Obama campaign sees one-third of country as battleground

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) presidential campaign laid out an optimistic general-election map, including traditionally ruby-red states Alaska, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, in its characterization of the 2008 battleground.

In all, the Obama campaign says 18 states are presidential battlegrounds this year — the majority of which went for President Bush in 2004.

{mosads}While acknowledging Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) appeal to independents, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe scoffed at the notion that the GOP nominee can make states like New Jersey, California and Michigan competitive.

Other states Plouffe hopes to play in included Indiana, Montana and North Dakota. The rest are states more traditionally thought of as swing states.

“These are fairly clinical decisions,” Plouffe said Wednesday at a briefing at Democratic National Committee headquarters. “We think, based on polling, based on demographic analysis, based on turnout estimates, based on our ability to improve the electorate more to our liking, that we have a pathway to the majority of the vote.”

The campaign included three states — Minnesota, Oregon and Washington — and half of Maine in its “Lean Obama” category. Maine apportions electoral votes by congressional district, though three of its four votes appear safely in Obama’s column.

The only other state that delegates its electoral votes by congressional district is Nebraska, and the Obama campaign placed the state’s Omaha-based district in its “Lean McCain” category, along with Arizona, Kentucky, Mississippi and four other states.

Plouffe said the campaign’s battleground strategy will be reliant on registering voters — in many cases, black voters in the South — and working with down-ballot candidates.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a co-chairman of McCain’s presidential campaign and a close friend of the Arizona Republican, agreed Wednesday that the 2008 electoral map will be redrawn significantly from 2004.

But he said McCain will cede no ground, starting with New Hampshire, where Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) will appear Friday.

“I think you’ll see John McCain a lot in New Hampshire,” Graham said. “New Hampshire was blue last time. John will be in a lot of those states — Michigan, Minnesota. I think the map will be subject to being rearranged. You’ll see the map being rearranged because of the dynamics of this race.”

Obama and Clinton join up — to pay down debt

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) issued a statement Wednesday thanking Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) for asking his donors to help cover some of her record campaign debt.

“Sen. Clinton appreciates Sen. Obama’s generous efforts and is continuing her efforts to raise the monies he needs to ensure a victory in November,” the statement says.

Clinton also sent an e-mail to supporters of her campaign asking for funds to help ease her more than $10 million in debt.

“As you know, I had to loan money to my campaign at critical moments. I’m not asking for anyone’s help to pay that back. That was my investment and my commitment because I believe so deeply in our cause,” Clinton wrote.

“But I do need your help paying the debts we accrued to others over the course of this campaign. We put everything we had into winning this race, and we came just about as close as you can.”

ABC News reported Tuesday night that Obama asked top contributors to help Clinton retire her debt.

Not coincidentally, his help is being reciprocated at the same time. Clinton was rallying her House supporters behind Obama on Wednesday and will appear at an event Thursday ahead of her first joint campaign appearance with him Friday in Unity, N.H.

— Andy Barr

McCain holds wide advantage as commander in chief

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) beat Democratic candidate Barack Obama (Ill.) by a margin of 25 percentage points when Gallup asked Americans whether each candidate could handle the responsibilities of commander in chief of the U.S. military.

Gallup reported Wednesday that 80 percent think McCain can handle the job, while only 55 percent think Obama can.

Two in five voters say that Obama could not handle the responsibilities of commander in chief, while 17 percent said McCain could not.

Gallup polled 1,625 Americans aged 18 and older June 15-19 for the study.

— Chris Good