(Image source: EPA)

BY ZACH TOOMBS

Top campaign advisers for President Barack Obama laid out a road map to re-election in a press briefing Tuesday. Campaign manager Jim Messina and chief strategist David Axelrod identified a variety of different paths to reach the necessary 270 electoral votes.

The strategies assume Mr. Obama will carry at least as many states as John Kerry did in 2004, now worth 246 electoral votes. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews explains.

“The Western path to victory adds Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Iowa, which would give the president 272 electoral votes. The southern path starts with those Kerry states and adds North Carolina and Virginia, good for 274 electoral votes. The Midwest path adds Ohio and Iowa, which gives Obama 270 exactly. The Florida path, just win Florida. That gets him 275. And the campaign thinks it can expand the map further in a state like Arizona.”

But FOX News reports there could be some holes in the basics of Mr. Obama’s plan.

“While the Obama campaign’s point is there are many combinations that can lead to victory, there are signs some of the safe carry states are not so safe. A new USA Today / Gallup swing states poll found states like New Hampshire and Pennsylvania, carried by both Kerry and Obama, are now very much up for grabs.”

And POLITICO reports, in a noteworthy move, the campaign plans for President Bill Clinton to take an active role in the re-election effort.

“Campaign manager Jim Messina said ... he and top strategist David Axelrod ‘got to spend a little time with President Clinton about a month ago, discussing his involvement in the campaign. It was a great time to get his advice, and I think you’ll see the president out there with us next year.’”

Boasting of what he predicts will be another powerful grassroots effort for Mr. Obama, Messina said he believed the president’s re-election campaign has “more staffers on the ground in Iowa than any of the other [Republican] campaigns.”