"In a Tactical Test, Romney Stakes Hopes on Ohio"

[applegrove]

In a Tactical Test, Romney Stakes Hopes on Ohio

By JIM RUTENBERG and JEFF ZELENY

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/us/politics/in-a-tactical-test-mitt-romney-stakes-hopes-on-ohio.html?_r=1&ref=us

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It’s possible to win without Ohio,” Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, the chairman of the Romney campaign here, said in an interview. “But I wouldn’t want to risk it.”

Mr. Portman and John A. Boehner, the speaker of the House, joined Mr. Romney and thousands of cheering supporters at Union Terminal here on Saturday for a rally that had the distinct high energy of a newly engaged general election campaign. Reprising a theme from his convention speech, that Mr. Obama had failed to live up to sky-high promises, Mr. Romney drew laughs from the crowd by saying, “He famously said that he was going to slow the rise of the oceans,” then thundering, “Our promise to you is this: we’re going to help the American people.”

Mr. Romney is running closely with Mr. Obama in most national polls, but the story is different in several states that will decide the race for the necessary 270 electoral votes. Many polls in those states show Mr. Obama holding an advantage over Mr. Romney as the Democrats prepare to open their convention on Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. In a Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll released just over a week ago, Mr. Obama had a six-point advantage over Mr. Romney in Ohio for the second month in a row.

To give a sense of Mr. Romney’s challenge: he could win Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Virginia — all carried by Mr. Obama in 2008 — and still fall short without Ohio and its 18 electoral votes.

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[progressivebydesign]

1. Hello NYT? They'll just steal it, like they did with Kerry. n/t