My state, Wisconsin, hasn’t gone for a Republican in the presidential election since Reagan in 1984, even though Republicans controlled the governor’s mansion from 1987 through 2003, and they have controlled the State Assembly since 1995. Large areas of eastern Wisconsin are firmly GOP-occupied territory, especially the suburban counties surrounding Milwaukee. Which is why this headline in today’s Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was so surprising: “Obama leads in fund raising in 5-county Milwaukee metro area.” Repugs quoted in the story are quick to emphasize that their people haven’t dialed into the campaign yet, and “some observers,” whoever they are, say that the close race between Obama and Hillary generated the sort of money that McBush’s early knockout of the opposition did not. Also, the article notes that dollars don’t directly translate to votes.

Despite all that, it would be the upset of the age if Obama carried an area George W. Bush won by 2-to-1 margins in 2000 and 2004, and one that hasn’t gone for a Democrat since LBJ in 1964. But the fact that he’s generating unprecedented enthusiasm in such hostile territory is impressive. It almost makes me a little more optimistic about November . . . but there’s a long way to go.