From an October 27 blog post by Nate Silver, the New York Times's star political analyst:
Still, it is misinformed to refer to Ohio as a toss-up. Mr. Obama is the favorite there, and because of Ohio's central position in the Electoral College, he is therefore the overall favorite in the election.
From the front-page news article in Sunday's New York Times by Jeff Zeleny and Jim Rutenberg, also published October 27 to the Times Web site:
In the closing days of the race, seven states representing 89 electoral votes — Colorado, Florida, Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin — are now considered tossups.
So who is misinformed? Messrs. Zeleny and Rutenberg and their editor? Or Mr. Silver and his editor? Is it even independently verifiable whether either view is correct? Suppose Mr. Romney wins Ohio on Election Day, 51% to 49%. Does that mean it was a tossup on October 27, or it wasn't a tossup?