We are at the point now in the race for the White House where decisions must be made by both campaigns on where to spend precious time in the final days of this race, as what seems like a simple decision not to campaign in a certain state can quickly blossom into a major story.
The number of swing states I have been watching is ten - New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado and Nevada.
With 19 days until Election Day, how many times will the President and Mitt Romney get to those states? Will any of them go wanting?
The President spent the day after the second Obama-Romney debate in Iowa and Ohio; as I wrote earlier in the week, don't underestimate the importance of Iowa's six Electoral Votes.
"We're in Iowa and Ohio today specifically because early voting has already started," Obama Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Air Force One. "As you know, that's a key part of our strategy."
Reporters then asked about speculation that the Obama campaign might be easing off the pedal in some southern states - specifically, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.
"The same states that were in play and that we're competing in every single day are the same states today as they were three weeks ago," Psaki said. "And that includes Florida, and that includes North Carolina."
But the schedule already tells a story about North Carolina.
While Vice President Biden and the First Lady have both been there stumping for votes, President Obama has not been in the Tar Heel State since the Democratic convention ended a few days after Labor Day.
The current poll average in North Carolina shows Romney ahead by 4.7%, as Republicans have led in five of the last six statewide polls there, reversing a September where the President held the advantage by several points.
We'll see if the President stops there before Election Day.
On Thursday, the President goes back to New Hampshire - the four Electoral Votes of the Granite State could still be very important. A new poll out yesterday showed Mr. Obama with a one point edge over Romney, as the race has closed suddenly in the last two weeks.
Both candidates will be in Florida next week for Monday night's final debate; when the candidates leave town, they will have 14 days of campaigning left and ten states to choose from.
On Friday, the President will go to Camp David for several days of debate prep; Romney meanwhile will go to Florida early as he stops in Daytona Beach on Friday and then stays in the state to get ready for the final faceoff with Mr. Obama.
Once the debate ends on Monday night, both candidates will have 14 days to deal with 10 swing states - 11 if you want to expand it to include Pennsylvania or maybe Minnesota, where the Obama campaign is buying radio ad time and sending in the wife of Vice President Biden.
So that brings about a simple question for the final two weeks of the campaign. Where do you go?
No campaign wants to see a story that says the candidate is giving up on a certain state - but not every swing state may make the cut before Election Day.
Where do you send your candidate next week? The answer is more than just Ohio and Florida.
** UPDATE ** - The Associated Press is now reporting that the Romney camp may be looking to shift resources out of North Carolina and into other states:
At the same time, the GOP presidential nominee's advisers and the Republican National Committee are looking to give Romney more routes to reaching the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory. They are weighing whether to shift resources from North Carolina, where Republicans express confidence of winning, into states long considered safe territory for President Barack Obama, including Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
We are at the point now in the race for the White House where decisions must be made by both campaigns on where to spend precious time in the final days of this race, as what seems like a simple decision not to campaign in a certain state can quickly ...
