Swing State Madness in the Midwest

I had a major Obama supporter tell me last week that the President was raising the alarm to make sure they got their people to the polls, but that they were still confident in the Midwest firewall, starting with Ohio, but continuing through Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin.  Maybe that's what they're telling their supporters, but the specifics sound a little too close for comfort, so much so that the campaign seems to be denying that they may be on the ropes...

The Democratic mayor of Denver said Sunday that President Obama could lose the battleground state of Wisconsin if the incumbent’s supporters fail to increase early voter turnout in the Badger State.  

“If the election was held today, President Barack Obama would lose the state of Wisconsin because where his base is, we have not turned out the vote early," Mayor Michael Hancock told a Democratic rally. "The suburbs and rural parts of Wisconsin – the Republican base – are voting. President Obama’s base has yet to go vote.  

...Hancock was in Wisconsin to stump for Obama, but the Obama campaign said their surrogates portrayal of where the race stands doesn't match the early voting statistics they've seen.  

“We are very grateful that Mayor Hancock came and did what we need to do, which is keep people enthused. He is absolutely right that we have to get our base out,” Joe Zepecki, a spokesman for Obama’s campaign in Wisconsin, said. “But the numbers we are seeing do not back up his assessment that our base is not turning out.”

That doesn't sound like the typical, "We need to get the base out" talk. More to the point, if Wisconsin really is this close, and the reports on Minnesota being tight are true, then I can't imagine Ohio being anything other than total tossup.

Should be an interesting last week in the heartland.