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Obama and McCain vote, prepare their final pitch
Staff and agencies
With voters standing in line at polling places around the country, many people didn‘t need a nudge.
Obama, accompanied by his wife and two daughters, turned in his ballot at his Chicago neighborhood precinct — "I voted," he told reporters, holding up a validation slip — and then headed to neighboring Indiana for a last-minute speech designed to prompt as many Democrats and independents as possible to vote in the Republican swing state.
In Phoenix, McCain left his high-rise condominium to cast a ballot at a nearby church before preparing to fly to Colorado and New Mexico, two battleground states he would likely need to score an upset victory. He gave supporters a thumbs-up sign and was in and out of the polling place within minutes.
The running mates were voting, too. Democrat Joe Biden gave a thumbs-up after casting a ballot near his hometown of Wilmington, Del., his mother, wife and daughter at his side. He turned to his 91-year-old mother and joked, "Don‘t tell them who you voted for."
"Here in Alaska, where we‘ve cleaned up the corruption and we‘ve taken on some self-dealing and self-interests, we‘ve been able to really put government back on the side of the people," Palin told reporters after voting. "I hope, pray, believe I‘ll be able to do that as vice president for everybody in America, helping to transform our national government, too."
"I think these battleground states have now closed up, almost all of them, and I believe there‘s a good scenario where we can win," McCain told CBS‘ "The Early Show" in an interview broadcast Tuesday.
"We just want to make sure people turn out," Plouffe told "Today" on NBC. "We think we have enough votes around the country."
Waiting in line at polling places, voters appeared determined to have their moment after watching from the sidelines since the candidates were nominated by their parties more than two months ago.
At Herndon High School in northern Virginia, 51-year-old Jennifer Howard had huddled under an umbrella with a handful of others to be among the first to vote. "I knew the lines were going to be really long," she said.
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Nedra Pickler reported from Chicago and Beth Fouhy from Phoenix. Associated Press writer Michael Blood reported from Wasilla, Alaska.
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