Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post has a cogent analysis of Mitt Romney's troubles with the electoral college versus Obama this fall: A detailed analysis of Romney's various paths to the 270 electoral votes he would need to claim the presidency suggests he has a ceiling of somewhere right around 290 electoral votes. While Romney's team would absolutely take a 290-electoral-vote victory, that means he has only 20 electoral votes to play with - a paper-thin margin for error. Romney's relatively low electoral-vote ceiling isn't unique to him. No Republican presidential nominee has received more than 300 electoral votes in more than two decades. (Vice President George H.W. Bush won 426 electoral votes in his 1988 victory over Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis.) [...] In 2000, Bush won 271 electoral votes - one more than he needed to claim the presidency. In eking out that victory, Bush not only carried the South and Plains states with a near sweep but also claimed wins in ...(Read Full Post)