Candidates make final push

Amidst pessimism, Dole volunteersAmidst pessimism, Dole volunteersmaintain hope for victory tonight WASHINGTON -- The "Countdown to the White House" sign in Bob Dole's campaign headquarters was down to one yesterday, as exhausted staffers continued their push in the final hours leading up to today's election. Campaign employees and volunteers answered phone calls from nervous voters, finalized arrangements for tonight's "victory" party in a downtown Washington hotel and spoke by phone regularly with their 73-year-old Republican candidate. Dole spent the day barnstorming through key southern states as part of 96 hours of last-ditch campaigning that began last Friday. And while Dole showed no signs of strain from the grueling effort, the strategy had clearly taken its toll on his campaign employees and volunteers, many of whom had worked -- except for shower breaks -- almost continuously. "We're exhausted and short-tempered by all of the hours of working," said Dole staffer David Nevitt, who said he hadn't slept at home in more than five days. "But most of us figured that if Dole can do it at his age, we really shouldn't complain." Other staffers said Dole's vigor had inspired them to work harder during the campaign's final days. "Dole is showing what he's made of and how much this campaign means to him by pushing himself this hard," noted a volunteer. "His effort is keeping all of us focused." But while the campaign publicly stressed that new data -- such as a recent Reuters/Zogby poll showing Dole trailing the president by only 3.5 to 8 percentage points -- proves the election is still winnable, many staffers at Dole's Washington headquarters were privately willing to concede a probable Dole defeat. "We're not deluding ourselves into believing that Dole will win tomorrow," admitted a media relations volunteer. "But the race is going to be much, much closer than the polls would have you believe." The volunteer added that "even the network polls" have begun to show the Republicans will at least maintain their control of Congress. "Something's happening to voters out in the America that's making them shift away from Clinton and the Democrats," he said. "All of the Democratic cheating on campaign finance has begun to catch up to them." For many campaign staffers, keeping Republican control of the Senate and House of Representatives has become the "last remaining hope," the volunteer said. While campaign workers seemed largely resigned to their candidate's second-place finish, others still found cause for optimism. Internal tracking polls have indicated that Dole may be ahead or within the margin of error in states that would bring up their total to 230 electoral votes -- only 40 votes short of the 270 needed for victory. But even if Dole were to win all of those states, he needs to break the president's hold on California and its 54 electoral votes to win the election. Consequently, the campaign has devoted significant amounts of time and money toward winning California. Such efforts had proven largely ineffective, however, with state polls showing Clinton leading the former senator by a double-digit margin. Back in Washington, though, Nevitt says he hasn't lost hope for a victory. "I was first attracted to Bob Dole because he reminds me of my grandfather -- a tough, seedy ex-warrior who speaks through his actions," he said, pointing to a Virginia license plate reading 'BY2BILL.' "And old sons-of-bitches like them have a habit of coming out on top," he added. Tomorrow, Dole will visit Springfield, Ill., Des Moines, Iowa, and Kansas City, Miss. He will arrive in his hometown of Russell, Kan., at noon to cast his ballot and then will travel to Washington to await election returns.