Second, the bad news for Republicans. Georgia is not as big of a Red state as in the past. Because of a foul-up in reporting the votes, most of the nation saw numbers that suggested John McCain had carried Georgia by over 60 percent. Not true. When the large metro-Atlanta counties reported, McCain dropped to barely 52 percent statewide, and Obama proved a strong 47 percent. In a generic no-name statewide Public Service Commission contest, the Democrat actually led the Republican.

The Obama organization has somehow claimed that they should stay out of the Georgia race for myriad reasons, including that the president-elect might "lose political capital" if Martin goes down following an Obama visit. They also point to a similar runoff situation in Georgia in 1992. That's when president-elect Bill Clinton came to the state on behalf of incumbent Sen. Wyche Fowler, only to then witness Fowler losing to the late Sen. Paul Coverdell in the runoff.

But what most don't realize is that the Clinton transition, unlike Obama's, was a disorganized mess. By the time Clinton came to Georgia, his approval ratings had dropped substantially (only to rise again after he became president).

Obama has no baggage. In fact, an InsiderAdvantage survey shows that Obama's approval rating has soared in the Peach State and is comfortably in the sixties-percentile level.

Jim Martin's only real hope is that Obama comes to Georgia and attends one of his massive rallies and sends every person there off to the polls to vote. That might mean a risky Election Day or pre-election visit by Obama.

The question is just how badly does the new president want a Democratic Senate that can pass whatever it wants, without the threat of Republican filibusters to stop vote.

No risk, no reward. My bet is that he doesn't take the risk and Chambliss keeps his seat.