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THE OVAL

Presidential race too close to call

David Jackson, USA TODAY
President Obama and Mitt Romney

Only two days left — and, no, no one knows what's going to happen.

President Obama and Mitt Romney are scrambling for last-minute votes on Sunday and Monday in what could turn out to be a historically close presidential election — maybe not a rerun of the 2000 George-W.-Bush-Al Gore battle, but very close nonetheless.

How close, you ask?

The average of polls compiled by the RealClearPolitics website gives Obama a lead of 0.2% in the popular vote — 47.4% to 47.2%. That would leave 5.4% undecided.

In terms of the Electoral College — which will decide the race — RealClearPolitics now lists 11 states as toss-ups, totaling 146 electoral votes.

Among presumably solid states, Obama leads Romney by only 201 electoral votes to 191, according to RCP — it takes 270 to win the White House.

If current polls are correct — and of course many are disputed — Obama would win the Electoral College by 290-248.

But the Romney forces believe they are on the move in states like Pennsylvania and Ohio, more than enough to reverse the result. And many of the states polls are within the margins of error.

Hurricane Sandy further scrambled Election Day predictions. Will Obama benefit from a show of presidential leadership? Or will the damage prevent some people from voting, particularly in the suddenly close state of Pennsylvania?

The polls are clear — this race is too close to call.

The candidates make their arguments on Sunday and Monday — the voters have their final say on Tuesday.

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