Time running out for McCain in race

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With one week left in a raging fight for the presidency, Republican John McCain is running out of time and options.

McCain trails Democratic rival Barack Obama in national opinion polls and is struggling to defend about a dozen states won by President George W. Bush in 2004 -- with the number still growing.

Many states that allow voters to cast early ballots report Democrats are turning out in bigger numbers than Republicans compared to 2004, and McCain is desperately searching for a Democratic-leaning state he can steal from Obama's column.

Cracks are showing in the Republican camp as aides to McCain and running mate Sarah Palin point fingers at each other and brace for possible defeat in the November 4 vote.

While a victory is still possible, McCain's path to the White House has become increasingly narrow and difficult.

"McCain has to pull off a political miracle the likes of which has not occurred since modern political polling began," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"The numbers are good and getting better for Obama, and time is running out on McCain," he said.

Republican consultant Todd Harris, an aide to McCain during his 2000 presidential bid, said the expanding list of Republican-leaning states where McCain is in danger has made his task more daunting.

"There are significantly more ways for Obama to win than McCain," Harris said. "It's certainly an uphill climb."

Obama has been able to solidify his lead in states won by Democrat John Kerry in 2004 in recent weeks as the deepening economic crisis and market turmoil reinforced his perceived strengths on the economy.

He also is a heavy favorite in at least two states won by Bush in 2004, Iowa and New Mexico, which would put him a tantalizing six electoral votes away from the 270 needed to secure the White House.

He has plenty of opportunities to find those electoral votes in a long list of states won by Bush, led by the big prizes of Florida and Ohio and also including Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana and Colorado.

"If he loses any of those states he's toast," Brown said.

McCain is trailing in Nevada and even faces a fight in Montana, where the Republican National Committee has begun airing ads on his behalf as a recent poll showed his lead over Obama at 4 percentage points.

A CHANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA?