Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John
Kerry, D-Mass., raises his arms upon arriving at a rally in Detroit,
Monday, Nov. 1, 2004. [AP]
 |
U.S. President George W. Bush gives a thumbs up as he takes to the
stage at a campaign rally in Milwaukee, November 1, 2004. Bush and
Democratic Sen. John Kerry are making a final push through a handful of
crucial swing states today in a last-ditch hunt for the votes that could
break open a deadlocked race for the White House. [Reuters]
Bush and Kerry supporters clash outside the
Palm Beach county election headquarters in West Palm Beach, Fla. Monday,
Nov. 1, 2004. [AP] |
 |
| Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry answers a question
shouted to him by a reporter on the tarmac at the airport in Orlando,
Florida, November 1, 2004. Kerry was asked about the recent Osama bin
Laden tape. This is the final day of campaigning before Senator Kerry
faces President George W. Bush in the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
[Reuters] |
Squeezing every dwindling hour for
campaigning, Bush laid on a six-state, seven-stop tour stretching from early
morning into late night, mostly in the Midwest. Kerry was working the heartland
for a final time, too, after a morning stop in Florida, scene of the disputed
2000 vote that gave Bush the presidency.
At an airport rally in Ohio, where more than 200,000 jobs have been lost in
the past four years, Bush said, "I know the economy of this state has been
through a lot, but we are moving in the right direction."
"We have to keep your taxes low and I want you to remind your friends and
neighbors that my opponent will raise the taxes on Ohio's families and Ohio's
small businesses," Bush asserted.
Seemingly upbeat, Bush greeted supporters in Milwaukee a few hours later: "I
want to thank all the cheeseheads who are here."
Kerry, saying he felt "fabulous," headed for Milwaukee, too, a state Al Gore
won in 2000 and the Democrats cannot afford to lose this year.
Earlier, in Orlando, Kerry told supporters, "This is the moment of
accountability for America. It's the moment where the world is watching what
you're going to do."
He started the day by attending All Saints Day mass. Schoolgirls at St. John
Vianney Catholic School squealed when he shook their hands through schoolroom
windows.
Both sides had get-out-the-vote armies primed for action, plus lawyers
deployed across the country ready to throw any photo finish into court at the
first sign of polling-place irregularities.
"I expect this election is going to be decided Tuesday night," Kerry told The
Associated Press on Sunday, "but, given experience, I would be irresponsible if
I wasn't prepared to be able to protect every person's right to vote."
In an interview broadcast Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Kerry
predicted "a record turnout" and said he believed "Americans are determined not
to see a repeat of 2000." Bush won the presidency in 2000 in a postelection
tangle broken when the Supreme Court stopped a Florida recount.
Bush said it was vital to see a clear winner emerge election night,
especially considering how closely the process is being watched around the
world.
"We'll see how it goes Tuesday night but I really think it's important not to
have a world of lawsuits that stop the will of the people from going forward,"
the president told "Dateline NBC."
The long, bruising campaign was finally ending, surely not a moment too soon
for the combatants. Kerry occasionally coughed during his speech at a Tampa,
Fla., rally Sunday night, which in the past has been an early sign of losing his
voice.
Bush stocked up on lozenges and cut down or eliminated caffeine, which
constricts the vocal cords, said adviser Karl Rove, who figured the president's
voice would be hoarse in another day anyway. Asked what Bush is doing to save
his voice, Rove cracked, "Just chewing on me less every day."
Bush pitched his case for continuity in the war on terrorism before tens of
thousands filling the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Sunday night, the
fifth consecutive day he campaigned in Ohio.
Sunday night, With U.S. and Iraqi forces preparing for an onslaught against
the insurgent stronghold in Fallujah, Bush offered this explanation for the
bloody run-up to Iraqi elections at the end of January: "Iraq is a dangerous
place today because Iraq is moving toward freedom."
The Democrat summed up his case before a crowd of thousands Sunday night in a
Tampa park, the city's high-rise buildings as backdrop.
"This is the moment to hold George Bush accountable for the deficits, for the
loss of health care, for the loss of jobs, for the loss of America's influence
and respect in the world," he said. "This is the moment to restore our hopes and
dreams and bring back the vision of this country."
Kerry told the AP that if elected he would quickly name a Cabinet and begin a
"flurry of activity" to heighten the country's security. "I'm going to make
America safer and I have some very strong and real steps to take quite
immediately to make that happen," Kerry said.
New polls told a now-familiar story — it's neck and neck in battleground
after battleground.
A strong majority in a Pew Research Center survey said this election is
especially important, a result that could presage a high turnout. Fully 84
percent said so, compared with only 67 percent in 2000 and 61 percent in 1996.
Bush was stumping in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Iowa and New Mexico on
Monday before a final home-state rally in Dallas.
Kerry was campaigning in Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan on the campaign's last
day before returning home to Massachusetts.
Kerry's running mate, Sen. John Edwards, campaigned in Minnesota, saying,
"The American dream is on the ballot." Vice President Dick Cheney, appearing in
Colorado, said, "If you want my opinion, John Kerry's goose is cooked."
