The Hindu : International : Bush, Kerry sharpen attacks

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Monday, Nov 01, 2004

International

International

Bush, Kerry sharpen attacks

By Anne E. Kornblut

CHARM OFFENSIVE: Caroline Kennedy speaks at a Kerry-Edwards rally in Tampa, Florida on Saturday. She is joined by (from left) Karenna Gore Schiff, Cate Edwards, Chelsea Clinton and Vanessa Kerry. — AP

WASHINGTON, OCT. 31. The United States presidential candidates dashed into the final furlong of one of the nastiest races in recent memory with intense drives to mobilise their supporters, high expectations for voter turnout, and a deep sense of uncertainty about the outcome of the vote on Tuesday and whether it will be decisive.

Negative campaign

Both campaigns stayed negative until the end, defying a traditional rule of campaigning and gambling that their attacks would motivate loyalists rather than disgust the undecided in the dwindling hours. Terrorism dominated the public debate, with both the President, George W. Bush and Mr. John Kerry claiming greater strength against the backdrop of a newly-released video appearance by Osama bin Laden.

"In less than 72 hours, the American people will be voting, and the decision comes down to: Who do you trust?'' Mr. Bush told supporters at a stop in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Appealing to voters about 25 minutes' drive away in Appleton, Mr. Kerry was back on the offensive about Mr. Bush's handling of the war on terror. "It was wrong to divert our forces from Afghanistan so that we could rush to war in Iraq without a plan to win the peace.'' On the failed effort to capture Osama, Mr. Kerry said: "It was wrong to outsource the job.''

As masses of lawyers, volunteers, and election monitors flooded into a dozen battleground States, bracing for ballot challenges and electoral irregularities, polls gave little indication of breakaway momentum in either direction. One national survey showed Mr. Bush gaining, but the electoral map remained a baffling quilt of closely divided contests, setting the stage for a potentially long evening of suspense on November 2.

With campaign surrogates appearing from Hawaii to New Hampshire in last-minute bids for long-shot upsets, Mr. Bush and Mr. Kerry clung to a narrow swath of close contests in the Midwest. Wisconsin, where they nearly crossed paths, is a State that has voted for Democrats in the last four elections but appears dead even now.

Statistical ties

Mr. Bush continued campaigning in States won by Al Gore four years ago, also touching down in Michigan and Minnesota on a day of frantic campaigning before heading to Florida last night. Mr. Kerry took his campaign to Iowa and Ohio, his strategists pointing to statistical ties across the battlegrounds — and polling from this point four years ago that predicted a popular vote victory for Mr. Bush — as proof the race is even closer than it was in 2000.

A Newsweek poll released on Saturday gave Mr. Bush an edge, 50 per cent to 44 per cent, over Mr. Kerry among likely voters. An ABC News/Washington Post poll put Mr. Bush at 49 per cent to Mr. Kerry's 48 per cent.

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