Dems Wonder What's the Matter with West Virginia?

— -- HARPERS FERRY, W.Va. -- It wasn't that long ago that West Virginia was a rather reliable blue dot on your electoral map.

Michael Dukakis won here. So did Jimmy Carter -- twice. Bill Clinton was also 2-for-2.

But something has changed: Al Gore lost West Virginia by 6 points. John Kerry made it closer, but still lost by 2.5 points. It's on Barack Obama's wish list -- but the long list, not the short list.

This is not the flip-side of neighboring Virginia, where demographic changes are making a red state purple.