[Daryn Kagan, Cnn Anchor:] Joining us now with more on the waiting and the watching is Bush campaign spokeswoman Alicia Peterson. She is at Bush campaign headquarters in Austin. Alicia, good morning, good to see you.
[Alicia Peterson, Bush Campaign Spokeswoman:] Good morning. Happy election day.
[Kagan:] Well, same right back to you. What about this confidence factor? Does George W. Bush believe he is the next president of the United States?
[Peterson:] He does. The campaign is very confident. He has had a steady lead in the national polls over the past several weeks. And the campaign goes into this evening feeling very good. We have had a couple of strong days, a very strong day yesterday, visiting four states before ending up here in Texas with a welcome home rally last night, attended by supporters and well wishers.
[Kagan:] Alicia, those weren't just any four states, two of those states, as we heard Jeanne Meserve report in her coverage just a few minutes ago, Tennessee and Arkansas. Was that a little stick it to you to the Gore campaign that you went to the home states of President Clinton and Al Gore?
[Peterson:] Right. Well, the interesting thing about this campaign is the breadth and depth to which Governor Bush been able to tactically campaign, and that does include Al Gore's home state of Tennessee, and it does include the state of Arkansas. And so I think that's all part of momentum and the the illustration of the breadth and depth of where he's been able to campaign.
[Kagan:] Does the confidence factor of this campaign go so far as, we have heard reports, of staffers are already looking at real estate and schools and checking out neighborhoods in Washington, D.C.?
[Peterson:] Absolutely not. I think the campaign is very confident. We are looking forward to tonight and having a big celebration at the end of the evening. But, again, it is a very important day. There is a lot of work to do. We have to get a lot of people to the polls. By the end of the day today, over 60 million get-out-the-vote phone calls will have been made; 110 million pieces of get-out-the-vote mail will have been sent. There is a lot of work, and it is an important day, and I encourage everyone out there who hasn't voted, to get up this morning and go vote.
[Kagan:] And of course, George W. Bush and his wife will be going out to vote just a little bit later. Besides that, how does the man who believes he will be the next president of the United States spend today?
[Peterson:] Well, again, as I said, he got in the wee hours this morning, had a welcome home rally. This morning he is going to be making some radio calls out to the western part of the country and some other get-out-the-vote activities. He will vote this morning with his wife Laura here in Austin, Texas at the Travis County Courthouse. And then, this afternoon, he will joined, and later on today with some family and friends and supporters. He will have spend some family time for dinner this evening and then spend time with Secretary Cheney watching the election returns.
[Kagan:] Alicia Peterson, thank you so much for joining us from the Bush campaign in Austin, Texas.
[Peterson:] Thank you.