Sunday Snapshot -- By The Numbers

The last pre-election Sunday lineup included Obama mgr. David Plouffe, who appeared on "Fox News Sunday" in his first ever Sunday show interview.

Fox's Wallace: "You've come up with a number ... of exactly how many votes you believe you need to win each state. How do you arrive at that number?"

Plouffe: "Well, and the number gets adjusted, obviously, because what we're seeing in early vote would suggest that turnout overall is going to be a little bit higher in some of these states. So I think you're going to see a huge turnout. The [John] McCain campaign mentioned a 130 million number nationally the other day. We think that's the floor. We think it should be a little bit higher than that. ... For us, the most important thing is we are seeing newly registered supporters of ours, younger voters, African American voters, Hispanic voters, which in many states are a base for us turning out at big levels. So we still have a lot of voters in the pool, so to speak, on Tuesday. So the notion that somehow we're voting all of our supporters early and have nothing left for Election Day is just not true."

Wallace: "You have decided to make a late push in North Dakota, in Georgia, and even in McCain's home state of Arizona. Is there a touch of arrogance here? I mean, wouldn't it make more sense to focus your resources, focus your advertising and everything, on the states that you need to lock up 270 electoral votes?"

Plouffe: "We're doing everything we can in the core battlegrounds -- Ohio, where Senator [Barack] Obama will be today, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana. ... In these three states, we've been organizing for some time. The reason Georgia is so competitive right now is all the organizational groundwork we put in, why you're seeing early vote numbers in such large measure. So in North Dakota, Georgia, Arizona, we think all three of those are going to be close. And there's benefit to having a playing field to yourself. One of the reasons we're so strong in states like Indiana, North Carolina, Virginia, even Florida, is the McCain campaign was arrogant. They were asleep at the switch and thought those states would not be competitive.

After the jump, McCain mgr. Rick Davis and other camp surrogates make their cases/predictions.

(KATHERINE LEHR)

Wallace, on McCain mgr. Rick Davis saying there's not going to be an increase in African American voters and first-time voters and young voters: "Do you see those groups representing a larger part of this electorate than they did four years ago?"

Plouffe: "We do, in the battleground states. We're obviously not running a national campaign. We're just focused on about 16 states. So in those states, I think you will see younger voters make up a higher percentage of the electorate. I think African American turnout will certainly be higher in most of them. I think you may see Hispanic turnout higher in states like New Mexico and Nevada. ... We're seeing younger voters, which was a big part of our primary success, turning out. I mean, I think the McCain campaign wants to believe that these younger voters aren't going to turn out, and I think on Tuesday night they're going to have a clear sense that they did."

Wallace: "Karl Rove ... helped invent what's known as the 72-hour project to flood battleground states with armies of volunteers. ... To what degree have you copied Rove's play book? And to what degree do you think you've improved on it?"

Plouffe: "Well, I would never admit to copying Karl Rove's play book, but there's no doubt that what the Bush people did in 2004 was impressive. They had neighbors talking to neighbors. They did a remarkable job increasing Republican turnout in states like Ohio and Florida. What we've tried to do is have neighbors, colleagues, friends and family talking. Senator Obama did a call last night with 20,000 of our team leaders around the country who are the backbone of the campaign. ... We don't think the McCain campaign have really done a good job of emulating the Bush play book of 2004. They're doing a lot of robo calls, a lot of paid calls. We don't see much activity on the ground, and honestly, right now, phone calls are getting less and less effective. People are tired of being called. So you've got to be at their doors."

Plouffe, asked if voter fraud is a legitimate issue: "Well, first, on registration, we're proud of how many millions of people have registered to vote in this campaign. We, as a campaign, made it a priority. ... Obviously, if there was voter registration fraud, the officials are looking at that. These people aren't going to vote on Election Day. Mickey Mouse, Tony Roma, are not going to vote. ... Our view on this is simple. We want it to be as easy as possible for people to vote. They need to do so legally. ... We're obviously going to monitor all the precincts in all the battleground states to make sure none of the normal suppression activities are effective."

Wallace: "On the money side, your campaign is allowing donors to use pre-paid credit cards to contribute, which are almost untraceable. You have not disclosed the names of millions of small donors. I know that both of those are legal, but does that live up to the standards of Obama's new kind of politics?"

Plouffe: "Well, we are, obviously, following the FEC requirements strictly. We, obviously, have returned a lot of money when people have exceeded their contribution limits, if we've seen something that's fraudulent. Now, this is something that's affected both campaigns. The McCain campaign has a huge number of anonymous donors, people like Jesus II who have given them multiple contributions. ... I think what should be celebrated about our campaign is we have over 3 million people who have contributed to our campaign."

Plouffe, on his strategic insight for the general election: "Our number one strategic goal was to have a big playing field. We did not want to wake up on the morning of November 4th waiting for one state. We wanted a lot of different ways to win this election. Now, that wouldn't be possible without Senator Obama's appeal. ... We accomplished that. Right now John McCain is playing an enormous amount of defense. ... Here we find ourselves two days out from the election with a lot of different ways to get to 270 electoral votes. We do not have to pull an inside straight. And so strategically, that was our most important goal. And again, one of the reasons we're able to do that is the organization."

Plouffe, asked if he would be interested in joining an Obama WH: "I've got to get through Tuesday, Chris. This has been a long two years. And I've got a wife and a son and a new one on the way, so I've got to dig in with my family here. So I'm trying to get to the finish line on Tuesday, and I will have done my part."

Wallace: "You do have a very big event coming and that is not the election. It's the birth of your second child. In fact, that's the reason you're in Washington. Your wife, as I understand it, was due yesterday. What do you do if you're in Chicago on election morning and you get the word your wife's in labor?"

Plouffe: "I will get back as quickly as I can and head to the hospital. ... We've got a great team in Chicago and I'll probably just get in the way if I'm there on Tuesday anyway" (11/2).

THE CLOSER

McCain mgr. Rick Davis also appeared on "Fox News Sunday" to discuss how McCain can win on 11/4.

Davis: "We've seen a significant shift in where the polling data is over the last 10 days. In fact, I would say the southwest and Colorado are really moving into McCain columns. ... We've seen a huge movement in Colorado and New Mexico and Nevada toward McCain. In fact, I would say probably today the race is even, structurally, in those three states. So if you take that and then move east, we are still very competitive and expect to win Florida. But I think the most important state to watch right now is Pennsylvania. ... Some new polls out recently show the margin of error is the only thing that separates us from Barack Obama."

More Davis: "There is no doubt that John McCain is increasing his margins in almost every state in the country right now. And I think that what we're in for is a slam-bang finish. I mean, it's going to be wild. I think that we are able to close this campaign. John McCain may be the greatest closer politician of all time."

Fox's Wallace: "In North Carolina, more than 2 million people have already voted, and we don't know who they voted for, but we know that registered Democrats vastly outnumber the number of Republicans, 53 percent to 30 percent."

Davis: "I think North Carolina's a really good example for you to use, because if you'll notice, too, in the survey data, if you take out all the early voting people, John McCain is over 50 percent in that state. So I would rather have over 50 percent of the 70 percent still left to vote than 50 percent of the 30 that's already voted. What's also interesting about North Carolina is structurally, the early voting really isn't any different than it was in 2004. And in order for Barack Obama to win, he has to structurally change the way this race works. He has to have new people who have never been involved in this process vote. And what's really happening here is the patterns that are followed in the past are being followed in this election, and that's good for John McCain."

Wallace: "You're saying that there's not going to be an increase in African American voters and first-time voters and young voters?"

Davis: "Look at the data between the early voting and the absentee balloting. There's no structural change in what the election was in 2004. Now, understand, 2004 was an historic turnout at that point in time. So it's a high bar to get over, but the reality is, sure, there'll be more people voting, but there won't be more people of any one particular organization."

Wallace: "You announced on Friday that in the final 10 days of this campaign, McCain is actually going to outspend Obama by $10 million of advertising. That's the good news. The bad news is that you've had to take some of that money out of your get-out-the-vote operation."

Davis: "It's just not true. Well, the reports are incorrect. We are spending over $300 million in 60 days to win this election. ... We've actually increased our get-out-the-vote activity to almost $100 million in 60 days. We're making more calls than has ever been made. ... Four years ago this week, the Bush campaign, which had probably the state-of-the-art 72-hour program, made 1.9 million calls in one week. We've exceeded 5 million calls this week alone. ... So believe me, we have not spared any expense at getting the vote out for this election, and it's just not true that we're sacrificing anything to win."

Wallace: "So I just want to make clear, you are not taking money out of the get-out-the-vote operation in this final week or 10 days to put it into more television advertising."

Davis: "Correct. We have, in fact, increased all along the month of October how much money we've put into the get-out-the-vote program, and we've been able to increase the amount of money that has gone into advertising over at the RNC because they've been raising so much money."

Wallace: "How do you respond to these allegations that the Republican Party in general, the McCain campaign specifically, is involved in voter suppression?"

Davis: "Look, I think it's kind of sad. ... It is unfortunate that because of the importance of this election so many organizations are playing politics with the election itself. ... But what's happened is a bunch of liberal activist groups like ACORN and others -- you mentioned Common Cause -- have taken it upon themselves to try and frame this election as anything but honest. ... We think it's sad that they would take this kind of action right before the eve of an election."

Wallace: "What do you think are the chances that we're -- because there has been this question about voter suppression, voter registration fraud, that we're going to see a blizzard of lawsuits on election night, and we may not know for days or even weeks who the new president is?"

Davis: "Well, we're hoping that we win by such a landslide that that puts to rest all those kinds of issues."

Wallace: "But I just want to make it clear, you reserve the right if you feel that something has gone down wrong in the polls in any state in the country that you'll go to court."

Davis: "Oh, absolutely. I mean, there's no question that we're going to monitor this election. We have the largest Election Day operation in the history of our party's activities ready to go to ensure that we have a fair and honest election."

Wallace: "If, and I repeat if, you guys should happen to lose on Tuesday, do you think it will be because of any decisions that were made by the senator or your campaign, or is this just an awfully tough climate for any Republican to run in?"

Davis: "Oh, there's no question, Chris, that it's an awfully tough climate. ... John McCain has had to battle back through all these issues through the course of the campaign, whether it's the economy or the politics of the day. ... Frankly, I think he's going to wind up winning this election, and I think he's going to wind up showing the American public what a real comeback is all about" (11/2).

Davis was also on "This Week."

Davis, asked who he thinks the undecideds are, and why he thinks they're going to break toward McCain: "Guess who's the undecided voters? People who, in the suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas, a lot of the Democrats, who just haven't bought into the Obama message. And, guess what? If they haven't bought into by now, they probably aren't going to."

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "I think you would concede that you have far fewer paths to 270 electoral votes than Barack Obama, right now."

Davis: "Sure."

Davis, on PA: "One of the things to watch is that state, it is just like our country, it has these big metropolitan areas. It has got rural areas. You know, it has got a cross-section of the population. And I think that could be one of the bellwether states of this election."

Stephanopoulos: "Do you think in retrospect that if you sort of started making that argument, made a clean break with President Bush much earlier in the general election, would you be doing better now if you had?"

Davis: "No. I don't think it's a matter of, you know, when any of these things happen. And as you know, this election most uniquely, like a lot of primaries, really most of the selection is encapsulated in the last month. ... This is the time when people really have focused intently."

Davis, asked for his 11/4 prediction: "A victory by John McCain and not the first comeback, but the last for this election cycle. ... I think that anything over 270 will be fine with me" (ABC, 11/2)

THE TIPPING POINT

Meanwhile, Obama strategist David Axelrod was on "Face the Nation."

CBS' Schieffer: "If Obama does win, what do you think the one thing will be that tipped it toward Barack Obama?"

Axelrod: "I think that we started with a theory of the case, which is that we really need change from the Bush policies that have led us in the wrong direction here and abroad, and that we need a new direction, not just in our policies but in our politics, that we had to get beyond the big divisions in our country and start actually solving the problems. One of the heartening things about what's going on right now, Bob, is that we're campaigning in states that were so-called red states. We're spending all our time there, because we feel we have a chance to win many of them. And one of the things that we wanted to do from the beginning was shatter this red state/blue state paradigm and emphasize the fact that we have a common destiny, a common interest, and we have to work together to solve these things. So it would be a healthy thing if we could do well in these states on Tuesday."

Axelrod, on PA: "It's a state that we both worked very hard to win. I feel good about what I see in Pennsylvania, starting with the fact that we have a registration edge that's twice as large as we had four years ago. It went from 300,000 in favor of Democrats to 600,000, so that right away gives me encouragement. But everything we see from the state is encouraging, and I know that there have been a couple of late polls that suggest otherwise, but I've seen many more that work in our direction."

Axelrod, on the Bradley effect: "The big story is not how much race has been a factor, but how little it's been a factor. ... In the primaries, Bob, we didn't see any of that effect. We never under polled our number in any primary that I can think of. And so I see no reason to believe that's going to happen on Tuesday. And I think it will be good to shatter that myth once and for all" (CBS, 11/2).

He also appeared on "This Week."

Axelrod, on McCain mgr. Rick Davis saying the undecideds are going up and they're going to break for McCain: "I think that he needs to spend some sort of interpretation to keep his troops up. And I understand that. ... When you're at the end of the campaign and things are tilting against you, that's what you do. I don't think any objective look at the polls would suggest that."

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "Are you convinced that these voters that you're getting to the polls in these early voting states are actually new
voters who wouldn't otherwise go to the polls on Tuesday?"

Axelrod: "Well, I heard that theory. The theory is that our voters are so enthusiastic that they just couldn't wait to vote and they were going to show up, and this is simply going to even out on Tuesday. But the fact is, one in five voters in North Carolina, for example, where there's been an explosion of early voting, were new voters, voters who didn't vote in the 2004 election. We're seeing that all over the country. ... We're pleased with the patterns that we see."

Stephanopoulos: "I listed those six big states that are going to -- we're going to know the results relatively early in the evening -- Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Florida and Pennsylvania. I heard Rick Davis concede that they would have to win five of six in order to have a path to 270. Can you deny them five of six of those states?"

Axelrod: "Well, I think we're very competitive in all of them. We're in a great position, I think one a Democrat hasn't been in in a very long time. ... Senator Obama talked four years ago at the Democratic Convention about the need to get past this red state/blue state kind of paradigm that we've been locked in in our politics, and you know, in addition to winning an election, which is the key thing -- we need to win on Tuesday --
we'd like to do it in such a way that we kind of scramble that theory and re-establish the notion that we're all part of one country. ... And so, these states are very important to us, not just to win the election, but to move our country forward."

Stephanopoulos: "You sound pretty confident this morning. What are you worried about?"

Axelrod: "You worry about everything going into an election. And, you know, the main thing I worry about is complacency. I don't want people to hear me or anyone and assume that this campaign is over. If we are casual about this and we don't go to the polls and make our voices heard, then we could get a result that the polls don't project. And that's my concern."

Stephanopoulos: "One of the signature lines that Senator Obama has used throughout this campaign is that he's going to change the culture of Washington and really take on lobbyists. ... So does that mean that if Senator Obama wins on Tuesday, no one who's been a lobbyist will be able to work in his White House?"

Axelrod: "No, it doesn't mean that, but it means exactly what he said for the two years of this campaign. He laid out a very specific plan for how he was going to deal with that. No one who's an active lobbyist, no one who's been lobbying on issues for the last two years related to their industries is going to come into our administration and work on those."

Stephanopoulos: "So that means that if you worked in the energy industry, you're not going to be able to get a job at the Department of Energy?"

Axelrod: "If you were a lobbyist in the last couple of years, that's exactly right."

Axelrod, asked for his 11/4 prediction: "Our goal is to get 270. I feel good about our chances to do that."

Axelrod, asked if he would be interested in joining an Obama WH: "I am going to do whatever I can to help him be a successful president, and I hope that everybody does, you know, if he gets elected. ... I love him and I love this country, and I'll do whatever I can to help" (ABC, 11/2).

TALES FROM THE CRYPT

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) appeared on "Meet the Press," where he shared lessons learned from '04.

NBC's Brokaw: "Four years ago you and I were in Madison, Wisconsin, just five days before the election, and I remember you saying to me, 'No incumbent president who is below the 50 percent threshold has ever been re-elected.' Osama bin Laden came out with a tape that Friday, two days later; and then, of course, you lost the election to George Bush. What is the cautionary tale, based on your own experience, for Senator Obama and his team now with 48 hours to go?"

Kerry: "The Obama campaign is practicing a cautionary lesson by working, working, working. I mean, the bottom line is you take nothing for granted. And I know that the candidate, every member of the campaign, and all of his supporters are taking nothing for granted. Presidential races tighten up anyway. That year we had a particular event that pushed it, but I think everybody has to be very cautious here and simply work as hard as possible right up until 8:00 on Tuesday night" (NBC, 11/2).

SINK OR SWIM?

McCain's chances were fully evaluated by pols and pundits:

Fred Thompson: "It pretty much boils down to the undecided vote, which a lot of experts think will break heavily for John McCain. ... So he's got a shot. He's closing. ... The election is yet to be decided. ... He's going into the strongest headwinds that I've ever seen for a candidate in a presidential race. Some might say that it's amazing that he has a chance to win this race. ... We nominated the only fellow that'll have a chance, I think, under these circumstance" ("Meet the Press," NBC, 11/2).

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): "What we've seen in the last two weeks is very much a tightening of the race in the states that matter. I really believe that Senator Obama is the virtual incumbent. And if he's not at 50 percent today in North Carolina, he's not going to win. We see closing in Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Ohio. We have him under 50, in the margin of error. The intensity level in the last couple of weeks has been unbelievable on our side. ... If Senator Obama is under 50 now, I think the undecided voter in these key states will come our way."

Graham, on NC: "I would beat Michael Phelps in swimming before Barack Obama wins North Carolina. And I can't swim. I am standing by that. I know North Carolina. John McCain will win North Carolina. John McCain's politics fit North Carolina like a glove" ("Face the Nation," CBS, 11/2).

Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA), asked if McCain can carry PA: "Yes. There are two imponderables in those figures. One is how many people polling one way will vote differently within the secrecy of ballot booth and the second factor is the enthusiasm of the base for Governor Palin. ... The base is very, very enthusiastic. So that when you have the surge and you have these two other factors, I think John McCain will win."

CNN's Blitzer: "Are you saying, let's just be blunt about this Senator Specter, there is what they call a Bradley effect, potentially under way in your state whereby people go in and say they're going to vote for Obama but in the privacy of the voting booth, they won't vote for a black man?"

Specter: "Well, I don't like the Bradley effect categorization and I don't like the suggestion of racism. People are just different on polling and voting. We had a man, Frank Rizzo, who was the mayor here. There was no racial question. He polled a lot better than he voted and I think that could happen this time with that respect to race."

Specter, asked if he agrees with Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) that western PA is a racist area: "No. I know western Pennsylvania like I know the back of my hand and there are some people who are against the idea of an African-American in the White House. There are a lot of people who don't want Jews in public office or even some Catholics. But I think that kind of a blanket smear on western Pennsylvania is unfounded" ("Late Edition," CNN, 11/2).

Karl Rove: "Very, very steep, uphill climb. If this race was three points, he has a shot. If it was three points on Friday, he has a shot. If it was five or six or seven or eight or nine, as many of the polls indicate, then it is very, very difficult to do" ("Fox News Sunday," 11/2).

Meanwhile, VA Gov. Tim Kaine (D) appeared on "Late Edition," where he was asked how confident he is that Obama can carry VA.

Kaine: "He can definitely carry Virginia. But we haven't done it since 1964. So what I've been saying to everybody is, we're the underdog until we're the victor. ... But we feel pretty comfortable about the polls. We feel good about the organizational strength of the Obama campaign. And we feel very, very good about the enthusiasm, as we're seeing in Virginia."

CNN's Blitzer: "There have been some reports, suggestions, that these long lines, massive turnouts in Virginia are going to cause some headaches on Election Day, Tuesday. And there was a lawsuit that the NAACP even filed. They were concerned that there could be delays, especially in African-American areas of your state. Have you worked all that out, or there still a potential nightmare scenario unfolding?"

Kaine: "We feel pretty good. I mean, my state board of elections, the chair is an African-American former legislator. The secretary of our state board is a Latina. And the third member, a Republican, is Korean-American. So they take minority voting rights very seriously. We had a really high turnout, record turnout, in 2004, in that presidential race. We ran a clean election, with no problems that year, on 5,900 voting machines statewide. This year we'll have 10,600 voting machines. We had 19,000 precinct workers helping workers in '04. This year we'll have 30,000. So we are expecting a bigger turnout, but the combination of more resources in the precincts and then double the amount of absentee from about 225,000 voters in '04 to probably 500,000 or more this year, we think we're going it be OK. There will be, you know, some lines, but we think we're going to be in good shape Tuesday" (CNN, 11/2).

TO THE LEFT, TO THE LEFT

And DSCC chair Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and NRSC chair John Ensign (R-NV) appeared together on "Face the Nation" to talk about SEN races.

Schumer, on Dems: "I think we are going to have a pretty good night. If you would have told me a year ago that we'd be where we are now, I'd be very surprised. I mean, the bottom line is, I think Wednesday morning Democrats are going to be very happy, because we're going to pick up a whole lot of seats. As for 60, that's very, very difficult. It's possible, but unlikely. And the reason is because the terrain is so tough. In other words, of the 11 contested states, none are deeply blue; a whole bunch are deeply red. So even though the wind is at our back, it's hard. But I will say this. With 56, 57, 58, we'll be able to get a lot done in the Senate and help change the country."

Ensign, on GOPers: "There's no question that we are facing a fairly strong political headwind at this point. And the Democrats are poised to pick up some seats. The exact number we don't know, because there's so many races that are within the margin of error. There's six or seven races out there right now, including the race in Louisiana, where the Democrats are defending down there. We have that race dead even now. So it's going to be an interesting night on election night."

More Ensign: "The bottom line is, though, this is the most liberal, left-wing, radical group of candidates that Democrats have ever put up. And if they get in, if they get the kind of numbers that Chuck Schumer is talking about, they are going to take this country way left."

CBS' Schieffer: "Is this going to be the most liberal, left-wing bunch of senators ever brought to the Senate?"

Schumer: "Absolutely not. The Senate candidates are thoughtful. They're moderate. They're non-ideological, Bob. Look, they come from deeply red states. These are just the people America wants. People aimed at the middle class, not too far right, not too far left. But unlike the Republican incumbents they're running against, they do want change. They don't believe in Bush's policies."

Ensign: "Al Franken up in Minnesota, to say that he's a moderate, thoughtful candidate is laughable. ... The candidates they have around the country in -- from Oregon, North Carolina, New Hampshire, you name it -- have voted for tax increase after tax increase after tax increase. To call those thoughtful, moderate people, it really is not believable. But the reason that we're -- Republicans have a tough time, right now, is because we do have an unpopular president. We also are defending a lot more seats than the Democrats are."

Schumer: "My good friend John said the reason the Republicans are in trouble is George Bush is an unpopular president. ... Every one of these incumbents has voted with George Bush, up and down the line. So if the public doesn't like George Bush's policies, they're not going to like the policies of Elizabeth Dole or Norm Coleman or Gordon Smith. And that's why they're having such trouble."

Ensign was also asked about Sarah Palin:

CBS' Schieffer: "I'm told that you said, the other day, in an interview, that Governor Palin has been a drag on the Republican ticket and that, in fact, that you thought that Joe Biden was more qualified to be a vice president. Did you in fact say that?"

Ensign: "No, I did not say that. What I said was, Sarah Palin has brought out record crowds, that she, I believe, was mishandled by the campaign, but she has actually energized a large part of our base" (CBS, 11/2).

ROUNDTABLE ROUNDUP

The "This Week" roundtable made predictions for 11/4's outcome:

Time's Halperin: "Electoral Vote -- 349 Obama. Senate -- 59 Democratic seats. House -- Democrats net 28 House seats."

Ex-Bush strategist Matthew Dowd: "Electoral Vote -- 338 plus Obama. Senate -- 8 plus pick up for Democrats. House -- 17 plus pickup for Democrats."

George Will: "Electoral Vote -- 378 Obama. Senate -- 8 pickups for the Democrats. House -- 21 pickups for the Democrats."

Dem strategist Donna Brazile: "Electoral Vote -- Obama 343. Senate - Democrats 59 plus runoff. House - Democrats pickup 29."

ABC's Stephanopoulos: "Electoral Vote -- 353 Obama. Senate -- 58, or 59 if there's a run-off in Georgia. House -- 264 House Democrats (+28)" (11/2).

The "Fox News Sunday" roundtable discussed WH '08.

NPR's Liasson, on the McCain camp: "Unless the 72-hour project has been this incredibly well-kept secret and is going to spring to life in the glory that it used to possess, I think the race is very, very difficult. Look, what David Plouffe said was correct. They have a lot of ways to get to 270. John McCain has a very narrow path here."

Weekly Standard's Kristol, on how McCain can win: "He wins every state in which he's ahead or even, which gets him to 200 electoral votes. He then wins Ohio and Florida. ... That gets him to 247 electoral votes. He snatches Pennsylvania. That's key, I think, which would get him to 268, one short. That would be a heartbreaker, to win Pennsylvania and lose the election 270 to 268. ... Then he needs to pick up one state -- Nevada, Colorado, Virginia ... or conceivably New Hampshire. ... It would be a poetic ending for McCain to take Pennsylvania on the bitter small-town residents' votes, take New Hampshire out of a sort of loyalty to John McCain and win the 272 electoral votes. So that's how he does it. I've got it worked out. I'm not sure the voters agree, but it's not implausible" (11/2).

The "Late Edition" roundtable discussed WH '08.

CNN's Borger, on VP Cheney endorsing McCain: "Obviously, we all knew that Dick Cheney was going to support John McCain, but I don't think a public endorsement from Dick Cheney is just what the McCain people were looking for right now. You have seen George Bush kind of locked up in the White House. You haven't seen him out there campaigning for John McCain because McCain doesn't want him out there. Same thing with Dick Cheney. So I think this is an endorsement they would have just as well kept private."

CNN's Kurtz, on McCain's "SNL" appearance: "This is the John McCain who used to like going on shows like 'Saturday Night Live.' And I think it helps any candidate to laugh at himself and do that. But on the other kinds of entertainment shows this season, this has been an undue remarked aspect of his campaign, whether it's David Letterman going after John McCain, whether it's the ladies on 'The View' going after John McCain, Barack Obama has an easy time on these pop culture shows and McCain has not. And those shows reach a lot of people" (11/2).

The "Meet the Press" roundtable discussed WH '08.

NBC's Gregory: "Barack Obama on a Saturday is campaigning in Pueblo, Colorado, in a part of the state that went handily for George Bush in 2004. ... What's interesting about what's happening in some of these targets of opportunity and in the Bay states is that Obama is doing what Bush did successfully in 2004, at least they're counting on it, which is to create new voters. They're not just relying on their base, they're out there trying to increase African-American turnout. ... They could overwhelm the polls with that, and that's what they're counting on."

Washington Post's Broder, on the McCain camp: "Pennsylvania is their one offensive card -- a place where they hope to be able to break into the Democratic base. I think the odds are against them. And I'd have to say that the choice of Governor Palin did not work in the Philadelphia suburbs, and they're going to pay a price for that."

NBC pol. dir. Chuck Todd, on McCain's 11/1 "SNL" appearance: "It was just amazing, the Sunday before the election, there's one of the two nominees. You know, one thing about this campaign is all of the candidates that ran exposed themselves to a press corps that wasn't just the mainstream media, but it was bloggers, it was the entertainment media to a point. The only thing missing is they weren't strip-searched by TSA. Beyond that, we have found out a lot" (11/2).