“Although Obama has historically awful numbers, it still requires a herculean effort to defeat him,” said Steven Law, the president of American Crossroads, a conservative group pledging to spend upward of $200 million on the race. “He will have the resources to contest and even give up huge chunks of territory — Florida, Ohio, Virginia and North Carolina — and still win."
To understand how Obama can maintain that edge — despite opinion polls showing that a majority of Americans think the country is on the wrong track and disapprove of the job he is doing — you need to start with the fact that he won 365 electoral votes in 2008, the largest haul since President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection.
Obama won three states — Indiana, North Carolina and Virginia — that no Democrat had carried at the presidential level in at least two decades, and he scored victories in six other states (Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico and Ohio) that George W. Bush had won in 2004. Those nine states will account for 112 electoral votes in 2012 and stand at the center of the fight for the presidency.
If Obama loses every one of them but holds on to the others he won, he will drop to 247 electoral votes and Republicans will win the White House. (The decennial reapportionment of congressional districts after the 2010 Census subtracts six electoral votes from states Obama won in 2008.)
But with the exception of Indiana and its 11 electoral votes, Obama is very much in the game in those states. In several, even Republicans acknowledge that he is favored.
In New Mexico (five electoral votes) and Iowa (six electoral votes), Obama has an edge.
New Mexico’s substantial Hispanic population — and Obama’s dominance among that community in 2008 — makes it a tough pickup for Republicans.
Iowa is more competitive — Republicans won the governorship there in 2010 — but Obama has long had a connection to the state that his advisers think is lasting and strong.
Assuming Obama can win those two states again — and hold the 19 other states he won that also went to the Democrat, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), in 2004 — he would be just 12 electoral votes shy of 270.
That means Obama would need to win only one of the following states to be reelected: Florida, North Carolina, Ohio or Virginia. (If he won Virginia and lost Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina and Ohio, his electoral vote total would stand at 271 — the same number Bush won in 2000.)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...-low-ratings/2011/11/06/gIQACdmLtM_story.html (article was written in November 2011)
"Consider two media markets, Denver and Wheeling (which is a market evenly split between Ohio and West Virginia). Mr. Kerry received roughly 50 percent of the votes in both markets. Based on the large gains for Democrats in 2008, Mr. Obama should have received about 57 percent of votes in both Denver and Wheeling. Denver and Wheeling, though, exhibit different racial attitudes. Denver had the fourth lowest racially charged search rate in the country. Mr. Obama won 57 percent of the vote there, just as predicted. Wheeling had the seventh highest racially charged search rate in the country. Mr. Obama won less than 48 percent of the Wheeling vote.
Add up the totals throughout the country, and racial animus cost Mr. Obama three to five percentage points of the popular vote. In other words, racial prejudice gave John McCain the equivalent of a home-state advantage nationally.
Yes, Mr. Obama also gained some votes because of his race. But in the general election this effect was comparatively minor. The vast majority of voters for whom Mr. Obama’s race was a positive were liberal, habitual voters who would have voted for any Democratic presidential candidate. Increased support and turnout from African-Americans added only about one percentage point to Mr. Obama’s totals."
http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/how-racist-are-we-ask-google/
The spin on Fox News and other right wing media seems to be Mitt was not conservative enough.
Ok so which of the remaining "real conservatives" would have defeated Obama?
Real conservatism must drop the concept of winning the next election.
To 'move' to the middle trying to buy votes through corrupt use of taxpayer dollars is abhorrent.
I'm sorry, I can't take seriously any question asked by anyone stupid enough to watch Fox News.
Ilike the last choice . We shall see who hasn't a chance . Your victory will not be long enjoyed when you discover the price your going to pay . Lots and lots of snow this year in the northeast . I mean lots really really lots and lots . But thats nothing . 2013 Year of the comet . Most here should be aware of the comet that shows up late in 2013 , well One could call it the year of the comet . But meteors are what man shall endure lots and lots all over the world . Than the final judgement . It shall be the same as the last curse moses gave to Egypt except it will be all your children . Demons and repulsives alike . The big differance . All demons die but some repulsive live to tell the story and to go into the new age . That it from me I laid out your next 3 years for ya . Your still going to have quakes famine drought and SUPER Storms . But I had to tell ya whats coming . Now I promised to leave this forum If there was election . So now I keep my word . Have a nice life with your Messiah baby murdering asswipes. Pope needs to excummuncate ever catholic that is registered demon or he is the same liar as Romney /Obama. Which he is. If you vote for a law giver. his laws fall on you as a burden. Ever baby murdered is shared by all those who want this type of law . My GOD not being real and all.He sure does manifest himmself when testimony is given . lol all the way to your terriable end
If he's anything like me, he was watching it strictly to see the heads explode on live TV. Rove's rant about Ohio was worth it.