Bush, Kerry Sprint Toward Finish Line

[Champ]

By DAVID ESPO and NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writers

MILWAUKEE - President Bush (news - web sites) and Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites) reached for the finish line Tuesday in a campaign for the ages, each claiming to be the strong, steady leader needed in a time of terrorism. "The world is watching," said the Democratic challenger in a race that defied safe prediction.


"This election comes down to who do you trust," Bush said as Air Force One carried him to a half-dozen states on a final full day of campaigning.


By election eve, uncounted millions of Americans had voted early in 32 states, including more than 1.8 million in Florida alone. Both campaigns primed Election Day turnout programs in battleground states from New Hampshire to Nevada.


Democrats, claiming Republicans were seeking to discourage minority voters, won a pair of court rulings Monday in Ohio that barred party representatives from challenging voters at their polling places — only to see both decisions overturned by a federal appeals court just hours before polls opened at 6:30 a.m. on Election Day.

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