Matt Zeitlin says the idea that Obama “needs” to win Appalachia is “just wrong”. And, of course, he has a point when he writes that “It’s just true that Obama doesn’t need the states that the media keeps on telling the Democrats they need to focus on. If Obama can win the Kerry states and flip Iowa, New Mexico and Colorado, he has the election.”
Nonetheless, that’s a hefty “if”. Theoretically, Ohio should be a can’t lose proposition for Democrats this year. Pennsylvania may be too. But…
The issue, however, is not one of “must win states” but of how wide a front Obama is going to fight on. The logic of Howard Dean’s sensible “50 state” strategy is that conceding any region of the country makes your candidate’s task very much more difficult: you reduce your margin of error or mishap.
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