Buoyant mood turns to disbelief

The George W Bush election headquarters scrambled last night to mobilise its supporters in the western states after its strategy to hold the eastern seaboard collapsed in the face of heavy turnout in urban Democratic strongholds.

The Texan crowd which gathered on a chilly night outside the state capitol in Austin had come to celebrate but spent much of the evening biting their fingernails as Vice- President Al Gore scored victories in the eastern swing states.

"It's still OK. It's still OK," the compere at the rally told them, as he introduced one country and western singer after another. But for the Republican faithful, the loss of Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania sunk in like body blows.

Carol and Stan TenEyck listened to the Pennsylvania result in silence. "That hurts," Carol said. "That's pretty bad."

Further bad news was to come. On big screens on each corner of the rally, Hillary Clinton's smiling face appeared - the Republican nemesis had just been confirmed in the New York Senate seat. The crowd booed heartily.

"I'm a bit nervous," Rose Beddingfield said. "I wouldn't like the Anti-Christ to be in the White House." She confirmed she was referring to Al Gore.

A moment of sweet revenge arrived with Mr Bush's win in the vice-president's home state, Tennessee, and hopes were once more buoyed.

The effort to counter the power of the unions and the black American vote in the great eastern cities, by relying on issue-oriented groups like the National Rifle Association and the anti-abortion movement had failed. Everything, it seemed, would depend on the west.

The Republican party chairman, Jim Nicholson, urged Republican voters to turn up in strength in western states, telling reporters: "It's not over 'til its over."

After news of defeats in Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, Governor Bush changed his plans and decided not to watch the rest of the results come in on a bank of television sets which had been set up in the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin. Instead, he went home to the governor's mansion with his parents.

"He preferred to be at home," Gordon Johndroe, a Bush spokesman said. "His own home was more relaxing."

Like speculators who had gambled everything on a single investment, Mr Bush and his backers had earlier assembled under torrential rain in Texas to discover if the most expensive campaign in US history had paid off.

At the centre of the action was Karl Rove, the Bush strategist, who shuttled between the campaign headquarters and the hotel armed with a notepad and a calculator for instant analysis of the shifting balance in the electoral college.

Exuding the studied opti mism which the Bush campaign had made its signature, Mr Rove predicted winning 320 of the 538 votes in the electoral college, which formally determines the presidency under the constitution.

His confidence, however, belied a nervous mood in the plush party headquarters. Some of the well-dressed staffers were actively discussing the possibility of winning the popular vote and narrowly losing the contest in the electoral college.

In that case, one said: "There should be pressure put on the delegates to reflect the national will."

All but two states - Maine and Nebraska - cast their votes in the electoral college on a winner-takes-all basis, but delegates have been known to defy the majority vote in their states and switch their vote.

Anticipating an agonisingly close finish, the Bush campaign set aside $80m for an effort in the last two weeks to mobilise its core supporters. Officials said 110m pamphlets had been posted and 62m phone calls had been made.

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