WHAT OBAMA'S TEAM SAYS

"We have a strategic advantage in size and footprint on the ground, and, even more importantly, in experience. We continue to have more pathways to 270 electoral votes than they do. All of our pathways are still there."

Jim Messina, Obama's campaign manager

The strategy: The president's campaign schedule this week reinforces that contention. On Wednesday, he will launch a two-day sweep through Iowa, Colorado, Nevada, Florida and Virginia, after which he will return home to Chicago to vote early. And on the way, Obama will call undecided voters from Air Force One. Meanwhile, Obama's team is increasingly confident of its prospects in Nevada. The battlefield this year is a narrow one. In fewer than a dozen states is the outcome in serious question. Democrats note that they have more registered voters than Republicans do in five of the most intensely contested states: Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Republicans hold an edge in Colorado and New Hampshire. And in Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin, voters do not affiliate with a party.

WASHINGTON POST

WHAT ROMNEY'S TEAM SAYS

"The quality and quantity of the data is light years ahead of where we've ever been. So we're going to be able to make a lot of informed decisions in this last two weeks that we've never been able to make before."

Rich Beeson, Romney's political director

The strategy: When the Romney campaign announced that it would begin shifting staff out of North Carolina, it was a declaration of victory in the state once considered so up-for-grabs that the Democrats decided to hold their convention there. His team also claims that narrowing polls suggest there may be opportunities in some states that were thought to be a lock for Obama, such as Minnesota and Michigan. And vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan scheduled a stop on Saturday in Pennsylvania, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 1 million. Obama officials, of course, dispute that, and note that Romney is not spending money on advertising in those states. Meanwhile, nearly $750 million in advertising -- more than 80 percent of it negative -- has flooded the airwaves in battleground states.

WASHINGTON POST