozDonkey]

2. "Our goal is not to be reliant on one state..."

Hallelujah.

[demokatgurrl]

3. It seems to me that the campaign should NOT be saying this

Couldn't it come across as dissing two states? And besides, I think they are wrong.

[NatBurner]

yep. at least out loud

i was surprised to see it in print

[ecstatic]

22. I kind of agree but it was supposed to be a PRIVATE fundraiser

For some reason, the private fundraisers aren't so private. At least not the ones Obama holds.

[loyalsister]

4. Refreshing

Not to be desperately clinging to one win or the other.
It's also smart to not put the campaign in a cutthroat position.
It's easier to manipulate the other person's campaign if you know where they are focused. What a dumb strategy this has been all along!

[mrreowwr_kittty]

5. That's what I'm talkin' about! Nothing against the people of FL and OH

But those are 2 states that we do not need to waste time and resources in. I'm tired of watching them screw us over. Let McCain have 'em while we focus on better pick-up opportunities in the West.

[Zachstar]

6. FL is almost a write off.

#1 Because of the type of many people there it is perfect for McCain

#2 McCain is kissing up to space travel supporters. The Space Industry there will like McCain.



OH Tho I think Obama can take the state with some serious work. And while it is good to be prepared to lose it. I think Obama needs to atleast try there.

[harun]

8. I think FL is a write off. Also agree with the rest of your comments.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

7. It's freakin' stupid. Adds insult to injury. FLA has a lot more electoral votes than the others.

I'm really trying to think postive about Obama but if he continues to slap Florida around - it won't be so easy. I'm also trying to get people to vote for him and it has been very difficult.

[themaguffin]

9. no it does not. honestly, there are many paths & it's good to keep Mcsame scamblin'

[mrreowwr_kittty]

10. And a corrupt elections system that will hand them to the GOP once again no matter what we do.

They will still engage in the same voter supression tactics they've done the last 2 elections.

[BzaDem]

12. But the land of Georgia, which we keep losing by near double digits, will be corruption-free? n/t

[mrreowwr_kittty]

13. I didn't say anything about GA. I figure we'll lose that.

We have a better chance in NC and SC, as far as Southern states go.

[dbmk]

19. Well, the headline wasn't in the quotes

I saw nothing in the actual story that said they would not compete for OH and FL.

[BzaDem]

11. OH and FL add up to 47 electoral votes. Which states are you thinking that we can flip that add up

to 47?

That reasoning baffles me. It's easier to flip a state that we consistently lose by 6-9 points (that also has very few electoral votes) than it is to flip a state like Ohio that we only lost by 2 points?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

14. NV, NM, CO, IA, MO, and VA add up to 50. nt

[BzaDem]

15. So you are saying it is easier to win all of those

some which have gone reliably R for several election cycles, than it is to win two states that are almost always within a 0-5 point margin?

[mrreowwr_kittty]

17. Yes, I am.

Ohio may pleasantly surprise us because they have a new SOS, but FL is still a cesspool of GOP corruption. FL will be "delivered" for the Republicans yet again. All the states I mentioned are definitely in play.

[jumptheshadow]

16. Bad, bad strategy

First, he is essentially telling the voters of those states that they don't matter. Ohio is probably winnable in a close race and it's not a great move to shave votes by discounting the entire state. Florida is much more difficult, but has gone Democratic in the past. The Obama campaign needs to begin making alliances with older voters. They have to start thinking innovatively about how to capture this group. They are by no means a lost cause, if anybody in the campaign has some smarts and can get beyond their blinders.

It's not a great start. I am hoping for smarter thinking in this campaign.

[Stinky The Clown]

18. This is being reported in a way that distorts the story ....

The campaign is clearly saying that we can win this way ..... or that way ..... or that way, or that way .......

The media reporting frames the story in a way that leads the viewer to conclude that the campaign has given up on strongly campaigning in Florida or Ohio. That's clearly wrong. But that's what they wold have us think.

[ecstatic]

23. Exactly. The headline gives the wrong impression nt

[dbmk]

21. Its rather obvious that something will change from the Kerry map

http://www.electoral-vote.com/ has him at 304 atm. with Ohio but without Florida. Thats 284 without OH and FL.