President begins 16-state campaign blitz

Bush delivers his remarks in Aberdeen, South Dakota, at a get-out-the-vote rally supporting Republicans Thursday.

In an effort to help Republicans gain control of both the House and Senate, the president is spending the next 5 days campaigning in 16 states. The president's campaign blitz will hit states with critical races too close to call as the election nears, including South Dakota, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida.

Bush spent Thursday in South Dakota, Indiana and West Virginia. In Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's home state of South Dakota, Sen. Tim Johnson is battling Rep. John Thune for a seat in the Senate. Republicans believe a victory for Thune would give their party the one vote necessary to ensure a majority and throw Daschle from the Senate majority leader's office. The race, like many others across the nation, is very close.

The White House blamed Daschle and the democratically-controlled Senate for blocking much of the president's legislative agenda - most notably homeland security, terrorism insurance and permanent tax cuts. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said, "The president thinks that if there was a different Senate, much more could be done for America."

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Historically, the party in power in the White House has lost House seats at every midterm election except three since Abraham Lincoln was president. The party in power in the White House last gained Senate seats at a midterm election in 1982.

"The White House would like to defy history this year," Fleischer said. But the Bush administration knows at this stage of the game it's not about agendas such as Iraq, tax cuts or fundraising. It's about voter turnout.