Opinion: Two huge projected wins for Barack Obama -- Pennsylvania and New Hampshire

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

So much, it appears, for John McCain’s Pennsylvania strategy.

The instant the polls closed in the state, as well as in New Hampshire, ABC News and NBC News called them both for Barack Obama.

It should be noted that CBS News and CNN held off on Pennsylvania.

(UPDATE: CBS, as well as Fox News, have given Pennsylvania to Obama; CNN, as was the case during the primary season, is being more cautious in its projections and is holding off in making a call for the Keystone State.)

(UPDATE II: CNN just joined the pack -- Pennsylvania for Obama.)

If these calls prove correct, it seems unlikely that McCain can win any of the states -- which accounted for 252 electoral votes -- that Democrat John F. Kerry won in 2004. The Republicans had seen New Hampshire, to some degree, and Pennsylvania, to a much larger degree, as possible pickups.

Without either, every state deemed competitive across the rest of the country -- all carried by George W. Bush in 2004 -- would have to end up in McCain’s column for him to win.

That’s a tough task. Still, among these other states where the polls have closed -- which include Virginia, Indiana and Florida -- none have yet to be called for Obama.

-- Don Frederick

To ensure you never miss a single Ticket item, including tonight’s vote totals and analyses and everything on the new administration and Congress, go here to register for free cell phone alerts.