Obama camp briefs McCain press corps

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe defended the Democratic nominee’s strategy on Monday, after a spate of recent polls reported John McCain with a slight lead in the race.

“In this building we don’t spend a lot of time on national polls, we are very focused on the battleground states that will decide the race,” said Plouffe. “We think McCain is more at his high water mark then we are.”


Plouffe's comments came at an unusual briefing designed specifically for McCain's travelling press corps. While the Arizona senator was in Chicago for an afternoon fundraiser that reportedly raised $4 million for the Republican party, the Obama campaign invited his traveling press pool to visit their Michigan Ave. headquarters for a briefing with Plouffe.

The meeting offered a strategic opportunity to combat a wave of positive news for the McCain campaign, which has enjoyed heightened enthusiasm and poll numbers since the addition of running mate Sarah Palin last week.

McCain’s selection of the Alaska governor has energized the GOP's socially conservative wing and his campaign rallies have attracted thousands over the past week—significantly larger audiences than attended his earlier events.

A weekend CBS News survey found McCain leading Obama by two percentage points. A Washington Post/ABC News poll, also taken last weekend, showed the race essentially in a dead heat, with 47 percent of likely voters supporting Obama, 46 percent for McCain.

“We’ve been under siege from this idea that John McCain is running for George W. Bush’s third term,” said senior McCain aide Mark Salter, speaking to reporters on the campaign plane. “We’ve successfully reminded people of who he is.”

Despite what appears to be a shrinking lead, Obama aides argued that they maintain a strong position in the race.

The Obama camp is counting on holding all the states won by Kerry in 2004. The campaign also expressed confidence in its ability to flip Iowa and New Mexico, two states that went for Bush in the last election.

If Obama won all those states, they’d have 264 electoral votes. The remaining six needed for a win, said Plouffe, could come from a victory in Colorado, Indiana, Florida, Virginia, Nevada, or Nebraska.

“When you look at the battleground states that will determine the presidency, we feel very good about where we are,” said Plouffe. “From a state by state perspective we’d much rather be us then John McCain.”

Earlier in the summer, the Obama campaign named 18 battleground states as prime advertising targets.

Obama recently stopped running ads in Georgia, a state the campaign originally identified as a potential battleground. Some Georgia field staff was moved into North Carolina, said Plouffe.

The campaign is still operating an aggressive ground game in Montana, North Dakota and Indiana, traditionally Republican states where Democrats see potential.

The Obama campaign is banking on their ability to expand the base of Democrats by registering independent and younger voters. They’ll also relay on e-mail and text messages to turnout the campaign's huge database of likely voters.

“John McCain not only has to match George W. Bush’s historic turnout job in Ohio and Florida, he has to exceed it because we believe our turnout will exceed John Kerry’s turnout,” said Plouffe.

For its part, the McCain campaign identified Pennsylvania and Michigan as prime battlegrounds. Aides say Palin’s working class background and strong social conservative credentials will mobilize the GOP base in those states.

“This is going to be a close election,” said Plouffe. “These are all going to be races that get decided from somewhere between one and six points."