Prior to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, aides to and allies of Mitt Romney's presidential effort insisted the race in North Carolina was close. Why they played the humble-expectations game is not clear, but now that the convention has come and gone, those same insiders say Romney has the race well in hand and that the Obama campaign will soon wind down its efforts in the Tar Heel State. Not so, says the president’s campaign brain trust in Chicago. A robust operation remains in place. The truth appears to lie somewhere in between. Romney pollster Neil Newhouse...

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