Nearing The Finish Line

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Nov. 4) -- President Bill Clinton and Republican Bob Dole, in a final, furious push for votes, hopscotched the country today with rallies in 10 states.

In Cleveland, Clinton asked supporters to let him to continue to work on cutting crime, improving education and reforming welfare. He noted it was Ohio that put him over the top in 1992.

"I have done all I can do," Clinton said. "It's in your corner now, and you must seize the day...I ask you to think tonight, before you go to bed, about what you want this great country to look like.... Look at your children. Think of the future."

With less than 24 hours until Americans begin voting, an upbeat Dole pushed on through the Southwest with his non-stop campaign tour, despite a deteriorating voice.

In Houston, Dole shared the stage with his wife Elizabeth, former President George Bush, Barbara Bush, Texas Gov. George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), and Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

Dole got a Texas-sized welcome when he took the podium, saying he was "proud to be with the Bushes, who brought integrity to the White House, and we miss it, we miss it, we miss it."

Dole continued to press his message that he can be trusted, and Clinton can't.

He said his "message is simple. I trust the people. President Clinton doesn't trust the people, he trusts the government." He kept up the attack, saying he had never seen such arrogance in the White House.

From Houston, Dole was set to continue to Louisiana and Tennessee and will wind up in Iowa. The blitz ends Tuesday with stops in Independence, Mo., and finally Dole's home town of Russell, Kan., where he is due to vote.

Earlier, hundreds of Dole's supporters gathered in Phoenix, Ariz., for an early morning stop at a diner.

"I don't believe in polls, but I can tell you about the good ones," Dole said there. "There's a poll out this morning that says it's a dead heat, it's tied across America."

Clinton's final campaign day dawned in New Hampshire, with the president weary, too, but joking with local Democrats. From Cleveland, he was off to Kentucky, Iowa and South Dakota before he lands in Little Rock in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.

Five of the president's weekend stops were to bolster Democrats in close congressional races. Democratic expectations of retaking control of the House or Senate are at best even, and shoring up flagging Democrats is a Clinton priority. Stops in Bangor, Maine and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were last-minute adds, for example, based on tightening contests for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Maine Senate candidate Joseph Brennan.

Dearer to this candidate's heart, though, is the quest for more than 50 percent of the tally. It's seen as an empowering figure after having been saddled with a 43 percent win four years ago. As Clinton drives toward that goal, especially in the final days, the push is to get voters to the polls.

Said Clinton: "Those of us like me are simply coming to you, the boss, to get our contracts renewed. It is now up to you to make these judgments."

But while the Clinton machine remains confident about victory, aides are increasingly aware that the now-steady questions about improper fund-raising practices may derail their march to majority, dropping their numbers, while sending more voters Ross Perot's way.

Dole kept up his strong criticism of Clinton on the campaign's final day. "Whether it's FBI files or whether it's the pardon or whether it's something else, whether it's foreign money, there's nothing they will not do. There's nothing they will not do to keep power," Dole said. "This is a game. This should not be a game. This is our country. The White House is not for sale."

At rallies in Loma Linda, Calif., and Sacramento, Dole was joined by running mate Jack Kemp, who expressed utmost confidence. "You are the engine of the greatest comeback in the history of American politics," Kemp said. "You will elect the next president, not the pollsters, not the pundits, not the naysayers...."

Kemp predicted the last few weeks of campaigning will pay off.

"I think what is going to carry the day for Bob is that there seems to me much more commitment, conviction, compassion, dedication and intensity to the type of people that would come out late at night or come out in the morning. So my opinion is that that is going to be the edge for Bob," he said.

If all goes as planned, Dole's 96-hour tour will include visits to 19 states, an average of one state every five hours.

CNN's Candy Crowley, Claire Shipman and Gary Tuchman contributed to this report.

Nearing The Finish Line

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