Clinton Blends Emotion With Political Calculation

On a frenetic, election-eve odyssey that featured a blend of personal nostalgia and political calculation, President Clinton scrambled from New Hampshire to his home state of Arkansas on Monday, squeezing in stops in four other states as he called on Americans to give him four more years in office.

“A couple of weeks ago we were trying to plan how we would end this campaign - I hope I can say this without cracking up,” Clinton said, seemingly on the verge of tears at an early rally outside the Merrimack Restaurant in downtown Manchester. “And I said I would like to begin the last day of my last campaign in New Hampshire,” a reference to the special place the state has held for him since the 1992 primary.

But the climactic and emotional preelection itinerary, capping the final campaign for a man who has spent virtually his entire adult life running for office, also had a clear-cut political rationale.

Clinton wants to aid Democratic candidates in close races, including a hard-fought Senate contest in New Hampshire. He also has a goal of capturing more than 50 percent of the popular vote for president, his aides acknowledge, a level he failed to reach four years ago (in a three-way race, he won the White House with 43 percent of the vote) but one that appears within his reach Tuesday, based on recent polls.

Clinton, whose criticism of Republicans has grown more pointed in the run-up to the election, methodically accused the GOP of undermining schools, law enforcement, the environment, health care and family values.

“They say, ‘You’re on your own,’ ” he said. “We say, ‘Let’s build a bridge to the 21st century.”’