Today on the presidential campaign trail

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IN THE HEADLINES

Obama says he'll visit Iraq, Afghanistan before the November election ... Obama campaign looks for way to win presidency without Ohio, Florida

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Obama to visit Iraq, Afghanistan before election

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Barack Obama said he is going to visit Iraq and Afghanistan before the November election.

The presumed Democratic presidential nominee said he spoke with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Monday about the war and told him he looks forward to seeing him in Baghdad.

Obama has said before he was considering a trip, but his comment to reporters on Monday was his first firm declaration that he will be making the trip. He said more details would be announced.

He said he told Zebari that he was encouraged by the reductions of violence in Iraq, but that as president he will carefully move to end U.S. combat operations in Iraq.

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Obama camp sees possible win without Ohio, Fla.

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Barack Obama's campaign envisions a path to the presidency that could include Virginia, Georgia and several Rocky Mountain states, but not necessarily the pair of battlegrounds that decided the last two elections — Florida and Ohio.

In a private pitch late last week to donors and former supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe outlined several alternatives to reaching the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House that runs counter to the conventional wisdom of recent elections.

At a fundraiser held at a Washington brewery Friday, Plouffe told a largely young crowd that the electoral map would be fundamentally different from the one in 2004. Wins in Ohio and Florida would guarantee Obama the presidency if he holds onto the states won by Democrat John Kerry, Plouffe said, but those two battlegrounds aren't required for victory.

Florida, which has 27 electoral votes this year, gave the presidency to George W. Bush in the disputed election of 2000. Ohio, with its 20 electoral votes, ensured Bush of re-election in 2004 in his race against Kerry.

The presumed Democratic nominee's electoral math counts on holding onto the states Kerry won, among them Michigan (17 electoral votes), where Obama campaigns on Monday and Tuesday. Plouffe said most of the Kerry states should be reliable for Obama, but three currently look relatively competitive with Republican rival John McCain — Pennsylvania, Michigan and particularly New Hampshire.

Asked about his remarks, Plouffe said Ohio and Florida start out very competitive — but he stressed that they are not tougher than other swing states and said Obama will play "extremely hard" for both. But he said the strategy is not reliant on one or two states.

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DAILY TRACK

Democrat Barack Obama holds a slight lead over Republican John McCain, 46 percent to 42 percent, in the presidential race, according to the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update.

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THE DEMOCRATS

Barack Obama meets with voters in Flint and Detroit, Mich.

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THE REPUBLICANS

John McCain is in Texas to raise campaign cash.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"You have a lot of ways to get to 270. Our goal is not to be reliant on one state on November 4th." — Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, speaking about the electoral map.

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STAT OF THE DAY:

Democratic Party leaders have agreed to seat Michigan and Florida delegates with half-votes at this summer's convention — a deal reached after the party's Rules Committee members deliberated for nine hours.

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Compiled by Ann Sanner.

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