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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry(L) holds up a Boston Red Sox shirt at a rally in Manchester, N.H. Sunday, Oct. 31, 2004. While U.S. President George W. Bush holds up a five-month-old baby at a rally in Ohio, Oct. 31, 2004. Both have begun a frantic sprint to the end of their presidential campaigns. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

U.S. President George W. Bush waves to his supporters after delivering a speech in Ohio, Oct. 31, 2004. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry delivers a speech in Manchester, N.H., Oct. 31. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George
W. Bush was winding up his reelection campaign Monday with a last-minute effort
in six of the swing states that could shape the outcome of Tuesday's
presidential elections.
Bush began the day with a campaign
event in Ohio and then flew to Pennsylvania, assuring supporters that the
economy was growing and that he wanted to continue telling what he intended to
do to protect the country.
"It's like that marathon stretch - the finish line is
in sight," Bush told reporters on a military tarmac west of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, a state that has lost 70,300 jobs since he took office.
He was scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin, Iowa, New
Mexico, Texas later in the day.
With the race coming down to the wire ahead of
Tuesday's vote, both Bush and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry
reminded voters of the war on terror and homeland security, as a new poll showed
Bush's support on Iraq and the anti-terror war was eroding.
A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released on Sunday showed
Bush's lead over Kerry on terrorism among likely voters had narrowed to 11
percentage points - 55 percent to 44 percent - from a 22 percentage point
advantage in an Oct. 22-24 poll. On Iraq, Bush's backing slipped to 51 percent
against Kerry's 47 percent among likely voters, down from a 14-point edge in the
Oct. 22-24 survey.
"If this country shows uncertainty or weakness during
these troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy," he asked supporters
in Pennsylvania.
At a rally in Florida Monday morning before flying to
the Midwest battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, Kerrytold
reporters, "I believe we deserve a president who knows how tofight a more
effective war on terror and make America safer."
Four recently-released polls suggested the race a dead heat while six others gave the president a statistically insignificant lead of one to three points. To win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of the 538 electoral college votes that are awarded in separate, mostly winner-take-all races. Enditem |