...Romney is doing particularly well among independent voters. According to NPR, "most of the gains for Romney have come from independents, who went from favoring Romney by a few points before the debates to favoring him 51% to 39% after the debates."...
◼ Mark Halperin: Democrats now on defense in blue states - Ed Morrissey/HotAir
Just how much has this race changed since the first debate in October? At the time, Democrats thought they had a pretty good glide path to a narrower win in the Electoral College than in 2008, but a win nonetheless. Almost four weeks later, the Obama campaign is having to buy air time in states previously considered safe, such as Pennsylvania and Minnesota, the only state that never voted for Ronald Reagan in the EC. Mark Halperin tells Morning Joe that while one cannot claim to know how this race will turn out, there is no doubt now that the Democrats have gone onto the defensive in states that they absolutely cannot afford to lose... if Obama has to start defending Pennsylvania, that speaks volumes about his traction in more-Republican Ohio.
◼ GALLUP: OBAMA'S EARLY VOTE ADVANTAGE COLLAPSES 22-POINTS OVER 2008 - John Nolte/Breitbart
