An upbeat President Bush pushed through a six-state, 19-hour day of final campaigning today, saying he was energised by his supporters and confident he would win.
"It's like that marathon stretch — the finish line is in sight," Bush told reporters on a military tarmac west of Pittsburgh. "I just want to assure you that I have the energy and the optimism and the enthusiasm to cross the line."
At an outdoor rally, Bush tried to assure Pennsylvania voters — as he did those in nearby Ohio — that the economy was growing and that electing Democrat John Kerry would mean tax hikes.
"I know this state depends on a healthy steel and coal economy," Bush said about Pennsylvania, which has lost 70,300 jobs since he took office. Democrat Al Gore won the state in 2000. "We will keep taxes low. We will insist on free and fair trade and we will make those industries strong for the Pennsylvania recovery."
Bush, who got up at 5:30 a.m., arrived at his first event in Ohio aboard Marine One, the presidential helicopter
- his landing framed by the enormous doors of an airplane hangar.
"There is nothing like an early morning rally in the great state of Ohio!" Bush exclaimed in Wilmington, at 7:25 a.m., his sixth straight day in the state.
He won Ohio's 20 electoral votes in 2000, but Bush and Kerry are running neck-and-neck in the polls. Bush planned to stop in Ohio again on Election Day.
Bush's day was tracing an arc from the upper Midwest to the Southwest, ending in his home state of Texas.
"We're coming down the stretch and I feel great," Bush said. "I'm energized by the support that I have received across this country."
Both campaigns have waged an intense grass-roots battle to get out the vote in Ohio. "We got to get everybody out," said Edward Hass of Wilmington, who was at the hangar at 4 a.m. with his wife and children.
Bush was to attend a final rally in Dallas late
tonight before going to his ranch, where he will spend the night and wake up to vote at a firehouse in Crawford and then travel to Columbus, Ohio, to thank campaign volunteers.
The president was introduced here and in Ohio by Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, who told thousands of Bush supporters that voters should make sure they elect a president who "has the courage and the character to stay on the offense against terrorism until the war is won."
In Milwaukee, Bush shared the podium with Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson, a former Wisconsin governor, who said, "We all know that Wisconsin is a state that delivers in a clutch."
"Wisconsin is the place where eagles soar, Harleys roar, Packers score and George W. Bush gets four more," he exclaimed.
A moment later, Bush told the crowd, including some wearing cowboy hats made of yellow foam that looked like swiss cheese: "I want to thank all the cheeseheads who are here."
Several thousand supporters greeted Bush at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, but the crowd wasn't big enough to fill the massive exhibition hall where their cheers echoed off the rafters. As he did at every stop, Bush urged voters to view him as the best candidate to protect the United States from terrorist attacks.
"This election comes down to who do you trust," he said.
"You," the crowd yelled.
AP