Ohio Is Ultimate Battleground State

Today's front-pager at the New York Times positions Ohio as a challenge for Mitt Romney, a hurdle over which all else depends: "In a Tactical Test, Romney Stakes Hopes on Ohio." (At Memeorandum.) The piece cites the latest poll from Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times, for example:

Mr. Romney is running closely with Mr. Obama in most national polls, but the story is different in several states that will decide the race for the necessary 270 electoral votes. Many polls in those states show Mr. Obama holding an advantage over Mr. Romney as the Democrats prepare to open their convention on Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C. In a Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News poll released just over a week ago, Mr. Obama had a six-point advantage over Mr. Romney in Ohio for the second month in a row.

To give a sense of Mr. Romney’s challenge: he could win Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Virginia — all carried by Mr. Obama in 2008 — and still fall short without Ohio and its 18 electoral votes.

Here's the poll, "Ryan Micro-Bump In Florida, Wisconsin, But Not Ohio, Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll Finds." One thing highlighted there not highlighted by the Times: "Independent voters tip to Romney 48 - 43 percent."

Ouch.

And here's Rasmussen from August 15th: "Election 2012: Ohio President Ohio: Obama 45%, Romney 45%."

Exactly. It's a dead heat.

That said, I don't discount the stakes for the GOP in Ohio, as the Times rightly points out:

No Republican in modern times has reached the White House without carrying Ohio, and the alternatives strike fear into Mr. Romney’s quickly expanding team in the state.

If Romney does take Ohio, expect the left to mount an all-out legal challenge to the results. The hate-bloggers at Booman Tribune have that, the assholes: "Stealing the Election." (Via Memeorandum.)