US Election

Final polls one day before the election show the race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is still extremely close, but with the president maintaining small leads in the states he needs to win. AFP photo

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U.S. President Barack Obama is pictured with singer Bruce Springsteen (R) during yesterday's election campaign rally in Madison, Wisconsin. REUTERS

If you have been reading my election-related columns for the past few days, you should be ready to follow election-day coverage in English. I'll have help for you throughout the day tomorrow. If you haven't read the columns, you can find them here:

For an introduction to this year's election and some of the key election vocabulary, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/319372/us-election-it-time-to-pay-attention

For background on the "electoral vote" and "swing states", click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/319487/all-eyes-on-the-swing-states

For yesterday's story, click here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-from-news/319632/us-presidential-election-the-final-push

Click button to listen to Campaign ends and rightclick to download

Polls show Obama and Romney essentially deadlocked

WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney made their final urgent pleas to voters on Monday in a closing sprint through vital battleground states that will determine who wins their agonisingly close race for the White House.

Both candidates sought to whip up strong turnout from supporters and to sway independent voters to their side in the last hours of a race that polls showed was deadlocked nationally. Obama had a slight lead in the eight or nine battleground states that will decide the race on Tuesday's Election Day.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos national poll of likely voters, a daily tracking poll, gave Obama a slight edge, with 48 percent support compared to Romney's 46 percent. The difference was within the 3.4 percentage point credibility interval, which allows for statistical variation in Internet-based polls.

The president, with a final day itinerary that included stops in Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa, urged voters to stick with him.

The Democratic incumbent, appearing in Madison, Wisconsin, drew a large crowd that was warmed up by Bruce Springsteen and reprised the main theme of the campaign: who can do a better job on the economy.

"This should not be that complicated," Obama said. "We tried our ideas; they worked. The economy grew. We created jobs. Deficits went down. We tried their ideas; they didn't work. The economy didn't grow, not as many jobs, and the deficit went up."

U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney held a rally yesterday at Orlando Sanford international airport in Orlando, Florida, a key battleground state. AFP

Romney's final day included stops in Florida, Virginia, Ohio and New Hampshire. In Lynchburg, Virginia, he told supporters: "One final push is going to get us there."

To supporters in Sanford, Florida, Romney said: "If you believe we can do better, if you believe America should be on a better course, if you're tired of being tired, then I ask you to vote for real change."

The candidates are seeking to piece together the 270 Electoral College votes needed for victory in the state-by-state battle for the presidency. Despite the close national opinion polls, Obama has an easier path to victory: if he won the three states he was visiting on Monday – Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa – then he would likely carry the day.

All eyes were on the Midwestern state of Ohio, whose 18 electoral votes could be decisive. Romney, looking for any edge possible, planned last-second visits on Tuesday to both Ohio and Pennsylvania, aides said.

Visits to the areas around Cleveland and Pittsburgh would be aimed at driving turnout. And the Pittsburgh stop (in Pennsylvania) could be as much about Ohio as Pennsylvania, since many in eastern Ohio watch Pittsburgh television.

Romney's path to the White House becomes much harder should he lose Ohio. The state has been leaning toward Obama – its unemployment rate is lower than the 7.9 percent national average and its heavy dependence on auto-related jobs meant the bailout to auto companies that Obama pursued in 2009 is popular.

Both campaigns expressed confidence that their candidate would win, and there were enough polls to bolster either view.

There were clear signs that Obama held an edge, however. A CNN/ORC poll, for instance, showed him up in Ohio by 50 percent to 47 percent.

The close margins in state and national polls suggested the possibility of a cliffhanger that could be decided by which side has the best turnout operation and gets its voters to the polls.

campaign – a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
rally – a large public meeting held to support a particular candidate or political party การชุมนุม, ประชุม
poll – an occasion when a lot of people are asked about what they feel about something – การสำรวจความคิดเห็น
essentially – the true, important or basic nature of somebody/something  เป็นหลัก, โดยพื้นฐาน, ตามความเป็นจริง
deadlock – a competition where both sides have the same score or amount ความเสมอกัน
challenger – an opponent in competition, in this case, an election คู่แข่ง
urgent – of something you need to deal with immediately เร่งด่วน
plea – an urgent and emotional request คำร้อง, คำขอ, คำขอร้อง, คำวิงวอน
sprint – a short period of doing something (e.g., running or, in this case, campaigning, very fast วิ่งด้วยความเร็วสูงสุด, ความเร็วสูงสุดในระยะสั้น
vital – extremely important; necessary for the success or continued existence of something จำเป็นสำหรับชีวิต; สำคัญมาก 
battleground – a place where a battle (a major fight, especially in war, but in this case in an election) is being fought or has been fought สนามรบ, แนวรบ
determine – to decide what will be done or happen กำหนด
agonisingly – extremely in a very painful or frustrating way ซึ่งสร้างความเจ็บปวดทางใจและกายอย่างมาก
candidate – a person who is trying to be elected ผู้สมัครรับเลือกตั้ง
seek (past form: sought) – to try to obtain or achieve something พยายามได้มา
whip up – to encourage strong emotions or behaviour in people กระตุ้น
turnout – the number or percentage of eligible voters who vote in an election จำนวนผู้ออกมาลงคะแนน
sway – to influence or change someone’s opinion — ทำให้โอนเอียง, โน้มน้าว, จูงใจ
independent – not connected with or influenced by something (e.g., not being a member of a political party); not connected with each other  ซึ่งเป็นอิสระ, ไม่ขึ้นกับใคร
slight – small in size or amount เล็กน้อย
lead – the position ahead of everyone else in a race or competition  ตำแหน่งนำ
tracking poll – an opinion poll in which the same sample, such as a small number of voters, is questioned periodically to measure changes in opinion
edge – an advantage that makes someone or something more successful than other people or things ข้อได้เปรียบ
credibility – the degree to which something can be believed or trusted ความน่าเชื่อถือ,ความน่าไว้วางใจ
interval – a space or distance between two things ช่วงห่าง, ช่วงคะแนน
credibility interval – a way of measuring possible errors in a survey, similar to, but not the same as, margin of error or sampling error
statistical – involving statistics เกี่ยวกับการคำนวณทางสถิติ
variation – a change, especially in the amount or level of something, a thing that is different from other things in the same general group  การเปลี่ยนแปลง
itinerary – a plan of a journey that you are going to make, including information about when and where you will travel แผนการการเดินทาง
urge – to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take ผลักดัน, กระตุ้น
stick with – to refuse to change your mind about something even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong  ยึดมั่น
incumbent – a person who holds an official position at the present time ผู้ดำรงตำแหน่ง
reprise – to repeat something; to do something again ปฏิบัติอีก
theme – the main subject of something ใจความสำคัญ, ประเด็นหลัก
complicated – difficult to deal with, do or understand  ซับซ้อน
(budget) deficit – the amount by which the amount of money received and the amount spent  การขาดดุล
course – the things that you choose to do in a particular situation แนวทาง, วิถีทาง
electoral college – the institution that officially elects the President and Vice President of the United States every four years, carried out by electors chosen by majority vote each state to vote for particular candidates
carry the day – to win; to be successful ชนะ, ประสบความสำเร็จ
decisive – making the final result of a situation completely certain   ซึ่งมีลักษณะชี้ขาด,แน่วแน่,ซึ่งตัดสินใจแล้ว
aide – someone whose job is to help another person in their work ผู้ช่วย
aim – to have as your purpose or goal   มีเป้าหมาย  มีจุดมุ่งหมาย     
leaned – to tend to choose or support someone or something มีแนวโน้ม
unemployment – the fact of a number of people not having a job; the number of people without a job  การว่างงาน, จำนวนผู้ว่างงาน
rate – the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
average – an amount calculated by adding several amounts together, finding a total, and dividing the total by the number of amounts เฉลี่ย, ค่าเฉลี่ย
dependence – the state of needing the help and support of somebody/something in order to survive or be successful การพึ่งพาอาศัย
bailout – an act of giving money to a company, a foreign country, etc. that has very serious financial problem สถานการณ์ที่ธุรกิจ บุคคลส่วนตัว หรือ รัฐบาลให้เงินช่วยเหลือแก่ธุรกิจที่ล้มเหลว เพื่อที่จะป้องกันผลลัพธ์ที่จะตามมาจากความหายนะของธุรกิ
pursue – to try to achieve something ดำเนินตาม, พยายามเพื่อให้ได้มาซึ่ง
popular – a situation in which someone or something is liked by many people เป็นที่นิยม, เป็นที่ชื่นชอบ
confidence – being certain of your abilities or of having trust in people, plans, or the future ความมั่นใจ
bolster – to make something stronger or more effective ทำให้เข้มแข็ง
margin – the number of votes by which someone wins or leads an election จำนวนคะแนน
suggest – to show that something is possibly true ชวนคิด
cliffhanger – a situation in a story, film/movie, competition, etc. that is very exciting because you cannot guess what will happen next, or you do not find out immediately what happens next เรื่องราวที่น่าตื่นเต้น (เนื่องจากคาดเดาความเป็นไปไม่ได้)
operation – an activity which is planned to achieve something การดำเนินการ
polls – polling station, the place where people vote in an election หน่วยเลือกตั้ง

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