Can the Democrats create a firewall?

[pbrower2a]

Democrats are close to having a firewall. Figure that in every state that Trump lost, even barely, approval for the President is 40% or lower (one cannot win with that) and disapproval is 55% or higher (one gets shut even more). If the low approval is a long-drop hanging, then the high disapproval is a cremation.  There is dead -- and really, really dead.

It gets worse. Neither Michigan nor Pennsylvania looked promising based on the midterm elections, and polling in such states is bad. If Wisconsin, Iowa, or Arizona slips out of reach, then the President can only make desperate gambles... the "must win Virginia even if I lose Ohio" and "must win Colorado even if I put Texas at risk". In such gambles one does not win the target and might lose what one put at risk. If the Democrat plays a good game of electoral chess, then the high risk play of opening a line to one's king just to grab a pawn can be a disaster.

OK, Presidential politics is not chess. A chess player who believes that his opponent has a compelling advantage resigns the game rather than giving a perverse satisfaction to his opponent.