The swing state

Political pundits in Washington, DC may say the race is virtually over, with Obama commanding a lead in every poll. McCain's candidacy goes ever downward, dampened by President George W Bush's unpopularity, the questions over Sarah Palin's qualifications and the economic crisis. A political analyst in DC joked that if Obama didn't win, he would change his career to become a brain surgeon.

Besides the above factors, Obama's war chest gives him an edge over McCain, whose spending is limited due to the public funding requirement. Obama was reportedly planning to air half-hour prime-time campaign commercials on a few major TV networks this week, which would cost him at least US$1 million per network. In comparison, at the North Carolina's Republican Party office, there was a piece of paper that said "we've run out of McCain-Palin yard signs".

Thus, what the Republicans have to do is to ask their supporters to get out to vote. Elizabeth Dole, a Republican senator who also has to defend her senatorial seat against the Democrat challenger, this week took part in a bus tour to energise Republican supporters and ask their friends to vote Republican.

During her stop at the North Carolina Republican office on Monday, Dole - in a red outfit - worked the crowd, most of them die-hard Republicans. She emphasised her experience and leadership as giving her the edge over Democrat challenger Kay Hagan, whom Dole called "wobbly". Dole told the crowd she was clear on what she stood for, including support for tax cuts and oil drilling.

Her message echoes McCain's promises. Ed Frawley, father of a soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was among speakers who told the crowd that he was impressed by Dole's prompt reaction to improve the standard of living of US soldiers after he released a video on the YouTube website of how bad the situation was for them. Alein Morris, the widow of a naval officer, who was obviously a big Republican fan, greeted Dole with a warm hug and said, "I love you so much."

Dole tried to boost the morale of the crowd, saying that the race is not over, in spite of what pollsters might say. The Republican's message was that the supporters shouldn't believe in the "elitist" national press, which tended to run negative press against McCain's ticket, such as the controversy over the US$150,000 wardrobe spending spree for Sarah Palin.

In the meantime, North Carolina will remain a political hotspot until election day. Republican vice presidential candidate Palin excited the crowds here over the weekend, and she was followed by Democrat vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Monday.

John McCain was scheduled to arrive here yesterday while Democrat candidate Barack Obama is set for a big rally at the state capital just one day after McCain's visit.