PRESIDENT Clinton and his Republican challenger, Mr Bob Dole, have both promised to reform election finance following the spate of charges of abuse of the present system. Mr Clinton and Mr Dole yesterday called for a ban on contributions from foreigners and non-US companies and for an end to so-called "soft money" donations which avoid federal control.
But the President in his speech in Santa Barbara, California made no reference to the charges from the Republican campaign that a leading Democratic fund- raiser, Mr John Huang, might have breached federal rules by having apparently free access to the White House to discuss party finances in the campaign. Mr' Huang has also been involved in raising large amounts for the Democrats from the Asian-American community and Asian affiliate companies, some of which had to be returned because of federal rules.
Mr Clinton accused the Republicans and Mr Dole of having blocked his proposals for election finance reform in the Senate by using delaying tactics. He promised to support a bi-partisan Bill for reform in the next Congress.
Mr Dole has embarked on a gruelling final lap to his campaign. It will bring him through more than a dozen states in a non-stop 96-hour tour by plane and bus. The swing will include meetings after midnight and at 4.30 a.m. - much to the dismay of the media following Mr Dole. He jokingly handed out tooth-brushes to the press corps on his campaign plane.
"We can sleep after November 5th, but we want to wake up America," Mr Dole told a meeting in Atlanta before starting a tour which will bring him from coast to coast and back to his native town of Russell, Kansas, to vote on Tuesday.
President Clinton is also crisscrossing the country for votes as the polls show the race is tightening. A Reuters poll shows that Mr Clinton is only 7.7 points ahead of Mr Dole, but the daily USA Today-CNN tracking poll continues to put the President in a comfortable double-digit lead.
The Reform Party candidate, millionaire Mr Ross Perot, scored 8.4 per cent and 11.2 per cent remained undecided in the survey for Reuter, conducted by John Zogby Group International. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
"Something is clearly happening out there. The number of undecided voters, which was growing earlier this week, dropped dramatically in Thursday's polling and most of those went to Dole," Mr Zogby said.
In polling on Thursday, the undecided vote was down to 6.4 percent, from 15.3 percent earlier in the week.
The poll showed Dole building a lead over Clinton among Protestants, among those who have lost a job in the past year, and among those who live in households earning $75,000 (about £50,000) a year or more.
US elections are actually 51 separate contests in each of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia for delegates to the Electoral College.
Mr Zogby said state by state polling appeared to indicate Mr Clinton remained in a solid position to win the election, although there were some signs the race was tightening. A new poll in Georgia yesterday showed a previously wide Clinton lead had evaporated.
Clinton's lead in the Reuters poll stood at 13 percentage points only five days ago. Since then however, he has withstood a battering from Mr Dole and Mr Perot over the issue of campaign finance.
The Washington Post and New York Times have reported that Mr John Huang, who was suspended from his Democratic Party fundraising duties two weeks ago amid reports that he unlawfully solicited foreign contributions, had made at least 78 visits to the White House since July 1st, 1995.
The race for Congress remains extremely close, with the Democrats holding a slight edge of 39.3 per cent to 37.8 per cent when voters were asked who they would support in their own districts.
Reuter adds from Hollywood: If he is not re-elected on Tuesday to the world's most powerful job, Bill Clinton could consider a career in jazz. So says Kenny G (born Gorelick), the world's most popular saxophone player.
As the presidential election campaign nears an end, the stars have lined up behind their candidates. Bo Derek campaigns for Bob Dole and Clinton has Kenny G in his corner.
Mr G said this week that the president of the United States has a "beautiful vibe" and should keep on blowing his horn. "If could play with any one saxophone player in the world, I'd play with him," he said.