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(EDS: This early version will be updated from Davenport, Iowa.) &QL; (ART ADV: Photos NYT11 and 25 are being sent to NYT photo clients. Nonsubscribers can purchase one-time rights by calling 888-603-1036 or 888-346-9867.) &QL; &UR; By FRANK BRUNI &QC; &LR; &QL; &UR; c.2000 N.Y. Times News Service &QC; &LR; &QL; CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. _ Nearly 17 months after he first issued his call for a ``fresh start after a season of cynicism,'' Gov. George W. Bush ended his quest for the presidency Monday on a nearly identical note, pledging to purge Washington of what he cast as a crippling discord. The course that Bush charted over his final hours on the campaign trail, plotted with as much concern for symbolism as for raw electoral arithmetic, left no doubt about where he placed the blame for that atmosphere. His first major rally was in Tennessee and his last was planned for Arkansas, the home states, respectively, of Vice President Al Gore and President Clinton. The Texas governor's words made equally clear that he saw himself as the country's best hope for bridging ideological divides, healing partisan wounds and making sure that Americans could gaze upon the White House with unfettered respect. ``There's a better day ahead if we have a leader who's willing to unite the country, to bring people together, to elevate the people's business above everyday politics,'' Bush said at a rally inside a hangar at the airport here, where supporters' chants evoked the nearness of the moment of decision. ``One more day!'' they roared. ``One more day!'' What the nation needed, Bush told them, was ``a president who can unite this nation, a president who puts aside the endless partisan bickering that seems to gridlock our nation's capitol, a president who puts the people first, a president who lifts this nation's spirits. ``I'll be that president,'' he added, a sentence that was equal parts promise and prediction. It underscored the optimism that Bush has, from the very beginning, sought to project to voters. His schedule over the course of a 16-hour day was also an expression of that confidence. In between Tennessee and Arkansas, his campaign plane touched down in Wisconsin and Iowa, and while any one of those four states could wind up providing the key to a Bush victory, none have as many electoral votes as such battlegrounds as Michigan and Pennsylvania. But they are genuine tossups that were initially predicted to be much more hospitable to Gore. By visiting them Monday, Bush emphasized the breadth of his appeal and the sometimes surprising vulnerability of the vice president. He did not let his assertion of strength and confidence distract him from the important business of beseeching supporters to grant him victory. With just 24 hours before Election Day, Bush in many ways stripped campaigning to its essence: coaxing and cajoling, pleading and persuading. ``I want you to understand that I can't win without you,'' Bush told a crowd of more than 1,000 people at a convention center in Green Bay, Wis. ``I hope you redouble your efforts to make sure people get out to the polls.'' Minutes later, he added: ``When you go out there and tell the folks where we stand on the issues and where we stand when it comes to bringing people together to get things done, and you tell them that the core of this campaign is the inherent trust in the American people, I believe it doesn't matter what political party they're in. They're going to come our way.'' In Chattanooga, Bush repeatedly needled Gore, which was much of the point of going to Tennessee, where Gore is not at all certain to prevail on Tuesday. The Texas governor claimed that Gore's decades of experience in Washington had estranged him from the rest of the country by making him too trusting of federal government and too fond of federal spending. ``My opponent vows to carry his home state,'' Bush said. ``He may win Washington, D.C., but he's not going to win Tennessee. ``He forgot his roots,'' Bush added. ``He forgot where he's from. He trusts Washington. We trust the people.''
