EARLY VIEW: Projected Electoral Votes

Above is an early incarnation of the map we'll see many, many times over the next eleven months. You need 270 electoral votes to claim the presidency. According to this analysis, the Democrats already have a jump start. But it's early, it's very early...

Obama's campaign for re-election is counting on 211 electoral votes -- but needs to scrape up another 59 to secure a second term. Gradually over recent months, sometimes publicly, sometimes stealthily, the President has begun to execute a richly bankrolled drive designed to overcome weaknesses that have spelled one term for his predecessors. His strategies range from reviving the grass-roots organizing that was potent for him in 2008, to depicting Republicans as elitists more interested in protecting their rich cronies than the 99%. The President will also place blame for the slow recovery on Capitol Hill Republicans, insisting that they have engaged in obstructionism to score political points at the expense of the American worker.