They agree: It isn't over

The candidates' itineraries reflected the tilt of the political map, with Obama eyeing a much broader expanse than his Republican foe. He spent Saturday in Nevada, Colorado and Missouri, all states the GOP usually counts on. His closing schedule takes him to states President Bush won in 2004 -- Ohio, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia -- and McCain almost surely needs to capture.

"We're competing in a much broader array of states than any Democratic nominee has in a long time," said David Axelrod, Obama's chief strategist.

McCain's foray into Pennsylvania was his one stop Saturday on Democratic turf. But polls do not bode well, with Obama holding a comfortable lead. In the final days, McCain will visit some traditional battlegrounds: Ohio, Florida and New Hampshire. But he is being forced to defend several states, including Virginia, Indiana and Nevada, that Republicans usually take for granted.

But McCain has rallied from deficits before -- his campaign nearly collapsed in the summer of 2007 -- and aides said the race was still competitive.

"We are witnessing, I believe, probably one of the greatest comebacks that you've seen since John McCain won the primary," said campaign manager Rick Davis.

Others in the party, however, were less upbeat.

Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), one of the GOP's most astute analysts, said McCain needed to "draw an inside straight" to win. "I'm not going to predict a McCain victory because I have my reputation on the line," Davis said on Bloomberg Television. "But it's going to be a close race."

Part of McCain's problem has been his association with the deeply unpopular Bush administration. It was Obama, not McCain, who trumpeted Vice President Dick Cheney's endorsement of the GOP nominee that Cheney announced at a Wyoming rally Saturday.

"I'd like to congratulate Sen. McCain on this endorsement because he really earned it," Obama said in Pueblo, Colo. ". . . Sen. McCain had to vote 90% of the time with George Bush and Dick Cheney to get it."

The strong early vote reflects enthusiasm that began during the primary season. In Colorado, more than half of registered voters have turned out. In Florida and North Carolina, early-voting hours have been extended to accommodate the crowds.

Still, there were massive backups as turnout far exceeded expectation. In Florida, people lined up for more than three hours to vote Saturday. The wait was nearly four hours in Arlington, Va.