The Plank

by Walter Alarkon - 07/16/08 9:24 AM ET

Because John McCain compares his call for more troops in Afghanistan to the surge in Iraq, he’s likely to get more credit than Barack Obama, the candidate who first called for sending more U.S. troops there, writes Dayo Olopade. Barack Obama is maintaining structural advantages in the electoral math, according to recent state polls that show him ahead in swing states Iowa, Minnesota and Colorado and barely behind McCain in red states South Carolina, South Dakota and North Carolina, according to poll guru Nate Silver.

Tags Barack Obama John McCain