USTIN, Texas - A supremely confident George W. Bush rallied his supporters from across the country yesterday, telling them, ''I can't wait to get sworn in as the next president of the United States.''
State Republican chairmen and state Bush committee heads huddled with top advisers to the Texas governor in a hotel ballroom to talk strategy and tactics for the fall. Those meetings were private, as was an hour-long session later in the day with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. But Bush's speech was open to the media.
Bush said he has been surprised during the campaign thus far that Vice President Al Gore and President Clinton have spent so much time leveling criticism at him. But he also said the pattern is telling.
''They're talking about me and I'm talking about me and that's the way I like it,'' Bush said.
''They must be seeing something in those polls and focus groups that make them nervous,'' he said.
At the same time, Bush crowed about surveys showing him ahead of Gore nationally and in most of the key battleground states.
''The good news is that I'm leading in the polls,'' he said. ''The bad news is that the election isn't tomorrow.''
Despite his exuberance, Bush said he's taking nothing for granted, and described the race as ''hard and close.''
Gore, he said, is a formidable opponent but also one prone to ''shifting around a lot'' - most recently in his incarnation as the fiery foe of what the vice president labels a ''do-nothing-for-people'' Congress.
''Instead of reinventing government, Vice President Gore continues to reinvent himself right in the middle of a campaign,'' Bush said.
''Just this week, he decided to attack the Congress, even though he himself is president of the Senate,'' Bush said. ''He offers more of the same, the same old sequel to a tired period of time. Four more years of a president at war with Congress.''
Bush's optimism, and concomitant caution, was echoed throughout the gathering by Republicans worried about jinxing their good luck.
Mike McDaniel, the chairman of the state GOP chairs who comes from Indiana, said the stars are aligning to boost Bush's candidacy. Many voters want to be rid of the Clinton-Gore ''regime,'' he said. And many voters also like Bush's message of compassionate conservatism, too.
''People are hungry to win,'' McDaniel said. ''They're more united than ever before.''
In Indiana, where McDaniel serves as both the state party chairman and the state Bush chairman, Bush is poised to take the state with the help of the popular Senator Richard Lugar running for a fifth term this year, he said.
Nevertheless, McDaniel said he doesn't want to get too carried away: ''120 days out is a political eternity.''
Steve Duprey, the New Hampshire Republican chairman, said he only hopes the polls stay as they are now for the rest of the campaign.
''It's going to be a tough race all the way,'' Duprey said. ''These things change from week to week.''
