US President George W. Bush was to launch the final stage of his political campaign here on Saturday, 10 days ahead of crucial midterm elections that threaten to put an end to Republican control of the US Congress.
Bush was to hold here his first truly public meeting since he engaged in a political campaign designed to avoid becoming a lame-duck president, which will happen if Democrats take control of Congress.
Up for reelection on November 7 will be the entire House of Representatives and a third of the US Senate.
As a new wave of violence sweeps Iraq, corruption and sex scandals shake Capitol Hill and Bush's popularity suffers another drop, Republicans face a serious threat of losing the House and maybe even the Senate.
Democrats must win 15 seats in the House and six in Senate to gain control of Congress, which will enable them to politically complicate Bush's task of implementing his agenda in the remaining years of his term, which ends in January 2009.
For the past two months, Bush has been attending Republican fundraisers, helping his political allies to raise money, the main weapon in the electoral war in the United States.
The president and his political allies have also made full use of the political agenda, enacting laws on terrorism, domestic security and immigration as close as possible to Election Day.
Bush is expected to emphasise during the meeting in Sellersburg the issues of domestic security and economic prosperity.
It will be the first public meeting of the campaign, in which the president will take part. The White House has explained that campaign finance laws are forcing the Republican majority as well as the Democratic opposition to limit campaign costs and, therefore, such meetings.
In his weekly radio address, Bush warned Americans that their taxes would increase, if Democrats took over Congress. If a Democratic majority is imposed, the tax cuts adopted during his administration will not be re-authorised, he insisted.
"Next time you're having dinner at home, look around the table and multiply the number of children you have by 500 dollars," Bush said. "That's how much more you will be sending to Washington in taxes if Democrats take control of the Congress." Bush said decisions facing Americans on November 7 will focus on who will be able to protect the country better against a new terrorist attack and who will be best to ensure continued economic growth and virtual full employment.
"The decision you make on Election Day will have a direct impact on America's economy and on your family budget," the president warned. As Democrats try to steer the election debate toward Iraq and Bush's low job approval ratings, the president counters by saying that local issues will determine the outcome of many races.
Bush and his allies are now focusing their efforts on persuading their supporters to go to the polls on Election Day. They know they turnout will be key to the outcome of the vote, but the risk of high absenteeism remained high. A poll released Thursday showed Democrats with an 11-point lead, just 11 days before elections, according to the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
Pew polled registered voters in the 40 most contested election districts and found that Democrats enjoyed an advantage in those districts similar to their nation-wide spread.
Democrats' 50-39 percent edge in contested districts was nearly the same as in so-called safe districts, at 49-38 percent.