Rove: Election played on GOP side of the electoral map

Republican strategist Karl Rove on Sunday said the race for the White House is currently played on the GOP side of the map but noted that “rapid changes” could again alter the picture. 

Rove, who has Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leading in enough states to clinch the electoral vote, noted on Fox News Sunday that the Illinois senator has solidified his advantages in blue states while the race is tightening in several states President Bush carried in the last election.

{mosads}“Obama has forced this more on to the Republican turf and off of the Democratic turf, and that's where you'd like to be at this point,” Rove said. According to state polls, the GOP strategist has Obama leading in states with 273 electoral votes while Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) is ahead in states with 163 electoral votes.

Rove believes that the recent swing can be contributed more to McCain’s perceived handling of the economic crisis than an upswing on the part of Obama.

“What we may be seeing is people reacting to McCain suspending his campaign, which may have – they’ve seen as a political gesture, coming back, and not getting something done initially with the failure of the bill to pass the House a week ago Monday,” Rove said.

He had no explanation for why the McCain camp announced its withdrawal from Michigan, a blue state in which the campaign once believed it could challenge Obama.

“Remember, each side has now pulled out of states. We had Obama pulling out of Alaska, North Dakota, Nebraska, Georgia, all states where he spent a lot of money. So each side has to start making these kind of decisions,” Rove said. “The question is whether you do it smartly like Obama did, very quietly, or whether you do it in a high-profile leak, as the McCain camp did.”

However, Rove also pointed out that there is still a month to go before the election and that recent trends can be reversed.

“The campaign ebbs and flows. What we're seeing here is a result of the focus of the American people and of voters on the economic problems that have dominated the news the last several weeks. And what has happened then has been a shift to Obama,” Rove said. “Just remember, though, 17 days ago in the electoral college McCain led 227 to 216. Fifteen days ago, on the eve of the news on the bailout, he led 216 to 215. This race is susceptible to rapid changes, and we're likely to see in the remaining four weeks more.”