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

SEN. JOHN KERRY, D-MASS.

Speaking to the International Association of Fire Fighters in his hometown of Boston on Thursday, Sen. John Kerry raised the debate over his service in Vietnam to a new level. Kerry chose to address directly a controversial ad by the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, a group largely funded by Republican money man Bob Perry of Houston, Texas.

"When you're under attack, the best thing to do is turn your boat into the attacker. And that's what I intend to do today," Kerry said, leading into his planned remarks about the ad.

"Over the last week, a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth has been attacking me. Of course, this group isn't interested in the truth; they're not telling the truth," Kerry said.

The ad in question features a number of Vietnam veterans questioning Kerry's service in Vietnam, as well as the truth of how he described his service after the war. The funding for the ad comes from an independent group not affiliated with the Bush campaign, but Kerry clearly sees a connection.

"They're funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They're a front for the Bush campaign," he said. "And the fact that the president won't denounce what they're up to tells you everything you need to know: he wants them to do his dirty work."

The campaign was well prepared once again to make Vietnam the issue of the day. Aides provided the press with bound copies of Kerry's military records – records which have been available for months on the candidate's website. The campaign also announced a new ad buy with a spot rebuking the Swift Boat Veterans ad. The Kerry campaign ad will run in Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin – the same states where the Swift Boat Veterans ad initially aired.

Despite speaking about a variety of plans that would have great impact on the fire fighters assembled, among them health care and funding for fire fighters nation wide, Kerry made clear his belief that his service in Vietnam, and President Bush's lack thereof, could be the winning issue for his campaign.

"Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that," Kerry said. "Well, if he wants to have a debate about our service in Vietnam, here is my answer: Bring it on."
--Eric Salzman

PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

It's two weeks from tonight that President Bush accepts the Republican Party nomination for a second term.

Some would say he's been his party's nominee since his inauguration. And for more than a year, he's been politicking with an intensity that reflects his campaign's deep-rooted fear that his re-election will be denied.

Just this month, candidate Bush has spent 13 days campaigning in 18 states. Some of them more than once. (See list below.)

Most of them are so-called Battleground States that he won or lost by narrow margins in 2000. And most of them are deemed must-win by his campaign.

More than anything else, the stops are intended to energize his grassroots operation in each state to get supporters and potential supporters registered to vote.

In Hudson, Wis., yesterday, Mr. Bush's plea to his political activists could not have been more blunt: "Get them headed toward the polls. Tell them if they want the country safer, stronger and better, put old George Bush and Dick Cheney back in."

It has been a grueling August for Mr. Bush and once the GOP convention is done he'll be campaigning practically nonstop. His presidency and his legacy are at stake. A defeat will be seen as a judgment by voters that he took America to war based on flawed intelligence.

It's for that reason that in every campaign speech he gives, he defends his decision. "Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same decision. I firmly believe America and the world are safer with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell."

President Bush is now taking a weeklong hiatus from the campaign trail. He arrived at his beloved Texas ranch last evening where he'll stay for a week or so.

Spokesman Scott McClellan says he "certainly expects" Mr. Bush will spend part of the time working on the acceptance speech he'll deliver in Madison Square Garden on August 2.

But McClellan concedes Mr. Bush will also use the ranch visit for "a little bit of down time" prior to the home stretch of the campaign.

"Down time" is the phrase of choice for the White House. It's self-conscious about the word "vacation."

Our CBS News tally shows this is the president's 38th visit to his ranch since taking office. And as of today, he has spent all or part of 254 days there. That's nearly 20 percent of his presidency.

The White House is quick to point out that a president is never really on vacation, that the burdens of his office are his to bear wherever he goes.

States In Which President Bush Has Campaigned This Month:

Texas; Iowa (2); Minnesota; Ohio (2); Michigan (2); New Hampshire; Virginia; Florida; New Mexico; Arizona; Nevada; California; Oregon; Washington; Pennsylvania; West Virginia; Wisconsin and Minnesota.
--Mark Knoller

SEN JOHN EDWARDS, D-N.C.

When Sen. Edwards toured a jobs training center in downtown New Orleans, only a press pool was allowed in to observe due to space restrictions. Since much of the discussions between Edwards and those in the center were out of the poolers' earshot, reports forwarded to reporters provided such details as how many times Edwards said, "Nice to meet you." (Eleven; twelve if you add the word "very.")

Thankfully, New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin, who walked with the senator through the center, provided some more insight. Calling Edwards a "rock star," the mayor revealed, "He was walking around and of course all the ladies wanted to talk to him, touch him, get his autograph."

The candidate then transformed a roundtable at the jobs facility into a venue to discuss an issue near and dear to the Democrats' heart -Halliburton. The much maligned company popped up in the news when it was discovered the company was keeping money that was intended to be withheld by the government, and Edwards responded.

"Did somebody make a phone call? I don't know whether that happened, but something happened," Edwards said, indicating the company could have gotten some help from Vice President Dick Cheney. "Halliburton's getting their money, but the jobs centers aren't getting theirs. Now how 'bout somebody making a call for the jobs centers and the career centers?" he continued as he segued back into jobs, the intended issue of the day.

And while the senator can't fix unemployment one job at a time, he can offer campaign jobs to at least a few. Bessie Cunningham, a well-educated and unemployed participant described being turned down for work because she is "overqualified," and ignored when she sent her resume to Sen. Kerry. "Give me your resume today and I'll get you an answer," Edwards told her. Look for a new name on the Kerry/Edwards payroll soon.

Edwards stopped by New Orleans' Loews Hotel for a $600,000 fundraiser before returning to Washington for two days with no public events.
--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. Last week, 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