Bush and Kerry neck and neck

President George W Bush and Senator John Kerry accused each other of lacking the hard-nosed resolve of Cold War presidents – from Democrat Harry Truman to Republican Ronald Reagan – reaching across party lines a week before Election Day to try to break their campaign deadlock.

With tensions rising yesterday in both camps, Kerry escalated his criticism of Bush over explosives missing in Iraq, asserting that the weapons could be used against American troops and citizens.

He accused the president of keeping the cost of war in Iraq under wraps until after Election Day.

“What else are you keeping from the American people?” Kerry said in Green Bay.

Across the state, Bush said his rival favours “the position of weakness and inaction” contrary to “the great tradition of the Democratic Party.”

A Los Angeles Times poll showed the popular vote tied, 48-48, with Bush-weary voters open to change on Iraq and the economy but harbouring doubts about Kerry’s ability to lead the nation against terror.

New state surveys showed the race also knotted in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the three most important battlegrounds in the race for 270 Electoral College votes.

Behind the scenes, both campaigns tweaked their stump speeches, advertising strategies and get-out-the-vote drives. In addition to Wisconsin, Bush visited Iowa while Kerry travelled to Nevada and New Mexico – all tossup states.

After spending weeks casting Kerry as a flip-flopping liberal in TV ads, Bush planned to close the race with a 60-second commercial designed to portray himself as a trustworthy, steady leader.

The high point, according to advisers, is a clip of a choked-up Bush addressing the Republican National Convention about meeting the children of slain US soldiers “who are told their dad or mom is a hero but would rather just have their dad or mom.”