Dole Pulls An All-Nighter

Candidates make final election push

PHILADELPHIA (AllPolitics, Nov. 2) -- Bob Dole stopped by for a cup of coffee at a New Jersey diner Saturday morning, and Bill Clinton prepared to deliver a campaign speech at The Alamo as both major party candidates headed down the homestretch leading to Tuesday's presidential voting.

"Insomniacs for Dole!" read one sign when Dole visited the Bendix Diner in Newark. GOP nominee Dole later turned up at a restaurant in suburban Philadelphia for a breakfast stop, where he was joined by retired Gen. Colin Powell.

"We can win this thing," Dole said. "Won't that surprise everybody?"

A Dole win would be a surprise, at least to pollsters, who continue to show the former Senate majority leader trailing the incumbent Democrat, often by double-digit figures. But Dole continued to pound the pavement in search of victory, going non-stop overnight in Michigan.

Dole hammered President Clinton on ethics issues, affirmative action and tax cuts at a truck stop, a bowling alley and a high school gymnasium in Michigan Friday. Dole's 96-hour, 10-state campaign blitz is scheduled to end in his home state of Kansas Tuesday morning.

Clinton was set to turn his attention to Texas Saturday with a rally at the historic Alamo in San Antonio, after a swing through the Southwest on Friday. Texas has not given its vote to a Democratic presidential candidate in 20 years, but Dole holds only a slim lead in the Lone Star State.

After Texas, Clinton plans to stop in his home state of Arkansas to boost the campaign of Democrat Winston Bryant in his Senate race against Republican Congressman Tim Hutchinson, and to make a final stop in Florida.

Clinton campaigned for California's 54 electoral votes earlier in the week, but canceled a planned election eve stop in Los Angeles, signaling the Clinton-Gore team's confidence in snaring those crucial votes.

Reform Party candidate Ross Perot, meanwhile, accepted Dole's call for a debate on campaign finance reform, telling a mostly student audience at Stanford University that he wanted no moderators for such a debate.

"I don't want to play paddle ball," he said. "I want a real debate to get real answers and get real committed."

Perot, who has pounded Clinton's ethics in recent days, particularly over questionable campaign contributions, said he did not expect the president to participate in such a debate.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Dole Pulls An All-Nighter

Candidates make final election push

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