Obama to contest Arizona?

Looks like Barack Obama will continue to press his advantage nationally, and may move the fight to Arizona, John McCain's home state.

Obama’s senior aides are intrigued by several late polls that show a narrowing of the presidential contest in Arizona. Most recently, on Tuesday a Cronkite-Eight poll (named for Arizona State University's journalism school and the local PBS channel) showed the state a statistical tie, with the Arizona senator just 2 points ahead of Obama. That poll suggests Arizona is too close to call, with Obama making significant gains among women and independents.

The campaign is now seriously examining a late surge into the state. That may include ramping up TV advertising, on-the-ground staff or even deploying the candidate to stop there. Obama is scheduled to make a Western swing late this week, making an Arizona visit possible.

How bad is it in Arizona for John McCain? So bad he's having to spend money. Money equals resources and there's no way a Presidential candidate should have to defend his home state this late in the game.

John McCain and the Republican National Committee are now running robocalls attacking Obama as weak on terrorism -- in McCain's home state of Arizona, according to multiple readers from the state.

The call signals genuine worry about McCain's home state at a time when several polls show the race to be much closer than expected there.

If Obama puts more resources into Arizona, he's likely to sweep Bob Lord into Arizona's 3rd Congressional District, costing conservative John Shadegg his seat (ironically, it's McCain's old seat).This election continues to demonstrate what a transformational figure Barack Obama is, uniting the people in a common cause for the common good, and will likely result in the biggest landslide in a presidential election since Ronald Reagan nearly shut out Walter Mondale in 1984.