Bush Becoming A Wonk?

Bucking conventional wisdom that Olympic games trump election campaigns, Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush plans a marathon of his own next week, visiting nine states and 12 cities in six days.

The Texas governor, trailing rival Al Gore in many polls and dead even in some with seven weeks until the November 7th election, will travel 6,076 miles in search of votes, competing for news coverage with the world's best athletes more than 10,000 miles away in Sydney, Australia.

Analysts have predicted a two-week hiatus in the campaign while Americans tune in to sports and tune out politics, but Bush, struggling to regain momentum in a race he once led by double-digits, will be running harder than ever.

“We will be talking about how the governor's real plans for real people affect people, affect middle America, at every stage of their lives, from birth towards retirement and their need for retirement security,” Communications Director Karen Hughes said.

Bush, speaking from his ranch in Texas on CNN's Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields on Saturday, waved off suggestions that he is a tired candidate as “pure malarkey.” He vowed his campaign against the vice president will renew its focus on tax reduction, education and health care.

“My supporters have got to know something: they're working hard and I'm working hard right along with them,” he said

“I absolutely want to win, I'm going to win. I've got a strong schedule to get my message out in front of people,” Bush declared.

For the first time in months, he has added a sixth day of travel next week, leaving just the seventh to rest. Among the nine states he will visit are Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and Florida, four of the crucial battleground states that will help decide who wins the presidency.

Hughes pointed out that the states in which Bush would campaign represent 160 of the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the White House.