DEFIANCE, Ohio — DEFIANCE, Ohio - Spurred by the latest statistics that confirm the rocky state of the economy, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain exhorted their supporters yesterday to intensify their efforts as the marathon presidential race turns into a sprint to the finish line.
With five days before Election Day, the candidates stepped up their schedules, adding stops and rallies as they traveled to more battleground states. Throughout, the focus was on the economy, the issue that has dominated the last weeks of the campaign, and on the importance of voting.
Speaking in Defiance, Ohio, McCain told his backers that they faced an uphill fight against the Democrats, but that they should battle on despite polls showing the GOP trailing nationally and in key states.
McCain derided Obama, who bought a half-hour on most networks Wednesday night. The political infomercial was watched by 21.7 percent of households in the top 56 local markets, Nielsen Media Research reported yesterday.
"He gave his first address to the nation before the election," McCain chided. The Arizona Republican then put his own spin on Obama's comments in an interview with ABC News.
"Last night Senator Obama said that if he lost he would return to the Senate and he would try again in four years with a second act," McCain said. "That sounds like a great idea to me. Let's make it happen."
The McCain campaign's decision to spend two of the campaign's five remaining days in Ohio underscored the importance of the state's 20 electoral votes, which went Republican in 2004.
"I need your energy, I need your enthusiasm. I know history - I know the last time anyone was elected president of the United States without carrying the state of Ohio was John F. Kennedy," said McCain, who planned stops in Sandusky, Elyria and Mentor before heading to Youngstown for the night.
Obama spent his second day in Florida, before leaving for a whirlwind of visits to states that President Bush won in 2004. Among them are Virginia, Missouri, Nevada, Colorado, Indiana and Ohio.
Polls suggest Obama holds a slight lead over McCain in Florida, with its 27 electoral votes, and other key battleground states. Democrats appear to have dominated early voting across the nation, but Obama has repeatedly cautioned supporters against overconfidence.
"Don't believe this election's over," he told the flag-waving crowd of more than 13,000 in Sarasota yesterday morning. "Don't believe it for a minute."
