Obama's U.S. travels reflect voting trends

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's domestic travel itinerary since taking office has followed a pattern of going where the votes matter most, analysts say.

Since his election victory last year, Obama has spoken in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri, Indiana and Florida, all places in which his margin of victory or defeat last November was fewer than 5 percentage points, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

The newspaper noted that of the 16 states Obama has visited since taking office, nine shifted from the Republican to Democratic column in the 2008 election while five were among the six that posted the narrowest margins of victory for either the president or his opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"It's hard (to look) at a map and not see red, purple and blue states," Robert Gibbs, Obama's press secretary, told the Post. "But as the president said famously, people aren't looking for red, blue or purple solutions, only those that will improve their daily lives."

"Every president keeps his eye on the next election, and all of them have a laser focus on the battleground states because those are the ones that matter," added Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution.