U.S. President Barack Obama is in his home town of Chicago, Illinois to
await the results of the presidential election. In closing rallies in
battleground states, Obama cast the election as a choice between starkly
different visions of the future.
Obama spoke at rallies in Wisconsin, Ohio and finally Iowa, where a
political primary victory in 2008 helped propel him to the Democratic
presidential nomination.
At each stop, he urged voters to show up at the polls to ensure victory
over Republican candidate Mitt Romney on Tuesday. In Des Moines, Iowa,
he urged voters to help him finish what he started when he won the
presidency four years before.
"Tomorrow from the granite of New Hampshire, to the Rockies of Colorado,
from the coast lines of Florida, to Virginia's rolling hills, from the
valleys of Ohio, to these Iowa fields, we will keep America moving
forward," he said.
In about a dozen media interviews before Election Day, Obama and his
wife Michelle stressed the importance of voter turnout to ensure his
re-election for a second term in the White House.
Final Washington Post/ABC and Reuters/IPSOS polling showed Obama with a
two to three point lead. Gallup had Mr. Romney ahead by one point. All
results were within the statistical margin of error.
Obama officials said early voting figures favored their candidate. The
Romney campaign cited internal polling showing their candidate leading
in key states.
In Ohio, which could end up determining the election result, Obama
reiterated his determination to help the middle class, and said Mitt
Romney offers a return to policies favoring the rich that were tried but
failed in the past.
"He is trying to re-package the old ideas that don't work and offer them
up as change," he said. "He is trying to pretend that somehow these old
ideas that did not work are new and will work this time. But here's the
thing Ohio, we know what change looks like, and what he is selling ain't
it."
Vice President Joseph Biden, and Mitt Romney's vice presidential running
mate, Wisconsin Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, addressed supporters
in Virginia and Colorado.
"You know we don't have to settle for four more years like these last
four years, and you know that in one day we can elect Mitt Romney the
next president of the United States, and get our country back on track,"
said Ryan.
"The American people have a decision to make. We can continue to move
forward or we can go back to the very politics that got us into this
mess in the first place," said Biden.
On his final day of campaigning, President Obama had help from rock and
roll icon Bruce Springsteen, who flew with him on Air Force One and
performed at campaign rallies.
First
lady Michelle Obama introduced Obama at the final pre-election rally in
Iowa.
"Tomorrow we get the chance to finish what we started here in Iowa," she
said.
The Obama campaign announced that Obama will spend part of Election Day
playing pickup basketball with friends, close advisers and campaign
staff. The Obamas will have dinner at their home in the Hyde Park
section of Chicago.
Later, they will be joined by Vice President Biden and his family, and
supporters at an election night watch party at Chicago's huge McCormick
Place convention center.
At some point, when results are known, President Obama will address
supporters.
