Politico's Charles Mathsian and Amy Parnes have come out with their list of five top places Obama and Clinton should campaign together. I would like to add ten more.
According to the Politico article, these are the top five places where Obama and Clinton should appear together:
- Broward County, Florida.
The payoff of a Broward joint event is almost limitless. It would send a signal to the Jewish community about Obama’s bona fides and represent a significant step toward reconciling party fractures. Party regulars nationwide who are still smarting over the 2000 presidential election would recognize the symbolism of Broward County.
I am in agreement here, but because Broward County is already likely to go heavily Democratic this year, I would like to submit a different area of Florida, which I will reveal later in the diary.
- Youngstown, Ohio.
Besides shoring up his economic bona fides among blue-collar Dems, there would be additional benefits: an appearance by popular Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, an avalanche of free media in a battleground state and media market bleed into western Pennsylvania, another area where he could use some shoring up.
Agreed, agreed, agreed.
- San Antonio, Texas.
No one thinks Obama is going to carry the Lone Star state. But he’s committing staff resources there, and if that forces the McCain campaign to turn its gaze to a safe red state like Texas, that in itself qualifies as a strategic victory.
And if the Obama campaign has the cash to fight the enemy on his turf, as Rudy Giuliani might put it, then why not hold the headline-grabbing Obama-Clinton event there?
Here, I disagree. I would rather Obama and Clinton make a joint appearance together in a state where he is polling a little stronger, like North Carolina or Georgia for instance. I just don't see Obama being able to pull off an upset in Texas. It could be very close, but I would rather him and Clinton campaign together in a state that is eminently winnable.
- Mingo County, West Virginia.
Appearing with Clinton in the heart of the anti-Obama belt — the section of Appalachia where Clinton racked up 70, 80 and in more than a few instances, 90 percent of the vote against Obama — would be a bold statement about his intention to address the vulnerabilities the primary season exposed in his candidacy.
I agree with an appearance in West Virginia, but Mingo County only has about 20,000 people. How about a joint appearance in Charleston or Morgantown in addition to Mingo County?
- Maricopa County, Arizona (Phoenix).
An Obama-Clinton appearance here would showcase both the campaign’s intention to expand beyond the traditional Democratic map, and the support of popular Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano. And again there is the Hispanic component: Clinton would be offering her imprimatur in a county with America’s fifth-largest Hispanic population.
This I like. Arizona, with a little work, is ripe for the taking if the state's large Hispanic community votes heavily for Obama.
And here are my top ten places Obama and Clinton should appear jointly:
- Larimer County, Colorado.
A county that has seen rapid growth over the past few years in terms of population growth, Larimer County is shaping up to be quite the swing county. John Kerry lost the county by roughly the same amount by which he lost the state of Colorado as a whole in 2004 - by 5 points. From 2000 to 2006, the county grew an estimate 10% from 251,000 to 276,000 people. By the end of this year, there could be as many as 286,000 people in Larimer County, making it a vote-rich area.
- Hamilton County, Ohio (Cincinatti).
A county that went to Bush narrowly in 2004 could use another visit from Obama and Clinton. The Cincinatti area is home to a large chunk of voters in Ohio and Obama will need to at least tie, if not win, Hamilton County to pull off a victory in Ohio.
- Washoe County (Reno), Nevada.
Home to a sizeable portion of the state's Hispanic community, Reno is a fast-growing city that has become a "swingy" area for elections. The only Democrat to carry Washoe County in recent Presidential election history was Bill Clinton in 1986.
- Pinellas County, Florida (Tampa).
In 1996, In 2000, Gore carried the county by just 4 percentage points. In 2004, Kerry lost Pinellas by 5 hundredths of a percentage point. Clearly, Pinellas is one of the crucial swing counties of Florida.
- Little Rock, Arkansas.
Why not? After all, Arkansas has a higher percentage of registered Democrats than almost any other state in the country. An joint appearance there might just put the state in play, if it wasn't already.
- Chatham County, Georgia (Savannah).
Georgia is definitely in play this year. The Obama campaign believes it can register hundreds of thousands of new Obama supporters and galvanize the ones who are already registered with a major GOTV effort. In 2004, Kerry won Chatham county by just 16 one-hundredths of a percentage point. Obama will need to build on Kerry's margin of victory greatly there if he wants to have a chance to win the state as a whole.
- Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In his Sentorial upset of George Allen, Jim Webb was very competitive in Virginia Beach, losing by less than 6 percentage points there. Obama will need to be likewise competitive in Virginia's largest city to have a chance at winning Virginia's 13 electoral votes. A joint appearance would really energize the emerging Democrating base of southeastern Virginia.
- Jackson County, Missouri (Kansas City).
This is an area where both Obama and Clinton did quite well in the primary. Obama will need an impressive margin of victory in the Kansas City area to win Missouri as a whole.
- Bay City, Michigan.
A strong white working class town like Bay City would be an excellent place for Obama and Clinton to put in an appearance together. And Michigan is one of the few Midwestern states where McCain is polling well.
- Fargo and Bismarck, North Dakota.
Earlier this year, Obama and Clinton together drew a massive crowd of 17,000 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. If Obama held a rally at the FargoDome, he would probably attract a capacity crowd of 25,000. Bismarck is the second largest city in North Dakota and would give Obama and Clinton a likewise grand reception. Sure, Obama might not win North Dakota and it's only worth 3 electoral votes, but when was the last time a Democrat really campaigned there during the general election season?
Runners-up:
Asheville, NC
Anywhere in Montana
Anchorage, Alaska
Jackson, Mississippi
New Orleans, Louisiana
Lincoln, Nebraska
El Paso, Texas
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Charleston, West Virginia
Indianapolis, Indiana