The mystical final weeks of 2012

Alex noted yesterday that the myriad polls showing vastly different margins in swing states are making it hard to get a bead on where the race stands, and the Globe's Matt Viser notes that commentators like Larry Sabato are conceding the same level of confusion right now.

One person who doesn't sound confused, and who is making clear that, despite alternate paths, it all rests heavily on Ohio for Mitt Romney, is his senior strategist:

“There are no secrets. We’ll win Ohio,” said Romney’s top strategist Stuart Stevens. And what if they don’t win Ohio? “It’s a silly question . . . we’re going to win Ohio,” he said. “This is like conscientious objection: if you’re going over the cliff and you have to throw your mother, or your sister, or your father out, which one would you? We’ll win Ohio.”

Ohio is also a state where Romney remains behind, but not by much, with just over two weeks to go.

Maggie Haberman is senior political reporter for Politico.