US President George W. Bush was winding up his reelection campaign Monday with a last-minute effort in six of the swing states that could shape the outcome of Tuesday's presidential elections.

Bush began the day with a campaign event in Ohio and then flew to Pennsylvania, assuring supporters that the economy was growing and that he wanted to continue telling what he intended to do to protect the country.

"It's like that marathon stretch - the finish line is in sight," Bush told reporters on a military tarmac west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a state that has lost 70,300 jobs since he took office.

He was scheduled to campaign in Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, Texas later in the day.

With the race coming down to the wire ahead of Tuesday's vote, both Bush and Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry reminded voters of the war on terror and homeland security, as a new poll showed Bush's support on Iraq and the anti-terror war was eroding.

A CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released on Sunday showed Bush's lead over Kerry on terrorism among likely voters had narrowed to 11 percentage points - 55 percent to 44 percent - from a 22 percentage point advantage in an Oct. 22-24 poll. On Iraq, Bush's backing slipped to 51 percent against Kerry's 47 percent among likely voters, down from a 14-point edge in the Oct. 22-24 survey.

"If this country shows uncertainty or weakness during these troubled times, the world will drift toward tragedy," he asked supporters in Pennsylvania.

At a rally in Florida Monday morning before flying to the Midwest battleground states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio, Kerry told reporters, "I believe we deserve a president who knows how to fight a more effective war on terror and make America safer."

Four recently-released polls suggested the race a dead heat while six others gave the president a statistically insignificant lead of one to three points. To win the presidency, a candidate needs a majority of the 538 electoral college votes that are awarded in separate, mostly winner-take-all races.

(Xinhua News Agency November 2, 2004)