Andrea Mitchell: If PA is in play it's all over for Obama

[J. J.]

I think it is in play in terms of the gap will be under five points, but I highly doubt Romney will actually win Pennsylvania.  The point is it has 20 electoral votes so if there is any chance it winning even if only 10%, it is worth going after.  Also it might indirectly help Romney in other states as it will force Obama to defend it meaning he has less money to spend on other swing states.  This strategy is one the Conservatives here in Canada have successfully used, otherwise go after ridings that are competitive but they don't actually expect to win and by doing this they tie down the opposition and it has worked out quite well for them.

I am still calling it for Obama; this time tomorrow, I may not.  I should be able to tell what my precinct's turnout is and that is generally a bellweather. 

It wasn't a feint by Romney.  Obama started with radio ads first: he was worried about it.  It has gotten very tight, very quickly.   

[7,052,770]

I think it is in play in terms of the gap will be under five points, but I highly doubt Romney will actually win Pennsylvania.  The point is it has 20 electoral votes so if there is any chance it winning even if only 10%, it is worth going after.  Also it might indirectly help Romney in other states as it will force Obama to defend it meaning he has less money to spend on other swing states.  This strategy is one the Conservatives here in Canada have successfully used, otherwise go after ridings that are competitive but they don't actually expect to win and by doing this they tie down the opposition and it has worked out quite well for them.

I am still calling it for Obama; this time tomorrow, I may not.  I should be able to tell what my precinct's turnout is and that is generally a bellweather. 

It wasn't a feint by Romney.  Obama started with radio ads first: he was worried about it.  It has gotten very tight, very quickly.   

JJ, JJ, JJ ... how many votes did accidentally mispronouncing Penn State's mascot cost Obama in 2008 again?  Thousands?

[Tetro Kornbluth]

At the rate the polls are looking, is it possible that Obama wins Ohio by more than he wins PA? Or am I just JJing?

[heatmaster]

Tomorrow, after going to Ohio, Romney stops in Pittsburgh and there should be saturation in the TV media markets, which reach into Ohio; it neutralizes the effect of Clinton's visit there earlier today, and Obama's final foray into Ohio and it jazzes up the base even more; so in my book, it's time well spent, but it's amazing what we know now and what we should know in 24 hours from now.

[J. J.]

I think it is in play in terms of the gap will be under five points, but I highly doubt Romney will actually win Pennsylvania.  The point is it has 20 electoral votes so if there is any chance it winning even if only 10%, it is worth going after.  Also it might indirectly help Romney in other states as it will force Obama to defend it meaning he has less money to spend on other swing states.  This strategy is one the Conservatives here in Canada have successfully used, otherwise go after ridings that are competitive but they don't actually expect to win and by doing this they tie down the opposition and it has worked out quite well for them.

I am still calling it for Obama; this time tomorrow, I may not.  I should be able to tell what my precinct's turnout is and that is generally a bellweather. 

It wasn't a feint by Romney.  Obama started with radio ads first: he was worried about it.  It has gotten very tight, very quickly.   

JJ, JJ, JJ ... how many votes did accidentally mispronouncing Penn State's mascot cost Obama in 2008 again?  Thousands?

Harry, I live in a precinct that is about 95% Democrat and 95% African American.  I'll be looking at turnout. 

[TJ in Oregon]

According to my parents, pretty much every commercial is a campaign ad already in Ohio. If Romney has some cash left, he may as well spend it on a long shot in PA. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

[J. J.]

According to my parents, pretty much every commercial is a campaign ad already in Ohio. If Romney has some cash left, he may as well spend it on a long shot in PA. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

There were seemingly better states to hit, WI for example, unless it got closer.  Both campaigns are focusing on PA, so they must think it is close.

[heatmaster]

Pennsylvania, originally a "safe" Obama state, is now a must win battle-ground state; both Obama and Governor Romney are in a statistical tie at 47% each; bet Obama now wishes he hadn't taken Pennsylvania for granted; that's what you get, when you get lazy and complacent; better still he's got no ground game in place to counter Mitt's effort's and the best he can do, is send in Bubba; now Romney is back tomorrow, just to neutralize Bubba; let's face it, Obama got sucker punched, you gotta love it!

[ProudModerate2]

If PA was truly in play, it probably would be all over.

PA is not in play, and therefore it's not at all over (or perhaps even all over in the opposite direction). Thanks for the useless hypothetical, though Heathcliff.

Ditto.

[heatmaster]

Pittsburgh is right smack dab in the middle of Coal Country, it's a no-brainer why Mitt Romney is there, he has internals showing him in game and knowing the Obama campaign's ground game is not up to par and Obama doesn't have the time to correct what might be a fatal mistake in dispersing resources earlier; he hoped Clinton parachuting into Pennsylvania for 4 campaign stops, might stop the slide, where he is polling at 47% a virtual tie with Romney; his campaign is disturbed in due in part, because he recognizes that Republicans under-perform by at least 1% or so and therefore as expected, he reasons that undecideds flip by 2-1 for the challenger; The obvious fact that Romney is back on Election day, means he knows Obama is vulnerable big-time; Romney has another ace up his sleeve, he's been to Pennsylvania and which begs the question, why hasn't Obama? We Republicans know why, he's an enemy of Coal and voter's in that region of the state, are voting self-interest, there pocket-books and if it means slitting Obama's throat electorally in the process, well then so be it. Romney has been clever and shrewdly aligned himself on the side of Coal, he carries Pennsylvania for the same reason he carries West Virginia and Kentucky, culturally similar electorates. Speaking of Cultural affinity, Romney resonates well on those cultural issues where Obama fall's short.
Note: Evangelicals are turning out big for Romney, and will be a big factor that helps Romney in Ohio, in the same way they helped Bush in 2004, they were thankfully overlooked by Obama and the mainstream media, which is an ace in the hole which will make a difference in Ohio; trying to kick the word "God" out of the DNC platform in retrospective was a nice touch, it motivated the Evangelicals: Dems bought into the narrative, that Evangelicals wouldn't bother supporting Romney because of his Mormon faith; wrong call!

[All Along The Watchtower]

lol

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If DC is in play, it's a Gary Johnson landslide!