Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Here's your starter for ten...

Whilst Frank, John and myself write our pieces on the state of the GOP, the battleground map and a strategic score card for the campaigns in their totality I'd be interested in your desires for election day. Presuming 270+ EVs, rank the following states in order of your desire to see them won by Obama on November 4th: Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Nebraska 2, West Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Missouri, Nevada, Indiana, Virginia.

My starter:
1) Ohio (personal revenge for my '04 defeat)
2) Nebraska 2 (proof of detailed oriented strategy)
3) Indiana (proof of strategic ambition)
4) Georgia (proof of work + luck = victory)
5) West Virginia (proof of a well timed exploitation of a target of opportunity)
6) North Carolina (as a screw-you to OH and FL)
7) Florida (political revenge)
8) Missouri (personal revenge for my '02 defeat)
9) Colorado (Conventions work!)
10) Nevada (so Harry Reid can be a Blue state Majority Leader of his 61 Senators)

6 comments:

Frank A. Spring said...

Ohio. Vengeance, served cold. Also, it will vindicate my theory that political 3s are effectively the same as 2s in their voting patterns. Vengeance and vindication - my two primary motivations in life.
God, I'm a vicious person

John Emerson said...

Surely it has to be Virginia, and not just because Marcus forgot to mention one of the main tipping point states as one of the options, but due to the civil war history, the fact it hasn't gone blue since 1964, and the 'triple crown' of both senate seats, governor and presidential victories

Unknown said...

Lordy, lads have you never heard of a certain phrase with the words chicken, eggs and hatched in it?! Take the 270 in any formation that it comes!

angelamariawilliams said...

"West by god Virginia!" Seriously, this might be the only chance for my racist home state to ever redeem itself. And if they vote in a black president, I might even forgive them for locking my brother in a closet during parties when he was in kindergarten.

Marcus A. Roberts said...

Frank: The Klingons have a saying, revenge is a dish best served cold. It is very cold, in Trumbull County...

John: Well spotted. I have added VA as an option and you get a further point for the Confederacy invocation.

Aoife: emotionally, I feel similarly, but analytically it's bloody hard to see any path to 270 for McCain (especially now that he's giving up on CO) and Obama now has at least 8 different paths (Kerry states + IA + NM + CO/VA/NV/MO/IN/OH/FL/NC).

Angela: WV surprised everyone (except Joe Kennedy) 'voting' for JFK in 1960. Perhaps the same is in store this time around...

Unknown said...

On the possible path for McCain - have a read of this from RCP/Boston Globe today. Scary reading!
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/long_national_nightmare.html