No letup as election nears

On the next-to-last day of the 2008 campaign, Republican John McCain continued his nonstop wooing of Pennsylvania voters while Democrat Barack Obama focused on Ohio, the state without which the GOP has never managed to win.

For both candidates, neither of whom broke much new ground yesterday, the emphasis was on firing up loyalists for the final push, rather than persuading the few voters left undecided.

Speaking in Wallingford, McCain assured 1,500 cheering supporters inside the gymnasium at Strath Haven High School that he would win the election tomorrow.

"I've been in a lot of campaigns; I know when the momentum is there," he said. He drew loud cheers when he proclaimed: "The pundits have written us off, just like they've done before. Well, Mac is back."

McCain repeated his criticism of Obama's level of experience, describing himself as a proven, time-tested fighter for his country. He also had a promise tailored to Phillies fans.

"My first executive order is that we will never allow the World Series to be delayed by an infomercial ever again," McCain said with a smile.

The rain-delayed second part of the decisive Game Five Wednesday night started a few minutes later than other games due to Obama's half-hour-long political program.

Obama's day in Ohio included rallies in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati.

"Go vote right now," Obama told supporters in Columbus, directing people to a nearby early-voting location that remained open. "Do not delay, because we have work to do."

He took particular delight in taking note of the endorsement that McCain received Saturday from Vice President Cheney, an endorsement that quickly became the subject of an Obama television commercial.

Said Obama: "[Cheney] knows that with John McCain you get a twofer: George Bush's economic policy and Dick Cheney's foreign policy - but that's a risk we cannot afford to take. It's time for change, and that's why I'm running for president of the United States."

The Democrats have a slight lead in Ohio, which was the deciding state in 2004. No Republican candidate in history has prevailed without it.

Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, said on ABC's This Week that he felt good about his candidate's chances.

"The main thing I worry about is complacency," Axelrod said. "I don't want people to hear me or anyone and assume that this campaign is over. If we are casual about this and we don't go to the polls and make our voices heard, then we could get a result that the polls don't project. And that's my concern. That's why we're hop-scotching all over the country."

Even as Obama and McCain made their closing arguments, they were careful not to get in the way of their massive get-out-the-vote organizations, which had hundreds of thousands of volunteers making telephone calls and knocking on doors.

The evidence suggests that the overall national turnout may be extraordinarily high, perhaps exceeding 135 million, compared with 122 million in 2004 and 106 million in 2000.

In the final hours, Pennsylvania loomed large, with polls showing McCain gaining ground but still trailing by an average of 7 percentage points - as opposed to 6 points nationally.

For McCain, the state was a must-win, even though it has gone Democratic in the last four elections, to offset anticipated losses in traditionally Republican states.

How much was the Republican ticket counting on Pennsylvania? After McCain's visit to Perkasie Saturday and his stops yesterday in Wallingford and Scranton, he was planning another rally today outside Pittsburgh. His campaign manager, Rick Davis, called the state the key to the election.

In contrast, Obama, who was last in the state nearly a week ago, felt confident enough of his chances to stay away, leaving the state to his organization - he has 81 offices and untold thousands of volunteers - and to others set to speak for him.

Today, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is to be in Pittsburgh, former President Bill Clinton in Erie, and vice presidential candidate Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia tonight.

Sen. Arlen Specter (R., Pa.) said that McCain might win the state if some Pennsylvanians who have told pollsters they'll vote for Obama vote for McCain instead. Specter said that such behavior, if it happens, would not be evidence of the so-called "Bradley effect," in which blacks running against whites have sometimes done worse on Election Day than in late polls.

"Well, I don't like the Bradley effect categorization and I don't like the suggestion of racism," Specter said on CNN. "People are just different on polling and voting."

At the McCain event in Wallingford, several voters expressed cautious optimism about the candidate's chances.

"I don't trust any of the polls; they take one at every hiccup," said Shirley Garman, 71, of Brookhaven, talking about a "silent majority" that favors McCain. "I personally think that everyone who's been very silent better get out and vote."

McCain concluded his day with a nostalgic touch, a town hall meeting in the town of Peterborough in the state of New Hampshire, which he considers his second political home.

Without his victory in the primary there in January, he likely would have been eliminated from the race for the GOP nomination. This fall, New Hampshire is one of the states won by the Democrats four years ago where he has much of a chance.

Another highlight of the final weekend for McCain was his appearance on Saturday Night Live, where he did a skit with Tina Fey as running mate Sarah Palin.

McCain concludes the campaign today with a seven-stop, cross-country journey expected to take 20 hours.

It begins in the morning in Tampa and includes rallies in Blountville, Tenn., Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Roswell, N.M., and Henderson, Nev., before concluding in the city of Prescott in his home state of Arizona.

Obama's final day is somewhat less ambitious with rallies in Jacksonville, Fla., Charlotte, N.C., and Manassas, Va. Then he will return to his home in Chicago to await the results.

The final event of the presidential campaign in this area takes place tonight at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia.

It will feature Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his wife, Jill, along with members of the Phillies, including Jimmy Rollins.

Gates open for the outdoor rally at 8:30 p.m. Entry is at Broad

and Bigler Streets.

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