[ConservativeDude]

great minds think alike....

i find it incredible that WV may well hold the key to the presidential election. what's scary, though, is that it is a D state which happened to go for GWB last round.

when the race comes down to 5 states, it is also incredible that issues which may strongly resonate in those states but not elsewhere may decide the race. for example, i am inclined to think that although WV is Dem., is there really a big constituency for gay "marriage" there? obviously cuba is a big issue in FL.

i'm sure there are other even more local issues in these battlegrounds, also. the more local an issue becomes, the harder it is to manage, also...and the less likely that the national ops are going to understand it.

whoever masters the local politics in these five states will win. most other states aren't in play, at all.

[dmc8576]

I think you're right about WV. Cultural issues will put Bush over the top there. I am more worried about Nevada. I don't know how much the media overplays the whole Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site issue. That could potentially bring Bush down, or so the media says. But who knows?

I am getting more and more confident about Ohio and Florida each day. I really think Bush will hold onto those states. I think NH is lost, but Wisconsin is a potential pickup. Other than that, I think the states should stay the way they were in 2000.

Bush just needs to take care of WV or Nevada (preferably both). If he loses both states, I think he loses the election. If he wins 1, he will probably win. And if he wins both, I am confident he will get reelected.

[Meldrim]

West Virginia. Time to work on Wisconsin and shore up New Hampshire: Maine may be doable as well.