"We are a democracy defended by volunteers," Mr. Cheney said at an airport rally in Wisconsin.

Another airport rally is planned for Denver, Colorado, at 5am and then it is back to his home town of Little Rock, Arkansas, to vote.

Then Mr. Bush speaking in front of an American flag, meeting with elderly people, shaking hands at an airport rally and speaking from a podium.

Then he flew to an airport rally in Buffalo, where he was greeted by shivering supporters gathered to hear him in the autumn chill.

"What they said in 1960 about Kennedy was bigotry," he said at an airport rally in Mankato.

Republicans are also scheduling a flurry of airport rallies and town meetings as members head home, Mr. Boehner said.

But much earlier in the day - about 2:30 a.m. - he had a more enthusiastic student audience at a raucous airport rally to greet him.

"I'm here to let you know I'm going to work my heart out all the way to the finish," Mr. Bush told an airport rally.

As he was expected to do, his aide watered that down to: "There had better be no more unsuccessful airport rallies."

"It should be interesting to America to hear the facts," Mr. Bush shouted at an airport rally in Sarasota.