McCain hits 7 states in whirlwind bid for votes

In a defiant last stand, the 72-year-old former war hero was planning to continue campaigning into tomorrow's election day.

Today he flew to seven cities in seven key states in a bid to cut a seven-point poll deficit and rescue his bid for the US presidency.

Showing remarkable energy and resilience, Mr McCain began with a midnight rally in Miami where he said: "The pundits have written us off, just like they've done before, and my opponent is measuring the drapes in the White House.

"They may not know it, but the Mac is Back! And we're going to win this election!" He went: "I'm an American. And I choose to fight"

After Florida, the former US navy pilot was jetting to Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. His campaign HQ said he would hold an extra rally in Colorado and perhaps New Mexico tomorrow, although details were not confirmed.

Frontrunner Barack Obama was increasingly confident, however, as he swept through three battleground states won by George Bush four years ago, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

The Illinois senator, who has repeatedly warned his supporters against complacency, dropped his guard at a rally with rock star Bruce Springsteen attended by 80,000 people.

"The last couple of days, I've been just feeling good," he told the ecstatic crowd. "The crowds seem to grow and everybody's got a smile on their face. You start thinking that maybe we might be able to win an election on 4 November."

When rain dampened the rally, he again abandoned his usual caution. "It's okay, we've been through an eight-year storm . . . Sunshine is on its way."

Both campaigns were running massive get-out-the-vote operations in over a dozen key states, using canvassers, automated phone calls and millions of pounds of TV advertising.

The cost of the campaign was set to hit a record $1 billion — about $8 for every vote cast.

There was no evidence of the polls narrowing today, despite Republican claims they were catching up. A USA Today/Gallup poll found Mr Obama ahead by 11 points, 53-42 percent.

The RealClearPolitics poll average had Mr Obama on 50.7 per cent and Mr McCain on 44.3 — virtually unchanged since the banking crisis enabled Mr Obama to open up a clear lead.

Unless the state-by-state polls prove wildly wrong, Mr Obama is on course to exceed the victory threshold of 270 electoral votes with ease.

"There's no doubt that we've got an uphill battle," said Republican political director Rich Beeson. "We still have a lot of voters that we can and will turn out."

Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said they were targeting Republican states such as Virginia, Colorado and Nevada for insurance.

"We did not want to wake up on the morning of 4 November waiting for one state. We wanted a lot of different ways to win this election," he said.

The Republicans put out adverts highlighting Mr Obama's friendship with radical preacher Jeremiah Wright, quoted as saying "God damn America".

Mr Obama responded to the revelation that an aunt of his is living illegally in the US, by saying he sympathised with her but the law should be applied.