With nearly every poll showing the presidential race to be a dead heat, Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic challenger Sen. Jon Kerry spent the weekend frantically campaigning in battleground states.
On Monday, both men are expected to appear within three blocks of one another in Milwaukee, marking the first time they've shared the same air space since their testy debates last month.
This weekend, Bush, 58, stood in the cabin of Air Force One and posed like a samurai warrior wielding a sword, reports The New York Times, quoting the incumbent as asking his communications adviser, Karen Hughes: "Do you think John Kerry's enjoying himself?" As Bush reportedly told her: "I'm having a really good time."
Kerry, meanwhile, is appearing looser than his usually starchy image may reflect. The Times says the candidate, 61, caught his press secretary, David Wade, in a headlock in a New Hampshire hotel elevator on Saturday, swatted the back of Wade's head, and joked: "Not bad for 30 points down in New Hampshire, eh?"
But when appearing before the public, both candidates pretty much stuck to the serious issues at hand, including the war in Iraq and the economy.
As for the polls, the latest New York Times/CBS survey has the two locked in a statistical tie, as does the Wall Street Journal/NBC count and the Zogby International poll: 48 percent for each. ABC has Bush at 49 percent and Kerry at 48.
It is also being reported that last week's videotaped statement by Osama bin Laden, making a new threat against the United States, minimally affected the poll numbers.
The national election is Tuesday.
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