Redstate

Pass-fail is key. I believe, and have absolutely no basis supporting it, that his strategy in the primary will be used in the general. I doubt his managers are foolish enough to think that he will get "some" delegates even for a 2nd place finish, but I'm not sure Obama understands that.

But I have said it before and will say it again, he is running a negative before the first ballot is cast simply because of the racial "I will never vote for a black man" potential and angry Hillary supporters that feel cheated. No one in the MSM is touching on these topics with any vigor, as expected, but they exist.

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It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
--Aristotle

Even I roll my eyes when someone says they'll run a 50 State Strategy. It's pure pandering.

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BigGator5.net

The whole gay marriage thing will be on the ballot.
If he can run through there and talk to people and explain to them how Obama is a X (for whatever values of X you feel like putting in there) and Obama supports gay marriage and vote Yes on Amendment G4-Y, and, while you're there, vote for me!

Well... he might force Obama to do some California campaigning himself.

And the media, being the media, will play up McCain's "bigotry" which will help rally the base in the other 49 states.

(No, I don't think that this is a good thing. I just think that it would work, is all.)

Man is free at the moment he wishes to be. --Voltaire

Assuming that McCain takes the electoral college and Obama takes the popular vote, how funny will it be to watch Obama and the Dems flail about wildly about how unfair and undemocratic the electoral college is and how the presidency ought to be based on the popular vote, etc., etc., etc... while the fact remains (as you noted) that Obama only won his own party's nomination precisely because of an electoral college-like arrangement in the Dem nominating process...

"Do not fear, only believe." (Mark 5:36)

Reagan and Bush were the last to come close to winning fifty states. Republicans are more likely to have success with this strategy than democrats because the South and most of the Midwest are locked in the GOP column. Democrats help keep them there by acting like their stupid and saying that "they cling to guns and religion." McCain will win come November because Obama can not make up ground in those areas and McCain can win some blue states. This isn't going to be close.
http://www.thenewconservatives.blogspot.com/

Dean's strategy has its ups and downs, but it is not a joke. A big part of it was building and energy and grass roots for local, state and congressional races, which bore some fruit for them in 2006. It might not be practical for a presidential race and its also expensive, but his efforts are paying in some traditional Red States. Republicans can't get lazy in places like Texas because it is assumed that it will always be Red, while Dems make a grass roots push. We must fight back and must must energize the party in some Blue state too where the party organization is in shambles like NJ, NH, ME. But we can't make Dean's mistake of poorly allocating resources.

have a nearly equal campaign war chest. Unfortunately, it looks like Obama's campaign cash may well dwarf McCain's. If Obama can make things close in Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Nevada and maybe even Texas, McCain will have to increase his spending there leaving him with little to no resources available to compete in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio or Wisconsin. Essentially, Obama may have money to waste in order to make states competitive. If McCain can't close the fundraising gap, we may have to rely on an Obama collapse of some sort. Unfortunately, that's not alot to hand your hat on.

MelZ

I think B. Hussein having a colossal meltdown that sends him into McGovern/Mondale territory is at least as likely as a McCain meltdown. His popularity peaked in Feb/Mar and he limped to the nomination by a hair -- and that was with Democrats! He has a much bigger potential downside than McCain once people with at least a brainstem start to pay attention.

First off, I get the impression that you think Dean's DNC 50-state strategy was a bust. I think it was a smashing success. Mississippi and Alaska were 2 of the states Dean staffed up starting in 2005 and people derided him for it. If I asked you then what are the odds they'd turn blue you'd have laughed. But wait, isn't most of the Alaskan Congressional delegation under investigation now and polls show the incumbents loosing to the Dems? In fact it's possible the only way to really save the state is for CfG, RedState, etc to prevail in the primary fights! Oh, and didn't the Dem's just win the MS special election? You SURE you want to call the 50 state strategy a bust? The DNC is doing EXACTLY what a national party should be doing, building itself up everywhere...

Obama isn't going to have money issues and when you can draw crowds the size he can you just never know what might happen in close House races. He can afford to campaign in extra states just to help win down ballot races and make any potential landslide that much larger.

Obama is getting his bounce in the polls for winning the primary. The latest Gallup/Rasmussen have him +7.

For every WI (which Obama is now up again in the latest polls) there is a Virginia which might go Blue. Let's see where things stand in a month. If Obama is up all over the board then his 50 state strategy is going to be amazingly successful for House/Senate races and the future. If he's loosing in key states then he can always focus on them later, but to start out in just a few seems silly to me when he has the resources and the momentum.

I say give him a cape; no?

Let him spend all his money and time on grande illusions. The stacked deck crowds will love him! I can hear the MSM now; "Oh (insert red state here) loves Obama. My this is historic". Meanwhile here in NY , heart of liberalism, there are quite a few very angry Democrats that say they won't vote for him even if Hillary gives up her sword.

I only need several accoutrements; chips and a nice chianti.

"Nec Aspera Terrent"
bene ambula et redambula
Contributor to The Minority Report

Obama has the money to both defend in blue states and push for many red states. McCain won't have nearly that much. Obama also has well seasoned ground operations in many red states. Coupled with Dean's organizations via the DNC, and we see a well oiled national party.

Coupled with the fact that the GOP has eaten its own soul with spending, corruption, and big government, as well as the fact that the country is in a very anti-GOP mood with registration going hard Dem, it would seem that the Dems have a perfect storm brewing. Obama would be a fool to NOT go for every state.

It's going to take a lot for the GOP to rebuild itself. Better start working on that NOW.

I think Barack and his allies will have a billion dollars to spend this fall. Obama's fundraising has fallen off because many donors have maxed out and the campaign has not pushed for general election contributions, unlike Hillary. That much money plus volunteers that are energized this year relative to McCains.

The Essene