Trail Bytes
As the presidential race heads into the home stretch, CBS News reporters are out on the road traveling with the Bush-Cheney and Kerry-Edwards campaigns.
Read their dispatches and keep up with the latest campaign news in Trail Bytes, updated daily on CBSNews.com
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
It may strike some as wild-eyed wishful thinking, but President Bush says he thinks he can win California in November.
Of course he lost the state by over a million votes in 2000 and he's trailing badly in the latest polls.
The most recent Field Poll shows Mr. Bush behind John Kerry in California by 53% to 41%.
But addressing a $3-million Republican fundraiser Thursday night in Santa Monica, candidate Bush essentially served notice on Kerry that California is up for grabs.
"I intend to compete in California," said the president. "I'm looking forward to coming to this great state. Nobody should take this state for granted in 2004."
Saying a supporter told him he's going to win the Golden State this year and its unrivaled prize of 55 electoral votes, Mr. Bush boldly declared, "You know what, I think I am."
Unlike last time, Mr. Bush has California's Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, on his side. At the fundraiser last night, Schwarzenegger, with tongue in cheek, offered assurances he's doing all he can to deliver his state to President Bush.
"I've been organizing Austrian-born bodybuilders for Bush-Cheney," he said to howls of laughter. He said he's "even been organizing girlie men for Bush-Cheney."
Schwarzenegger also kidded Mr. Bush saying he has it easy.
"He only has to debate with a Kennedy Democrat a few times. I have to debate with one every morning when I have breakfast," said the governor, in a veiled reference to his wife Maria Shriver.
Mr. Bush countered that he has much in common with the governor.
"We both married above ourselves. We both have trouble with the English language. And we both have big biceps. Well, two out of three aren't bad."
Mr. Bush hailed Schwarzenegger as one who is getting the job done in California. And the president said he wants to be viewed the same way in the nation's capital.
Mr. Bush also won a formal endorsement from former first lady Nancy Reagan. Mr. and Mrs. Bush paid a courtesy call on Mrs. Reagan Thursday at her Bel Air home. And later she issued a written statement saying the president had her "full support for re-election."
Though she thinks Mr. Bush should be doing more to encourage embryonic stem cell research, a spokesman said that issue never came up in the president's hour-long meeting with Mrs. Reagan.
From California Friday morning, President Bush heads north to Oregon and Washington – both battleground states he lost last time around, but wants to be seen making an effort to win this year.
--Mark Knoller
SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS.
Thursday afternoon, Kerry and his traveling cabal played the waiting game at the airport in Long Beach, Calif., as the group spent over an hour frolicking on the tarmac, while his wife Teresa wrapped up a series of personal meetings.
Kerry spent most of the time tossing a baseball and, later, a football around with staffers and reporters.
Realizing he had more time to kill, he headed over to the hangar and chatted with several California Highway Patrol motorcycle cops, telling them he spoke with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger yesterday - on the phone - and ribbing them for riding BMW bikes instead of Harleys.
The cops replied that it was a contract issue and that the BMWs were the only motorcycles that had the kind of brakes stipulated in the contract.
Prior to Kerry's arrival at the airport, one of the VIPs who was standing by on the tarmac to greet him wound up breaking her leg as she stepped of the stairs to the jet.
Long Beach City Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal was put in an ambulance and moved several hundred feet from the plane. When informed about Lowenthal's injury, Kerry ambled over to the ambulance in an effort to boost her spirits.
Spokesman David Wade, who always seems to be on message, explained the situation by playing off one of Kerry's slogans.
"When John Kerry arrived at the airport," said Wade, "help really was on the way."
--Steve Chaggaris
SEN JOHN EDWARDS, D-N.C.
Edwards emerged from his 3½-day vacation Friday morning to begin a tour across the country to promote the Kerry-Edwards economic "path to prosperity."
While his camera-friendly running mate has allowed photographers to document his extracurricular activities on vacation (kite-surfing, bike riding, skiing), Edwards chose to remain out of the spotlight in his Figure Eight home. Refusing Kennedy-esque photo-ops on the beach, the North Carolina senator opted to spend his time with his family away from the cameras. Go figure.
When the vice-presidential candidate surfaced in front of cameras for the first time boarding his campaign's 727, he appeared tanned and well rested, indicating he got at least some time on the beach before the rain and wind from tropical weather moved into the region late Thursday.
Just before the Edwards campaign headed north, a tornado caused by the affects of the tropical weather touched down in Rocky Point, some 30 minutes from the Wilmington airport, leveling 40 homes and killing at least one.
The day was not over for the police officers securing Edwards' plane on the tarmac. Several were asked to search for people missing from Friday morning's storms once the plane took off.
--Bonney Kapp
VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY
Vice President Cheney likes the "town hall" style campaign stops and enjoys the Q&A sessions. He's done three of them recently sitting by himself in the center of several hundred people. On Wednesday, though, he made it a family affair.
He was introduced by his daughter Liz Cheney Perry to the audience in Joplin, Missouri, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in this hotly contested state.
"On the way here on the plane I asked my Mom and Dad, 'You know, I'm going to be introducing you. Do you have any words of wisdom?" she opened. "They came up with this very loving parental advice: 'Liz, Missouri is so important, please don't screw this up.'"
The crowd laughed but soon erupted in cheers as the vice president and Lynne took the stage, grabbed the two mics and sat down. They let everyone know that they were both there to answer questions.
"This is really fun for us because, you know, it's kind of unpredictable, unexpected," she said.
Both of Cheney's daughters and his wife have taken active rolls in the campaign this election year. Lynne often introduces the vice president before rallies, treating the audience to cute stories about how the two met or their early dating life back in Wyoming forty years ago.
Cheney's daughter Mary is part of his staff and at times can be seen pacing just offstage as her father addresses supporters.
But it's his eldest daughter Liz that literally brings a little special something to this week's campaigning. Philip Richard Perry, the vice president's five-week-old grandson is participating in his first election. Liz carries him on and off Air Force Two in his infant car seat, and he was spotted offstage today, enjoying a bottle during his grandpa's speech.
It didn't matter that it was the vice president of the United States speaking: it was time for Philip's fill-up.
--Josh Gross