UPDATED ON:
Monday, November 03, 2008
04:44 Mecca time, 01:44 GMT
 
News Americas
US candidates stage final poll push
The election has sparked interest around
the world [Reuters]

The US presidential candidates have hurled themselves into a frenetic round of campaigning just two days before the nation's historic November 4 poll.

Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, headed to a three-city tour of Ohio on Sunday, a key battleground state, while John McCain, his Republican rival, targeted Pennsylvania and New Hampshire before heading to Florida.

Obama has maintained opinion poll leads over McCain both nationally and in key swing states.

The latest Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll put the Illinois senator ahead by 50 per cent to 44 among likely voters, up by one per cent.

"There are two full days to go before Election Day and obviously anything can happen, but it is hard to see where McCain goes from here," said pollster John Zogby.

Obama warned against overconfidence at a rally in Columbus, Ohio attended by more than 60,000 people.

In focus

In-depth coverage of the US presidential election
"Don't believe for a second that this election is over," said Obama, who if elected would be the first black US president.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds in Ohio said Obama and Joe Biden, his running-mate, had targeted the state in an attempt to attract voters who had supported Hillary Clinton, Obama's rival during the long Democratic primary battle.

On Sunday, the 72-year-old Arizona senator again attacked his opponent's patriotism and tax plans and insisted he remained on course for the White House.

"I've been in a lot of campaigns, I know when momentum is there. We're going to win Pennsylvania, we're going to win this election," McCain said in Pennsylvania.

Cheney endorsement

Obama attacked McCain after Dick Cheney, the vice-president, hailed the Arizona senator as the right man to lead the country because he "understands the danger facing America".

In depth

Map: US & the World

Video: The next president's Afghan challenge

Focus: Syrians assess White House race

Send us Your Views on the election campaign

The Democratic campaign aired a new television advertisement highlighting McCain's endorsement by Cheney, who has been linked to many of the most controversial decisions made by the unpopular Bush administration.

The advertisment contrasted the endorsement with the backing Obama has won from Colin Powell, the former Republican secretary of state, and Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor.

The presidential campaign has narrowed down to states that have been reliably Republican in recent elections or, in the case of Virginia, Indiana and North Carolina, that have not voted for a Democratic hopeful in decades.

Rob Reynolds said Obama was also targeting traditionally Republican states in the hope of taking some key electoral college votes in areas that were not traditional swing states, such as Ohio and Florida.

Under the US political system, the president is elected not by direct popular vote but by capturing 270 out of 538 electoral votes distributed throughout the country in a state-by-state contest.

 Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Feedback Number of comments : 4
 
Charlie Dean
Afghanistan
03/11/2008
US candidates stage final poll push
Republican leaders treat many people as though they were machines that no longer turn anything out, or as a cow that no longer gives milk, with the presumed a right to eliminate their unproductive neighbors. Were the elimination done quickly, we would call it murder. But death that results from poorness and lack of access to medical attention is slow enough that blame can be spread quite thinly. The arbitrary poorness and lack of access to medical attention is an act of barbarity.

Fernand MIKANGA
Zaire (former)
03/11/2008
US candidates stage final poll push
Hope OBAMA can win because I can't see the difference between George Bush and McCain. By the way, it's for their own good and I hope they can let Africa in peace. All we need is China, not the US, and we hope the best for them.

Charlie Dean
United States
03/11/2008
US candidates stage final poll push
Obama finds has feelings for people throughout the socio-econimic totem pole. McCain only has feelings for those near the top, and the only worth he sees in those of lower levels is to slave their lives away.

Sergei Andropov
United States
03/11/2008
Ohio and Florida arent swing states?
In your article, you say that Obama is "also targeting traditionally Republican states in the hope of taking some key electoral college votes in areas that were not traditional swing states, such as Ohio and Florida." Ohio and Florida were the swing states that decided the last two elections, and Florida in particular is the most infamous swing state in the history of the country.

 
ARTICLE TOOLS
 Email Article  Email article
 Print Article  Print article
 Send Feedback  Send feedback
 Share article  Share article