[영문] 美 대선 후보, 선거전날 핵심주(州) 공략

U.S. presidential candidates travel across key states on eve of Election Day

Photo: U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Illinois Senator Barack Obama (C) attends his final campaign rally for the 2008 presidential race in Manassas, Virginia, the United States, on Nov. 3, 2008.

U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain traveled through key states Monday, before they go to the polls hours later on Tuesday.

 

    "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, on Monday night, marked the 20th time his campaign has stumped in Virginia.

    His running mate Joe Biden will also visit the state Tuesday 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 Monday, 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 Monday.

    

Photo: U.S. Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks at a campaign rally in Wallingford, Pennsylvania November 2, 2008.

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 Monday, McCain addressed a much smaller crowd in the same state.

    Both candidates vowed to bring about change in op-eds published Monday 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.

    On Monday night, both presidential candidates will have interviews aired on ESPN during halftime of "Monday Night Football."

    U.S. voters will go to the polls on Tuesday to elect the next president. /Xinhua