M A I N   N E W S

US presidential race heads for photo-finish
By Vasantha Arora

WASHINGTON, Nov 6 — On the eve of polling in the US presidential election, Vice-President Al Gore (Democrat) and Texas Governor George Bush (Republican) appear headed for a photo-finish as almost all opinion polls continue to show the race as a statistical dead heat.

A few polls gave a marginal edge to Bush over Gore who finds his support base somewhat eroded by Green Party candidate Ralph Nader. But the Vice-President, campaigning in the battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin on Sunday, insisted that numbers and the people would be on his side by the time the votes are counted.

The last-ditch battle is being fought in the nine key states. Mr Bush and Mr Gore are locked in a neck and neck race in Florida and Pennsylvania. Mr Bush is stated to have slight edges in Missouri, Wisconsin and Mr Gore's home state, Tennessee. Mr Gore is a little ahead in Washington state.

The latest Reuters/MSNBC tracking poll issued on Sunday found Mr Bush leading the vice president 47-46 per cent. Green Party candidate Ralph Nader continued to hurt Mr Gore, polling 5 per cent, which is a dead loss to Mr Gore.

A new NBC News-Wall Street Journal national survey released on Sunday showed that the race remains too close to call, with Mr Bush at 47 per cent, Mr Gore at 44 per cent and Mr Nader at 4 per cent. Its margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

In a CNN poll, only 9 per cent of likely voters say Mr Bush's arrest for drunken driving in 1976 has made them less likely to vote for him, and 77 per cent say the arrest is not relevant to Mr Bush's ability to serve as President. Sixteen per cent say the arrest is relevant to Mr Bush's ability to serve as President.

Only in the latest Newsweek poll, released on Saturday, does Mr Gore lead Mr Bush, by 44 per cent to 41. Mr Gore's efforts now centre on energising the Democratic Party's traditional base comprising blacks, other minorities and working class, a section of which leans towards Mr Nader. Its complaint is that the Democratic Party had abandoned its "traditional liberal role and policies in the interest of political power."

Mr Nader, a consumer activist, in a television interview, rejected calls by the New York Times and others that he and his supporters back Mr Gore to ensure the Republican defeat. The Times has endorsed Mr Gore's candidacy. Mr Nader said his goal was to "build a new party, a political reform movement for the long term."

The Green Party nominee addressed a largely attended rally here on Sunday in which he attacked Mr Bush's "phony phrases of compassionate conservatism" and Mr Gore's "phony call of I'll fight for you (people), not for the powerful" and said, "it's time to go beyond that."

President Bill Clinton was also out on Sunday in his home state of Arkansas to rally support for Mr Gore to preserve the hard-earned economic and other gains of his administration.

Meanwhile, Mr Bush was back in Florida, of which his younger brother Jeb is governor. The critical state appears to be going in favor of Mr Gore. The governor was making a final attempt to keep the territory, till recently considered sympathetic to the Republican Party, from falling into the hands of the opposite camp.

Republican Senator John McCain who lost to Mr Bush in the race for party ticket, said he remained "optimistic, mildly," about the governor's chances because of the small, consistent leads he had shown in surveys. "I think it's too close to call and I think we're going to be up very late on November 7," Mr McCain said.

Along with the President, the country will also vote tomorrow for Congress, currently under Republican control. The Democratic Party is going all out to secure majority. Its prominent candidate is first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. She is running for a Senate seat from New York and has a slight lead over her Republican rival Rick Lazio, a sitting member of the House, in the latest polls.

Mr Clinton is to fill the place caused by the retirement of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a former US Ambassador to India.

Democrats need seven seats to win control of the House of Representatives.

— India Abroad News Service