US presidential candidates travel across key states on eve of Election Day
4/11/2008 15:38
US presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain traveled through
key states yesterday, before they go to the polls hours later today.
"I only
have one word for you: tomorrow," Democrat Obama said at his final
rally.
"After decades of broken politics, eight years of failed policies, 21
months of campaigning, we are less than one day away from bringing change," he
said.
The final major rally in Manassas, Virginia, last night, marked the
20th time his campaign has stumped in Virginia.
His running mate Joe Biden
will also visit the state today when the polls open and Obama will return to
Chicago around 1 a.m.
McCain will campaign until 2 a.m. Tuesay with his final
stop in Prescott, Arizona.
The Republican will have a rally on the steps of
the courthouse, where his hero Barry Goldwater launched his 1964 presidential
bid. The site is also where McCain always makes his final stop in his Senate
campaigns.
Earlier yesterday, McCain called on Pennsylvania to help him erase
his deficit in the polls and score an upset over Obama.
"Just one day left
until we take America in a new direction. We need to win in Pennsylvania and
tomorrow, with your help, we will win," McCain said, pounding his fist on the
podium at an event in Moon Township.
"Volunteer, knock on doors, get your
neighbors to the polls. I need your vote," he said.
Obama leads McCain by 8
percentage points in Pennsylvania, 51 percent to 43 percent, according to CNN's
latest average of state polls.
National polls show Obama leading McCain by
about 7 percentage points.
As they sprint toward the finish line, the
candidates and their running mates were visiting more than a dozen states
yesterday.
They were using their final stops to urge supporters to volunteer
and help get out the vote.
"If in these final hours, you will knock on some
doors with me, make some calls with me, go to vote.
"If you'll stand with me
and fight with me, I promise you: We will not just win Florida, we'll win this
election," Obama said at a rally in Jacksonville, Florida.
Earlier yesterday,
McCain addressed a much smaller crowd in the same state.
Both candidates
vowed to bring about change in op-eds published yesterday in The Wall Street
Journal.
"After the difficulties of the last eight years, Americans are
hungry for change and they deserve it. My career has been dedicated to the
security and prosperity of America and that of every nation that seeks to live
in freedom. It's time to get our country, and our world, back on track," McCain
wrote.
Obama said that with him, voters can choose "the promise of change
over the power of the status quo."
"So tomorrow, I ask you to write our
nation's next great chapter. I ask you to believe -- not just in my ability to
bring about change, but in yours. ... If you give me your vote, we won't just
win this election -- together, we will change this country and change the
world," he wrote.
McCain traveled from Florida, Tennessee, Pennsylvania,
Indiana, New Mexico to Nevada in the day.
He was set to end the day in
Prescott, Arizona.
Obama's final day takes him to three Southern states that
voted for Bush.
In addition to Florida, Obama also held events in North
Carolina, and Virginia.
Last night, both presidential candidates will have
interviews aired on ESPN during halftime of "Monday Night Football."
US
voters will go to the polls today to elect the next president.
Xinhua
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