Flush with more cash than all the Republican candidates combined, Obama's reelection campaign envisions an electoral map every bit as expansive as that of 2008, when he picked up a string of states that had been safe GOP territory for decades.
Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia. Obama's national momentum helped him pull off some improbable wins. Even Obama is doubtful he can duplicate his showing given the poor economy. He'll need to "grind it out" in 2012, he said recently.
But along the way, campaign officials say, they are determined to use their financial clout to keep as many states as possible in play for as long as possible.
"Part of our job in 2011 is to expand the map as much as possible and to have as many routes to 270 electoral votes as we can get,'' Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in an interview.
"Democrats for a long time just put all their marbles on a couple of states,'' Messina said. "And that was bad politics, it was bad for the party, and those are days we're never going to go back to."
The war chest will allow Obama not only to spend more money in swing states but also to launch aggressive operations in states that past Democratic candidates, for lack of money, essentially conceded to the Republicans. Even if Obama can't realistically expect to carry a specific state — Georgia may be an example — he can force Republicans to commit money that is needed elsewhere.
So Democrats are opening offices, airing TV ads and building up campaign machinery in the upper South, in Rust Belt Midwestern states and across the Southwest.
"Obama widened the playing field last time because he had such enormous resources," said Bob Shrum, a strategist in Democrat John F. Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. "And that's why he'll be able to play on a big playing field this time as well."
In 2008, Obama parlayed a huge fundraising advantage over Republican John McCain into an electoral college landslide. Obama collected $730 million, compared with McCain's $368 million, en route to winning 365 electoral votes — 68% of the total.
Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia. Obama's national momentum helped him pull off some improbable wins. Even Obama is doubtful he can duplicate his showing given the poor economy. He'll need to "grind it out" in 2012, he said recently.
But along the way, campaign officials say, they are determined to use their financial clout to keep as many states as possible in play for as long as possible.
"Part of our job in 2011 is to expand the map as much as possible and to have as many routes to 270 electoral votes as we can get,'' Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said in an interview.
"Democrats for a long time just put all their marbles on a couple of states,'' Messina said. "And that was bad politics, it was bad for the party, and those are days we're never going to go back to."
The war chest will allow Obama not only to spend more money in swing states but also to launch aggressive operations in states that past Democratic candidates, for lack of money, essentially conceded to the Republicans. Even if Obama can't realistically expect to carry a specific state — Georgia may be an example — he can force Republicans to commit money that is needed elsewhere.
So Democrats are opening offices, airing TV ads and building up campaign machinery in the upper South, in Rust Belt Midwestern states and across the Southwest.
"Obama widened the playing field last time because he had such enormous resources," said Bob Shrum, a strategist in Democrat John F. Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign. "And that's why he'll be able to play on a big playing field this time as well."
In 2008, Obama parlayed a huge fundraising advantage over Republican John McCain into an electoral college landslide. Obama collected $730 million, compared with McCain's $368 million, en route to winning 365 electoral votes — 68% of the total.