AFP, Allendale :
In a red pantsuit and full of smiles, Hillary Clinton embarked on a marathon final day of campaigning Monday covering three states and four cities-and featuring two presidents, one rock Boss and Lady Gaga.
The 69-year-old Clinton is used to epic travel days-as secretary of state, she logged nearly a million miles on the road.
On Monday, about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) were ahead of her when she arrived at the Westchester County airport near her home in the New York suburbs.
Destinations: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Allendale, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Raleigh, North Carolina-all swing states, all vital to secure a historic win Tuesday that would make Clinton America’s first woman president.
The Democrat is looking to lock in key battleground states to block any path her Republican opponent Donald Trump might have to the White House.
Clinton was chatting on her smartphone with her granddaughter Charlotte as she arrived at the airport at about 10:00 am. She was not expected to return until after 3:00 am Tuesday.
“I have some work to bring the country together,” she told reporters as she boarded a flight to Pittsburgh, a Democratic bastion.
Clinton spoke freely with the traveling press on board the Boeing 757 — emblazoned with an “H” and the slogan “Stronger Together”-that has been her second home since September.
She couldn’t refrain from a jab at her Republican rival whose campaign, she said, had exacerbated painful divisions in American society. But the overall tone was resolutely upbeat.
“I really do want to be the president for everybody-people who vote for me, people who vote against me,” she said. “We’re just going to work until the last vote is counted.”
About 2,500 people flocked to the campus of the University of Pittsburgh for Clinton’s first rally-an outdoor event on a sunny autumn day.
“Hello, Pittsburgh!” Clinton said in her usual rally greeting.
She then delivered her classic stump speech, which lasted about 20 minutes.
“Tomorrow is the election but that is just the beginning. We have to heal this country, we have to bring people together, listen and respect each other,” she said.
Clinton briefly deviated from protocol by going to shake hands with some of those gathered in the streets outside the venue.
“Great rally here at Pitt,” she said. “Feels good.”
And that was that-her long motorcade of Secret Service agents, aides, and journalists headed back to the airport. Next stop: Michigan.
Anxious Supporters
At the Pittsburgh rally , Clinton supporter Rhonda Young-a 58-year-old black retiree-admitted the last few days had been “discouraging,” with Trump climbing in the polls.
“I had to regroup, stay focused,” Young told AFP. “I got it down in my calendar-on November 9, I have ‘Hillary is the president’.”
Young admitted her 23-year-old daughter still wanted to write in the name of Clinton’s onetime rival Bernie Sanders when she votes on Tuesday.
“It’s just time for a woman to run the United States of America,” Young said. “We need someone with a mother’s heart that’s diplomatic that can get along with other countries.”
Adriana Mata, who brought her daughter to the rally, said Clinton was the only “sane alternative.”
Stop Two: Michigan
If Clinton is worried, it doesn’t show. Her staff added a few rallies to her final days on the trail-but not as many as Trump tacked on.
She headed to Grand Valley State University in Allendale, outside Grand Rapids, where Trump will close out his campaign with a late night rally. The sun was still shining. More than 4,500 people turned out.
The Democrat’s path to victory goes through the American Rust Belt-states like Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan, which voted for Barack Obama but are not as enthusiastic about Clinton.
“I want each and every one of you to be thinking through about all the issues you care about because although my name and my opponent’s name will be on the ballot, those issues and those values are on the ballot as well,” she said.
