02 November 2004	Tuesday	18 Ramazan 1425

WASHINGTON, Nov 1: Both President George W. Bush and his challenger Senator John F. Kerry swung into frenzied campaigning in the closing hours of a bitter race, urging voters not to sit at home on the day of election.

Although there are only hours left to the polling, the election is still too close to call, forcing the candidates to send hundreds of thousands of volunteers out in the streets for door-to-door campaigning.

Both Mr Bush and Mr Kerry were up till late Sunday night, but they began their Monday early. Mr Bush, who crisscrossed six states on Sunday, attended a rally in Florida at dawn.

Mr Kerry, campaigning as desperately as Mr Bush, also attended several services, praying with his supporters for a victory.

Last-minute polls showed Mr Bush a point or two ahead of Mr Kerry, but this was within the margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.

The 2004 election is also significant for American Muslims who want American politicians to realize that they may be a small minority but in a close election like this their votes also count.

There are an estimated seven million Muslims in the United States, 30 per cent African-Americans, 20 per cent Pakistanis, 15 per cent Arab-Americans and 13 per cent Indians. About 20 per cent come from Iran, Turkey, and other parts of Africa and Asia.

Opinion polls show that an overwhelming majority of Muslims, between 70 to 80 per cent, are eager to vote against President Bush because they believe his policies made life difficult for them.

Pakistanis, who are the second largest among the Muslims, are no exception. But some also want to vote for President Bush. They say that a Republican government is good for Pakistan and that Democrats tend to favour India. So they want to bring a Republican government, even if it makes things difficult for them.

There's also a feeling among the Pakistanis that President Musharraf wants Mr Bush to win and that's why pro-government Pakistanis want to reelect Mr Bush.

The Indians, on the other hand, are more focused. Recently, an Indian lobby sent a letter to Mr Bush, saying that while it had supported his bid for a second term in office, "reports of F-16 deliveries to Pakistan would make several members reconsider their endorsement".

"I am going to make America safer," said Mr Kerry. "I have some very strong and real steps to take quite immediately to make that happen."

Mr Bush emphasized a similar theme. "If you believe America should fight the war on terror with all her might and lead with unwavering confidence," he said, "I ask you, come stand by me."

Although the war on terror, has dominated this year's campaign since the beginning, Osama bin Laden's taped message, played last week, has further increased the emphasis on this issue. This basically is good news for the Bush campaign because recent surveys show that an overwhelming majority of Americans, eight out of 10, believe Mr Bush will be more effective than Mr Kerry in fighting terrorism.

This year's campaign is also considered the costliest in America's history. So far, the two campaigns have already spent over $600 million on political advertising.

And yet, the election's outcome remains uncertain, forcing the candidates to campaign feverishly on Monday in the so-called battleground states they must win to have the required 270 electoral votes.

The war in Iraq also has remained a key issue throughout the campaign. Events, like the deaths of six US Marines during the weekend, continued to remind the Americans that Iraq also needs their attention. And on Monday afternoon, the Ministry of Interior in Baghdad announced that an American was among four foreigners who were kidnapped earlier in the day from the capital's al Mansur district.

The news, coming so close to the election, is also expected to influence the voters when the polling begins on Tuesday.