NBC projection gives Obama majority of electoral votes

Eight days before any election results come in, NBC News is essentially predicting Barack Obama will win the presidency. The network's electoral vote projections -- which are based on an analysis of state-by-state polling, campaign efforts, early turnout and other factors -- say a majority of electoral votes will go to the Democratic candidate.

Even without factoring in the "toss up" states where the outcome is too close to predict, Obama can get more than 270 electoral votes, enough to win the presidency, assuming he prevails in states that are solidly in his column or leaning toward voting for him. NBC political director Chuck Todd said Colorado and Virgina -- two states that went for President Bush in 2000 and 2004 -- were now leaning toward Obama, putting him over the threshold.

If Obama also wins Nevada, where polls give him a narrow lead, the Democratic candidate can win the presidency without winning Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida -- the three states that have proved most critical in the last two elections. That scenario is exceptionally unlikely, however. Obama holds a double-digit lead in Pennsylvania and is up by about 6 points in Ohio, while Florida remains essentially tied.

The fact of the matter is that Obama is solidly on offense during the last week of the campaign, with the toughest fights occuring in red states.

Things are so bad for McCain that voters in his home state of Arizona are trending toward Obama.

Even some Republicans are beginning to doubt John McCain's chances. LinkHere