. . . see the electoral state of play, according to a CNN report:
– Obama campaign officials now privately acknowledge that North Carolina, a state they can afford to lose, is moving perilously out of reach. Internal polling shows Florida also moving slightly toward Romney, but few in either camp believe the Republican nominee has more than a 1- or 2-percentage-point edge….
– Both campaigns consider Virginia and Colorado tight, with Romney perhaps hanging on to a tiny shred of a lead. New Hampshire is now a jump ball. …
– The president’s re-election chances increasingly hinge on a “Big Ten” firewall of Iowa, Wisconsin and, most importantly, Ohio – a state where Romney has been stymied by his opposition to the federal auto bailout and a concentrated effort by Obama forces to portray the former private equity whiz as out of touch with the middle class.
– . . . One high-ranking Romney official, granted anonymity to speak frankly about campaign tactics, admitted that Michigan is probably off the table because Democrats “have done such a job of sticking a knife in us on the auto bailout.”