With one week left before Election Day, President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry both campaigned in Wisconsin on Tuesday, trading attacks on taxes, Iraq, and national security as polls showed the race extraordinarily tight.
Bush, speaking at an ice hockey arena in Onalaska, emphasized his economic record and portrayed Kerry as a liberal who would raise taxes on small-business owners. Kerry, addressing supporters in Green Bay, argued that Bush had left the country less secure and pressed him hard over the disappearance of roughly 380 tons of explosives from an Iraqi weapons site. Kerry also questioned reports that the White House planned to ask Congress for $70 billion in new funding for Iraq and Afghanistan.
National surveys gave conflicting readings: some showed Kerry ahead by a point or two, others put Bush up by three to eight points, and at least one had the race even. Key battleground states including Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania remained too close to call.
Former President Bill Clinton, just seven weeks after heart surgery, was scheduled to campaign for Kerry in Florida, with Democrats counting on his popularity among minority voters and his record of economic stewardship to shore up the ticket's base heading into the final days.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.