The political world is overheated and overtweeted. Every little blip and slip is treated as a decisive turning point in an election still almost five months away. The same pundits who wrote off Mitt Romney for mentioning his wife’s two Cadillacs are now dismissing Barack Obama for saying the private sector is “doing fine.” They were wrong then and are wrong now. The election will be very close, and while it’s too early to predict the outcome, it is possible to identify some of the critical factors that could make a difference.

For Obama:

• Incumbency. The president has the biggest microphone in the country and the ability to control the agenda and make news, particularly in swing states like Ohio, where he’s practically moved in. Moreover, he acts as commander in chief, meeting with military brass and foreign leaders. Romney, like any challenger, can only ask voters to imagine him in that role.

• Demographics. The electorate was 74 percent white in 2008, and that figure will drop by 2 points this year. Obama won 95 percent of the black vote and 67 percent of the Hispanic vote four years ago, and those margins should hold. Democrats are already running Spanish-language ads in Nevada, Florida and Colorado. Romney could possibly reduce his vulnerability by picking Sen. Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, as his running mate, but as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said recently, Romney is in a “box” with Latino voters because of his harsh stance on immigration.