Missouri, Virginia, and North Carolina have traditionally been states Republican presidential nominees could count on.

That's not the case this year.

And it's why John McCain finds himself essentially playing defense today, as he campaigns in Concord, North Carolina, and Woodbridge, Virginia. Virginia hasn't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and polling suggests it's hard for McCain to win the White House if he doesn't win those two states.

Barack Obama has two campaign stops in Missouri, which also used to be known as a Republican state. President Bush won there fairly easily in 2000 and 2004. But in visiting Kansas City and St. Louis down the stretch of the campaign, Obama has turned Missouri into a swing state.