Reports: Romney giving up on Pennsylvania (?!)

[Torie]

Per The Mikado map, and assuming that NH has gone irredeemably "socialist" despite my expectations otherwise (maybe it is just too "Godless"), methinks Mittens is going to find that Des Moines is the fairest city in the land.  Heck maybe I can induce him to have a rally on my farm just down the road in Winterset. Maybe I should switch my registration to Winterset come to think of it (I could move into a little house currently vacant, which has a great view of the river, and is very private which makes it just perfect for me), and that way I could vote for Latham too, since Winterset is now in that CD, and get a "twofer." No I won't show him the pot plants on the spread next door. The Torie mans finds out everything; nothing can be hidden from him.

[Torie]

I would think PA would be more winnable than MI for a number of reasons (auto bailout, fracking/coal, slightly more Catholics, higher Appalachian hating of Obama than in 08)

White Catholics are much more Democratic than white Protestants, and PA is also a strong manufacturing state.

I tend to doubt that, if you exclude the South, which skews things. Of course, the divide between evangelical Protestants and mainliners is probably more dramatic, than white Protestant versus Catholic politically. It would be interesting to research that actually.

Anyway, the odds are low that PA will be at the mean national average or leaning Pub. In other words, if Mittens wins PA, he most probably will not have needed to win it to hit the magic 270.

[Torie]

No, white Catholics are still more D than mainliners; they're like 51-48 McCain.

Adjusted for geography?