President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival John Kerry scrambled to muster support in swing states Friday, rolling out megawatt star power ahead of next Tuesday's neck-and-neck presidential vote.
Bush on Friday will pull into Columbus, Ohio with baseball pitching ace Curt Schilling, fresh off a thrilling championship run by the Boston Red Sox, and Hollywood star-cum California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The incumbent president is trying to recapture the initiative after being forced on his heels by Kerry's offensive over the disappearance of nearly 400 tons of high explosives in Iraq.
Kerry, fronted by, Iraq provided the fodder for a new round of rhetoric Thursday as the rock legend Bruce Springsteen, Thursday saw the biggest rally of his presidential drive when some 80,000 people turned out to rock with the Democrat and The Boss in Wisconsin, adding high-octane harmonics to the campaign. As usual Democratic senator from Massachusetts, stumping in the critical state of Ohio, said the Republican's buck-passing refusal to own up to responsibility made him an unfit tenant of the Oval Office.
"The president's shifting explanations and excuses and attacks on me demonstrate once again that this president believes the buck stops everywhere but with the president of the United States," he said.
Bush, who also stopped in Ohio, branded Kerry the "wrong man for the wrong job," and warned that the senator from Massachusetts risked emboldening America's enemies in Iraq by a "willingness to trade principle for political convenience."
"What does that lack of conviction say to our troops, who are risking their lives in a vital cause? What does it say to our allies, who have joined that cause? What does that lack of conviction signal to our enemies?"
"That if you make things uncomfortable, if you stir up trouble, John Kerry will back off. And that's a very dangerous signal in a world of grave threats," the president said.
The mood among Bush campaign aides was of guarded optimism, but they apparently feel vulnerable. After telling reporters that Bush would star in his final television commercial, they hastily stitched together a new attack ad that will hit markets where Kerry is travelling.
Kerry was clearly pumped up by his appearance with Springsteen at the Wisconsin state capitol building in Madison, also a progressive college town, where the candidate slapped palms and punched the air before the cheering throng.
Springsteen painted Kerry as a champion of the working folk and mythic America that are the pillars of his popular ballads.
"The future is now, and it's time to let our passions loose," said Springsteen, strumming his black acoustic guitar before launching into his hit "No Surrender," which Kerry has adopted as his political anthem.
Madison fire officials said at least 80,000 people showed up for the rally, which Kerry aides said was the largest of the campaign, surpassing the crowd that turned out Monday to see former president Bill Clinton with the candidate in Philadelphia.
Springsteen later joined Kerry in the Ohio state capital of Columbus, where the brawny Schwarzenegger was to stump Friday with Bush, despite their acknowledged differences over issues ranging from abortion to gun control.
New polls Thursday, meanwhile, suggested that Bush and Kerry could be headed toward a split of key swing states, further clouding next week's unpredictable balloting.
Kerry appeared to be making a move in Ohio while clinging to a small edge in the eastern state of Pennsylvania.
Tracking polls Thursday put the candidates in a virtual tie. The Washington Post gave Bush a statistically insignificant 49-48 percent lead, Zogby International had him on top 48-47 percent and Rasmussen put the president's edge at 49-47 percent.