During a candid and bittersweet post-election news conference in the White House, Obama signaled to Democrats a need to emphasize a 50-state strategy, citing his success in Iowa as an outline of an effective campaign.

“You know, I won Iowa not because the demographics dictated that I would win Iowa. It was because I spent 87 days going to every small town and fair and fish fry and VFW hall, and there were some counties where I might have lost, but maybe I lost by 20 points instead of 50 points,” Obama said. “There are some counties maybe I won that people didn’t expect because people had a chance to see you and listen to you and get a sense of who you stood for and who you were fighting for.”