How to win Ohio

Two good articles on the race for president in Ohio. George Packer's New Yorker article about working-class Ohio voters is titled "The Hardest Vote." He talks to a lot of voters in Columbus and southeast Ohio, and he tries to explain why the Democrats have lost working-class support since the '70s. It has a gray, sad tone to it. You can tell Packer wants these voters to support Obama, but fears they won't. You can also tell it was reported in September, when Obama's campaign was struggling.

David Broder, the Washington Post columnist, regularly visits swing regions of the country to find out which way an election is going. In yesterday's column, "Blue Sparks in Red Ohio," Broder visits normally Republican Wooster, and he finds Obama's campaign office filled with volunteers and humming with excitement. It sounds like Broder thinks Obama will win the state.

Which vision is more likely? Take a look at Pollster.com's chart of Ohio polls.



That blue line shows Obama pulling out to a four-point average lead. Those blue dots on the top right show that a couple of recent polls show him 10 to 12 points ahead.