Higher Resolution Image
Of course this idea is cribbed from an earlier concept that was posted by Kos here.
This county by county version should make it easy for us to look at where the most red is located in the bluer-leaning swing states (where to focus our efforts), while reminding us that there's a whole lot of blue out there, even in the red states.
This was compiled using the
CNN.com election site, which has county by county state maps with the option to look at "Kerry Strength" or "Bush Strength". I superimposed the two in photoshop for each state and then layed them out over a larger map. So they do not line up perfectly, but they are close. The same process was used equally on all 50 states.
Though the hard numbers provide the information, the graphic makes the goal seem more attainable.
The higher resolution image can be used as a tool to coordinate the names of individual counties that are very red or redder than we'd like them to be in the key battleground states of '06 and '08.
Another strategy could be to focus enough of the red states' bluer counties so that we could tip the scales on the seemingly untouchable south. For example, Jefferson County AL, DeKalb County GA, or St. John the Baptist Parish LA.