A CONFIDENT President Clinton arrived early this morning in his home state of Arkansas at the end of an election campaign which seems certain to result in a second term for him in the White House.
While all opinion polls showed that Mr Clinton was assured of a victory over his Republican challenger, Mr Bob Dole, which could be a landslide in electoral college votes, it was less certain that he could win a majority of the popular vote.
In 1992 he was elected with 43 per cent of the popular vote but this time he is anxious to get over 50 per cent.
International affairs intruded into the final stages of the President's campaign when he was briefed on the second incident in three days in which a US pilot has fired on Iraqi air defences while patrolling the "no fly" zone.
While the latest opinion polls gave Mr Clinton a comfortable lead, there was much less certainty over the outcome of the contests for the 435 seat House of Representatives and 34 of the Senate seats. At present both Houses are Republican controlled.
Mr Dole maintained his exhausting, non stop, 96 hour "marathon" schedule, finishing up today in his home town of Russell, Kansas, where he will vote before heading back to Washington to hear the results.
Towards the end of his swing from coast to coast and back again, Mr Dote almost lost his voice but continued to draw crowds at midnight and pre dawn meetings.
The Reform Party candidate, Mr Ross Perot, spent millions of dollars in lengthy TV "infomercials" yesterday setting out his aims and increasing his attacks on President Clinton over alleged fundraising abuses by the Democrats.
Mr Clinton began his last day in his last campaign in New Hampshire, where he began a famous comeback in the 1992 election.
Later, he flew to Ohio, a state no victorious Republican candidate has lost in this century.
When a group of Dote supporters tried to heckle the President, he treated them goodhumouredly and shushed the crowd when it started to boo. "Don't boo them - you'll only encourage them. Make them feel welcome. We're not like the other side. In our America we're not leaving anyone out," he said.
First results are expected tonight at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight Irish time) when polls start to close in the Fast Coast states.