Thursday, October 2, 2008

McCain pulls up stakes in Michigan

This is by far the bigger news than any set of polls run recently. The McCain campaign is closing their offices in Michigan and removing advertising for the the airwaves. The Michigan staff will be sent to Wisconsin.

From the outset Michigan looked like a winnable blue state for McCain. The political climate there is such that a GOP win looked to be within reach. If you would have asked me over the last few weeks what is the one state Obama cannot afford to lose, I would have said Michigan and its 17 electoral votes. I have never worried too much about Pennsylvania.

In an election year that is best by described by "throw the bums out", Michigan is a unique state because it has a Democratic controlled House, Senate, and Governor's mansion. Let us not forget the Democratic mayor of Detroit who can't stay out of the news for more than a week. The economy has tanked in Michigan harder than just about anywhere. It is a perfect storm for a Democratic loss. One wonders what Mitt Romney on the bottom of the ticket would have been able to do here.

Securing Michigan means Obama has less territory to defend. The electoral battle is being fought in pretty much all red states. With Obama now leading in Virginia, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, New Mexico, Iowa, and Nevada, McCain needs a game changer and needs one quick. I expect to see some haymakers thrown by the McCain campaign in the next week.

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