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[NYBob]

US parties' final push for votes -


Voters cast their ballots on electronic machines
at an early voting location in Miami,
Florida (27 October)


Hundreds of thousands of voters have cast early ballots
Republicans and Democrats have sent thousands of volunteers
to the most contested US states to canvass support ahead
of Tuesday's mid-term elections.

President George W Bush has been rallying support in the
southern states of Florida, Texas and Arkansas.

Democrats, whose lead has narrowed in final opinion polls, are
focusing on Iraq, saying Republicans have blindly followed
Bush's "failed policy".

Democrats hope to win control of at least one of the Houses
of Congress.


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Addressing Republicans in Florida on Monday, President Bush
said: "I knew we were going to finish strong. Republicans are
going to turn out and it's going to be a great victory."

The BBC's Justin Webb in Washington says the president is
making a late but vigorous effort to persuade Americans that
continued Republican control of Congress is vital, and it does
seem likely that the party will keep hold of the Senate at
least.

Recent opinion polls suggest the Democrats will pick up seats,
and that the Iraq war and the president himself are unpopular.

But the final polls also suggest a slight gain in Republican
fortunes and that gain could result in the president's party
rescuing its fortunes at the last minute, our correspondent
adds.

Hundreds of thousands of voters have already cast their
ballots, taking advantage of an early voting system.

Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia allow in-person
voting before election day in certain cases - either at a
voting machine or by absentee ballot.

However, turnout on Tuesday is not expected to be above 40%,
and both parties are spending the last day trying to ensure
their supporters are motivated to vote.

'A world better off'

The war in Iraq has dominated much of the campaign. Both
parties welcomed the death sentence handed down to former
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein on Sunday.


US President George W Bush in Pensacola, Florida (6 November)



My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision,
and the world is better off for it
President Bush

The Republicans say if the Democrats win control of Congress
they will pull out of Iraq prematurely, while the Democrats
have attacked what they say are Mr Bush's failed policies in
Iraq.

"My decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision,
and the world is better off for it," Mr Bush said to crowds of
supporters in Florida on Monday.

"The only way we will not win is if we leave before the job is
done.
If you listen for the plan from the Democrats, there isn't
one," he said.

However, US policy in Iraq has been heavily criticised in an
editorial published in an influential military journal.

The Army Times, Air Force Times, Navy Times and Marine Corps
Times said Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the architect of
the Iraq campaign, had "lost credibility with the uniformed
leadership".

It urged President George W Bush to install a replacement at
the Pentagon.

The Democrats say they want a "new direction" to Iraq.

Correspondents say the Democratic party could push to
investigate the Bush administration preparations for the war
and there are also those within the party who want to impeach
the president for allegedly misleading Congress about Iraq's
weapons programmes.

A third of the Senate, the whole House of Representatives and
36 governorships are up for election on 7 November.

The Democrats need to pick up six seats to gain control of the
Senate, and 15 House seats to have a majority there.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6119724.stm