Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, and New Jersey

So here's the question: what do Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana and New Jersey have in common?

First, they are all big states that President Obama carried in 2008.

Second, they are all states that elected Republican governors in 2009 or 2010.

Third, they are all states with major battles underway with regard to cutting state spending.

Fourth, in each state, current polling shows that the Republican position on cutting state spending is much more popular than that of the Democrats.

Fifth, if Obama loses these states in 2012, he will lose over 60 electoral votes or about 23% of the total needed to win the presidency.

In other words, the stakes are very high in these four states for the president. Obama cannot afford to lose these states in 2012; yet, he seems to be positioning himself to be on the wrong side of the spending issue in each of them. And I thought that team Obama was so good at political calculations even if it sucks at running the country.