Election May Come Down to Same Ol' States

In the final 50 days, the biggest change in Barack Obama's camp is a return to old political strategy, the Washington Post reports. Partly because Sarah Palin's selection has solidified red/blue divisions of past years, Obama is targeting the same swing states—Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Florida—that determined the past two elections, and have a short list of others that could turn Democrat.

Obama had set out to redraw the electoral map by capturing Republican strongholds like North Carolina, Montana, and North Dakota, but now, "red states are redder," an adviser says. With a $66 million boost in August, Democrats are still trying to nab states like Georgia. And if Georgia swings left, a McCain adviser says, "We're going to get shellacked.” (More Barack Obama stories.)