KEY STATES TIGHTENING – AT 8:16 A.M. ET:  From the Politico:

Consistent with national polling suggesting the 2012 race has tightened since the end of the GOP primary, Quinnipiac shows Mitt Romney closing the gap against the president in Florida and Ohio.

They are more or less tied in Florida, where Romney had 44 percent to Obama's 43 percent, and Ohio, where Obama has 44 percent to Romney's 42 percent. At the end of March, Obama was ahead by mid-single digits in both states.

Pennsylvania is a different story. There, Obama has an 8-point lead over Romney now, 47 percent to 39 percent, after leading by only 3 points in Quinnipiac's last swing-state poll.

COMMENT:  How significant are these numbers at this point in the campaign?  Not very.  The election is six months away.  But the fact that an incumbent president is in danger of losing some of the critical swing states cannot bring comfort to the White House.  And the fact that economic numbers have not been glowing cannot bring relief either.

On the other hand, the president's flash trip to Afghanistan, complete with an address to the nation, shows the power of  incumbency, a power that will be used over and over by this White House as part of its permanent campaign. 

The formal campaign won't actually begin until after the conventions.  It will be vicious.

May 3,  2012