Conservatively Speaking

While Obama and HRC play nice in NH, McCain is working to build some of his own party's unity in OH.

-- At a closed-door meeting last p.m. in Cincinnati, reports NJ/NBC's Berger, McCain got an earful of criticism from conserv leaders who say they're disappointed w/his lack of attention to abortion and gay marriage. "We're far from galvanized behind him," one participant said.

-- Obama's got his own problems in OH. But even if McCain can grab some of the white, working class vote, can he win here w/out big support from BC'04 voters?

--The McCain meeting also exposed what inside-the-Beltway GOPers have been grousing about for weeks: That McCain lacks a clear, consistent message. Is this why his state operations are still trying to get up to speed?

-- All of this comes on the heels of new polls that show McCain trailing in key states. Hotline's "Battle for the Electoral College" chart shows that where telephone polling has taken place, Obama has a lead outside the margin of error in 13 states, accounting for 242 EV's. McCain, meanwhile, has a comfortable lead in 12 smaller states, giving him 107 EV's.