David Plouffe on which states will be the battlegrounds

I'm on my way home from a fundraiser with Obama campaign manager David
Plouffe at the Capitol City Brewery, site of some of my most memorable
political inebriation. (Among other things, it was there that I
celebrated the 2006 Democratic victory with my old boss Howard Dean.)
Plouffe mostly talked about which states will be decisive for the
November election. He started off by saying that Michigan, New
Hampshire, and Pennsylvania will be the key battlegrounds. Then he
mentioned a long list of others, in no particular order, New Mexico,
Nevada, Colorado, Alaska, Montana, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa,
Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi. Louisiana, and of
course Florida and Ohio. He said he's happy that he can look at the
map and see 12 ways Obama can win, even without considering Ohio and
Florida. He confirmed what I'd heard informally from the campaign:
Obama will use his money, his broad appeal, and his superior ground
organization to force McCain to spread himself thin and campaign in
states that the Republican nominee would usually take for granted.