Why today was a good day for Barack Obama.

Every day until the election, Slate will offer up one reason to be optimistic for your candidate.

12 days to go:

Today’s Good News for Obama: While other polls are fluctuating, Obama is still maintaining a steady lead in Nevada. Yesterday’s PPP poll showed Obama leading Romney 51-47—exactly the same as the PPP poll two weeks earlier. In fact, since the debates, Obama’s approval rating has only increased, from 49 percent to 52 percent. Now even a top adviser to Nevada governor Republican Brian Sandoval predicts that Romney will lose the state by 1-3 points. Without Nevada in the Republican column, the road to 270 electoral votes narrows for Romney.

See Mitt Romney’s earlier rays of hope.

See Barack Obama’s earlier rays of hope.