Campaign '08

CORAL GABLES (CBS4) ― Just one day before voters will decide on their next president, an invigorated John McCain rocked the house at a post-midnight rally on the University of Miami Campus in Coral Gables, in a speech aimed heavily at Miami's Hispanic community, with a promise that he would continue to fight and win the presidency on Tuesday.

"We gotta have all of our rallies at this time of night, I'm telling you," he said to thunderous applause from the crowd that gathered under the banner "Estamos Unidos", Spanish for "We're United". Many had been waiting at the BankUnited center on the University of Miami campus more than 4 hours for the candidate to arrive.

His speech repeated the major themes of his campaign, promising control of the economy, tax cuts, and a strong defense. He repeated claims Democratic candidate Barack Obama would sit down with dictators, and promised the audience filled with Cuban-Americans and Venezuelan ex-patriots that he would never meet with "the Castro Brothers or (Venezuelan President) Hugo Chavez, and again thunderous applause rolled through the hall.

"When I'm president, we're gonna win in Iraq and we're going to win in Afghanistan," McCain promised, "and our troops will come home with victory and honor and not in defeat."

Backed by his wife, Cindy, and Senator Joe Lieberman, who has stumped the battleground state of Florida for the Republican ticket, McCain said people were ready to write off his campaign just one day before the election, even in Florida where most pollsters consider the race a toss-up at this point.

"They may not know it, but the Mac is back," he shouted as the crowd answered with a roar. "And, we're gonna win this election."

McCain said Obama is "already measuring the drapes at the White House", referring to polls which indicate the Democratic ticket is leading nationwide 24 hours before the polls open. He urged supporters to do what  they could to stop Obama's March to the White House.

"We've got one day left to take America in a new direction," he said. He urged supporters to "…volunteer! Knock on doors, Get your neighbors to the polls."

"I'm going to take America in a new direction from my first day in office to my last," he promised. "I'm not afraid of the fight. I'm ready for the fight!"

This was McCain's second visit to South Florida in less than a week, underscoring the importance of Florida's 27 electoral votes. Currently, the most recent polls show Obama wining the state, but by a margin still within the range of error. One poll conducted for the LA Times in the past week shows a 50 to 43 percent lead for Obama, but most polls are much closer, and the average of Florida polls maintained by realclearpolitics.com gives Obama a 4.2% edge in the state.

Given the current estimates of electoral votes considered solid for each campaign, Florida is considered a must-win state for McCain, and the post-midnight rally just a day before the rally was one way to underscore that importance.

His rally in Miami came after a day filled with stops in other battleground States, and McCain, seemingly getting a recharge from the crowd after a very long day, promised a victory on Tuesday.

"I'm an American and I choose to fight. Don't give up hope. Be strong and fight."

The Coral Gables visit was the first stop on an 18-hour odyssey through seven swing states.

Earlier on Sunday, McCain held one last town hall. He chose Peterborough, N.H., for that gathering. McCain has a long relationship with the Granite State. New Hampshire put him on the national map in 2000 and launched his GOP primary comeback earlier this year.

After Florida, McCain goes to battlegrounds Virginia, Indiana, New Mexico, and Nevada. A repeat trip to Pennsylvania also is scheduled before he returns home to Arizona.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

CBS4.com Top Stories

• Body Found Under Hialeah Home
• Leyritz Accused Of Domestic Battery
• Pet Python Kills Fla. Girl
• Possible Cancer Cluster Gets Attention
• Suits Over Hyperbaric Chamber Deaths