ENTONVILLE, Ark. - After spending nearly a year on the road in his quest to be president, George W. Bush ended his 40th and final campaign swing, taunting his Democratic foes on their home turf yesterday, then returned to Texas to await the results of a neck-and-neck election he was certain would turn his way.
Bush traveled to Arkansas and Tennessee, the home states of Bill Clinton and Al Gore, ending his campaign with the themes he laid out 16 months ago: Restoring ''honor and dignity'' to the White House, ''changing the tone'' of Washington, bringing a new ''era of responsibility.'' Though the two states combine for 17 electoral votes, Bush seemed less interested in seeking last-minute support than in projecting a winning image nationwide.
''We're comin' down the stretch, folks. We're comin' down the stretch,'' Bush told a crowd in Chattanooga at a morning rally. ''I feel so optimistic. I like what I feel. I like what I feel. But we can take nothing for granted. We've got to work hard and make sure we turn out that vote.''
Bush needled Gore about polls that showed the vice president trailing in Tennessee, and he reminded supporters that Gore has spent much of his life in Washington.
''I, of course, come from Texas and I plan on carrying my home state. My opponent vows to carry his home state,'' Bush said. ''He may win Washington, D.C., but he's not going to win Tennessee.''
Though the gap between the candidates lies within the statistical margin of error in the public opinion polls, the campaign has been cautiously looking ahead to a Bush administration, soliciting resumes for a transition team that could be announced as early as tomorrow if he wins. Although Bush would not announce Cabinet choices right away, aides said, he would probably have an immediate discussion with Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry about the transfer of power in Texas.
The campaign has not discussed embarking on a ''victory tour,'' as Clinton did in 1992, communications director Karen Hughes said, and Laura Bush's schedule would make it difficult for Bush and his wife to do so. Mrs. Bush plans to travel to their Crawford ranch on Wednesday to oversee final touches on a new home they are building there, some two hours from Austin, and is scheduled to be in the state this weekend for the Texas book festival she founded.
If Bush were to lose, he would most likely retreat to the ranch, his favorite outpost, then resume duties as governor for the remaining two years of his term. But no one was discussing that possibility yesterday aboard ''Responsibility One,'' the campaign plane, where the atmosphere was highly confident for a second day.
Bush, who at times has shown weariness with the strains of the campaign, appeared tired after a long swing through Florida that broke his habit of not working Sundays, and ended shortly before midnight. His schedule yesterday was also more demanding than usual. Though not as punishing as Gore's final, 40-hour all-nighter, Bush attended five rallies in 14 hours.
Bush plans to vote at an Austin, Texas, courthouse this morning, then relax with his family before watching the election results in a suite at the Four Seasons - the hotel where he learned he had won reelection as governor in 1998. Hughes said the governor would also work on a victory speech in the hours before 10 p.m., when Bush and running mate Dick Cheney are expected to arrive at an election festival near the steps of the Texas State Capitol.
Former president Bush and his wife, Barbara, were scheduled to arrive in town to watch the election returns with their son, as were the Texas governor's siblings. The governor's twin 18-year-old daughters, Barbara and Jenna, are also coming home from college, making a rare appearance in the campaign.
Some 20,000 supporters are expected to attend the nighttime party, and 1,300 media credentials have been issued to news outlets covering the event, making it one of the largest rallies of the Bush campaign.
Bush zigzagged north and south again on his way home yesterday, swinging through Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa and Arkansas before arriving in Austin.
''If there's any doubt in your mind about how far my opponent has strayed from his Tennessee roots, let me remind you of what he said at the Democrat convention,'' Bush told the crowd in Tennessee, and then outlined Gore's plan to target tax relief for middle-class taxpayers.
''The role of the president is not to try to pick out who the right people are. In our vision of America, everyone's the right person,'' Bush said, in support of his own plan to cut taxes across the board.
Although several national polls have given Bush a consistent lead for more than a week, his standing in several key battleground states, including Florida, Michigan and Pennsylvania, is less certain.
For all his confidence, Bush faced an unexpected challenge in Florida, where his brother Jeb's efforts as governor have failed to lock up the the state. During a two-night stop there over the weekend, Bush aides Bush said their internal polls showed him ahead, but that he could reach the necessary 270 electoral votes without the state if necessary.
The Bush team opened and closed last night's rally in Arkansas with Fleetwood Mac's ''Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow'' - a song that President Clinton had adopted during his campaign - which faded into The Who's ''Won't get Fooled Again.'' Supporters waved signs reading, ''Arkansas is Bush-Cheney Country,'' and the staff was clearly overjoyed that it was the final rally. The senior staff flashed Bush's trademark ''W'' and hugged after the event.
