In Final Day Before Election, Both Campaigns Pull Out All Stops In Swing States
In the frenzied final hours before Election Day, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama went on a whirlwind tour of the battleground states that will determine who spends the next four years at the White House. The 14-hour schedule spanned a total of 16 campaign stops in nine states, including appearances by both vice-presidential candidates as well as the First Lady, Michelle Obama.
Kicking off in Sanford, Florida, Romney presented a sunny vision of his possible presidency that reflected his “Real Change” mantra of recent times. “This nation is going to change for the better tomorrow,” Romney said. “You’re going to make a difference. The people of the world are watching. The people of America are watching. We can give them a better tomorrow, and with the help of the people of Florida, that’s exactly what will happen.”
Meanwhile, President Obama enlisted Bruce Springsteen at his first campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin, where the rock legend alluded to the theme of hope that drove the 2008 campaign. “President Obama ran last time as a man of hope and change, and you hear a lot of talk about things are different,” Springsteen said.“Things aren’t any different now. They’re just realer. It’s crunch time now.”
As Obama moved on to another campaign stop in Columbus, Ohio, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on the stump in Sterling, Virginia. Biden railed against the controversial ad from the Romney campaign that claimed Jeep was moving its manufacturing to China.
“Just as people are getting up off their backs, just as they’re able to turn and look at their kid and say, ‘Honey, it’s going to be OK, Dad or Mom’s back’, they’re getting the living devil scared out of them again,” Biden said. “They’re running these ads nonstop saying their jobs are going to be lost again.”
The ad has drawn criticism from both parties, including the CEO of Chrysler, who called the ad “inaccurate.”
While Romney prepared to give a speech in Columbus, Ohio, his running mate Paul Ryan was deployed to Des Moines, Iowa. Maneuvering around a tight schedule and attempting to hit as many stops as possible, Ryan gave four of his campaign speeches in airplane hangars. The Republican vice-presidential candidate appeared in Nevada, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado, and Wisconsin.
In Nevada, where the GOP has in the past struggled against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s get-out-the-vote operation, Ryan egged his supporters on.
“We know we can do this,” Ryan said. “Let’s just run through the tape. Leave it all out on the field.”
Both campaigns made a last-minute push for Pennsylvania, where all of the latest polls have given Obama 3 to 6point lead. Former President Bill Clinton was in charge of making a final case for Obama, whom he yesterday referred to as “my president” at a rally in Virginia.
“He’s got the better argument,” Clinton said in Pittsburgh. “And tomorrow, if you vote your hopes and not your fears, if you vote for unity and not division, if you think we can all work together, you will all re-elect Barack Obama president of the United States.”
Obama’s final event before the election took place in Des Moines, Iowa, where he was joined by his wife Michelle. Romney, however, will continue campaigning in Cleveland and Pittsburgh on Election Day.
