A 50-state strategy will be impossible for the Presidential nominee Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, Stephen Fehr of Stateline.org reported today. Instead, the presidential race will come down to 20 states.

Maine isn’t on the list.

When former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean took over as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he said the party would compete in every state – even those that are traditionally red.

Maine is traditionally considered to be a blue state. Obama’s campaign has staff on the ground. McCain’s campaign does not.

Charles Cook, who publishes the Cook Political Report, told Stateline:

“It makes all the sense in the world for Howard Dean to pursue a 50 state strategy, because his job is to build a national party with the long haul in mind. For a presidential campaign, a 50 state strategy is as much a cliche as a strategy. It's basically saying, ‘We're going to pay some attention to all 50 states, we aren't going to ignore any state.’ Obviously every state doesn't get equal resources but it does give his supporters and donors a sense of involvement regardless of whether they live in a battleground state.”