By Karen Kasler, Ohio Public Radio
Columbus, OH – Obama spokesman David Plouffe told a crowd in Washington that winning Ohio and Florida would guarantee the presidency, but that those two battleground states aren't required for a victory.
The Ohio Republican Party says Plouffe's statement suggests that Obama is writing off Ohio. Spokesman John McClelland says he'd challenge Obama to engineer a White House win without the Buckeye State.
"As Ohio goes, so goes the nation, and I don't think either campaign would be well served not to spend time in Ohio," McClelland said.
"The Ohio Republican Party is going to work very hard on Senator McCain's behalf," he added.
David Wilhelm, former chair of the Democratic National Committee, embraced Plouffe's comment.
"When I hear Plouffe's comment, I think 'great', because it means that in the general election, the Democratic nominee Barack Obama is not going to need to thread the needle in a very narrow number of states in which he intends to compete, but rather that he intends to compete in a much broader number of states, expanding the number of states that are in play," Wilhelm said.