Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Clinton campaign takes last lap in high-spirited sprint Date: Tue, 3 Nov 92 15:19:55 EST Message-ID: \SE A;NATION \HD Clinton campaign takes last lap in high-spirited sprint \BY Ronald A. Taylor \CR THE WASHINGTON TIMES \DT ABOARD THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN'S FINAL TOUR ABOARD THE CLINTON CAMPAIGN'S FINAL TOUR - Bill Clinton's final blitz of campaign stops was billed as get-out-the-vote rallies but had a far more optimistic ring to them. "I feel the winds of change blowing in Ohio," Democratic National Committee Chairman Ronald H. Brown said yesterday at a Cleveland Lakefront airport rally. "I smell victory in the air." His comments came in Cleveland, the second stop of a nine-stop, 4,100-mile charge across three time zones to whip up election eve enthusiasm for the Democratic presidential nominee. Despite inflamed vocal chords, Mr. Clinton spoke at each stop, invoking popular Democratic presidents - especially John F. Kennedy - in appeals for votes today with almost no references to President Bush. He barely responded to the latest paid broadcast attack on him by independent candidate Ross Perot. "It's a political deal," Mr. Clinton said in Ohio. "He was political last night." His remarks to crowds have centered on his proposals and the prospect of a big voter turnout despite a wet weather forecast for much of the East Coast. "I want them to vote in the rain," he said, characterizing the exercise of citizenship as "one last stab at trickle-down economics if it rains on them [voters] tomorrow." "The great mystery of democracy will be played out tomorrow when your voice counts as much as mine or Mr. Bush's," Mr. Clinton told an earlier crowd of about 1,000 gathered in front of the Mayfair Diner in Philadelphia. He was introduced by Sen. Harris Wofford, Pennsylvania Democrat, who served in the early, heady days of the Kennedy administration Peace Corps. Mr. Wofford compared the spirit evoked during the Kennedy years to the can-do spirit surrounding the Clinton campaign. There was little need to say the Kennedy name. In the final moments of the campaign, rallies are attracting supporters with soaring expectations that, if he is elected president, place the Arkansas governor in the role of miracle worker. In Ohio, Sue Thomas, 25, a dental assistant, said she believes Mr. Clinton's support for speeding new medicines to market will hasten the development of a cure for cystic fibrosis, which afflicts her 22-month-old son. "Clinton's going to take care of my baby," she said. The party chairman was part of the massive contingent of media and staff making the grueling swing that began in Philadelphia yesterday and will end in Little Rock this morning. In the intervening 29 hours, the campaign touched down briefly at rallies, all but the first one at airports. The distance is the equivalent of a flight from London to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. At the Philadelphia diner and during Sunday evening campaign events, crowds acted as though the election was over and Mr. Clinton had won. At the Mayfair Diner, some showed up as early as 1 a.m. for the 7 a.m. Clinton appearance, said campaign aides. The campaign limped into the diner from a long night of rallies in New Jersey, including a star-studded gala broadcast around the country from Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands. Campaign strategist Paul Begala characterized the round-the-clock stumping as "a 'we-want-to-win' tour, not a 'we've already won' tour." "We need to win every state we're visiting today," Mr. Clinton said yesterday morning. By the time he got to the Southern stops, especially in Mr. Bush's adopted home state of Texas, his voice was fading again and the GOP counterattacks had resumed. "I'm losing my voice, but tomorrow, if you'll be my voice, we'll start this country going forward again," Mr. Clinton said in Paducah, Ky. "I think we can stick a fork in George Bush," said Texas Gov. Anne Richards in the day's largest rally at McAllen, Tex. "I think he's done." Mr. Clinton last night ran a 30-minute commercial on all three television networks, urging voters to ask themselves if they can afford what he calls "four more years of the same old thing." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM