Dashing across battleground states in the final weekend of the presidential campaign, Democrat Al Gore wooed black voters while Republican George W. Bush pointed to the endorsement of a Teamsters Union official and a sign signifying Democratic support.
With just three days until the election, Bush's lead against Gore fell by two percentage points to 46 to 44 in the latest Reuters/MSNBC poll on Saturday. With a 3 percent margin of error, the two candidates are in a statistical dead heat.
Separate polls in each of nine key battleground states showed a totally unpredictable election. Bush made a charge in the crucial state of Florida, cutting Gore's lead to a single point, and overtook Gore in Wisconsin. But Gore drew level with Bush in his home state of Tennessee and stretched his small advantage in Washington.
PHOTO: AP
Both candidates campaigned across key swing states in a final sprint before the election, taking swings at each other in the hope of picking up undecided voters.
At rallies in Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Bush rallied the troops and appealed for new recruits as he worked to win their combined 56 electoral votes in the closest presidential race in 40 years.
Spotting a sign in the crowd in Pittsburgh reading "Democrats for Bush," Bush said: "You're not alone, brother. There are Democrats all around the land who understand there can be a better day in Washington, DC."
Bush appealed to disaffected Democrats to choose him rather than the "old, tired, stale politics" of his opponent.
"We're in for a tough race. This is going to be a close contest. Here's my message to all the elected officials -- in three short days help is on the way. Three days, help is on the way," he shouted to the crowd in Pittsburgh.
In Dearborn, Michigan, Bush received the endorsement of a local Teamsters union president, Larry Brennan, which he said would send a "chilling signal" to Gore that working people in the Democratic party supported the Republican ticket.
Bush promised a new brand of leadership in Washington DC. "America's ready for a fresh start after a season of cynicism," he said to roars from the crowd.
Seeking to boost voter turnout and to overtake Bush's slight lead, Gore began the final weekend of the campaign in his home state of Tennessee with a prayer breakfast attended by many blacks, including Martin Luther King III, the son of the slain civil rights leader.
"I believe that on Tuesday [tomorrow] morning, very early, before the sun rises, in congregations all across Memphis, you're going to be saying: wake up it's time to take your souls to the polls," Gore told about 1,200 people packed into a hotel in downtown Memphis after a rousing program of gospel music.
With African American turnout considered a key factor in the election, a series of black religious leaders at the breakfast threw their support behind Gore.
"My father often said that a voteless people is a powerless people and that one of the most important steps that we can take is that short step to the ballot box," King, the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, said. "So Tuesday [tomorrow] is judgment day."
Gore annoyed the Texas governor's camp with a comment at the Memphis breakfast that they interpreted as a slight.
"I am taught that deep within us we have the capacity for good and for evil," Gore said. "I am taught that good overcomes evil if we choose that outcome. ... I feel it coming. I feel a message here that on Tuesday [tomorrow] we will prevail in Tennessee and Memphis will lead the way."
Bush's Communications Director Karen Hughes called the remark "beyond the bounds of reasonable political discourse."
"We don't think the vice president is evil, we just think he's wrong," Hughes said. "The American people are not going to appreciate that kind of comment."
Both Gore and Bush steered clear of commenting on the flap surrounding revelations on Thursday of Bush's drunk driving arrest 24 years ago.
Earlier, Bush linked Gore to his boss President Bill Clinton, declaring, "I'm running against the incumbency."
Pointing out Clinton was campaigning for Gore and recalling his rival had tried to step out of the president's shadow, Bush added: "Guess what, the shadow is back."
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