Advice McCain Probably Won't Take.

Nate Silver, who runs my favorite polling site FiveThirtyEight, has come up with a couple of things McCain could do to maximize his chances. As Silver points out, there is no magic pixie dust here, he simply has to concentrate his efforts where he can get the most bang for his buck.

1. Give-Ups. McCain should concede Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

2. Offensive Targets. McCain should remain engaged in New Hampshire and New Mexico.

3. Defensive Targets. Some reasonably vigorous defense is required in Viginia, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio and North Carolina.

4. Gambles. McCain should limit his activity in Florida, Missouri and Indiana, and hope a national surge of some kind brings those states back into his column.

The reason I think McCain won't take it is because Marc Ambinder, a very good political reporter for the Atlantic Monthly, points out that the McCain campaign is set to make many appearances in Pennsylvania this week.

If you want to go a little more in depth and understand the recommendations a little more, the site has two maps on the right of the page, "Tipping Point States" and "Return on Investment" that show how much any state is likely to respond favorably to an increased attention.