POLITICAL BRIEFING

NUMBERS GAME: An updated check of the electoral map vividly illustrates the magnitude of the challenge facing President Bush in his reelection bid. A survey by the Associated Press finds Bush solidly ahead in only two states: Nebraska and Utah. Those states provide only 10 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. . . . Democrat Bill Clinton, meanwhile, was judged the clear favorite in states with roughly 200 electoral votes. These include California (54), New York (33) and Illinois (22). Clinton also leads in most of the large states still viewed as tossups, such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. . . . “I don’t like the numbers I see,” said Rex Early, Indiana’s state Republican chairman. “I’m glad the election is not today.”