President Bush made a visit to Florida on Oct. 18 to bolster his brother's gubernatorial campaign. Gov. Jeb Bush is battling surging Democratic challenger Bill McBride for re-election in a contest that appears to be intensifying as a new Zogby poll conducted Oct. 8 put McBride within three percentage points of Bush.

"A second term for the Florida governor has been an administration-wide project for nearly two years, prompting 11 presidential visits, frequent pilgrimages by Cabinet secretaries and a steady stream of federal largess. The drive coincides neatly with the president's goal of winning the fourth-largest state by more than 537 votes when he runs again in 2004," reported the Washington Post on Oct. 18.

The president and the governor promoted their education plans at a Volusia County elementary school before attending a Daytona Beach fundraiser.

McBride has gone north for fundraising help from Democrtic party heavyweights. He was expected to attend a New York fundraiser with Bill and Hillary Clinton on the same day the Bush brothers were touring parts of Florida.

Education is McBride's number one issue in the campaign. He has promised to recruit better teachers and pay them more, reduce class size, and do away with Bush's accountability plan whereby schools receive a letter grade. McBride says that Florida schools are lagging behind the rest of the nation.

"We should not settle to be 49th in graduation rates or 44th in SAT scores," says his campaign Web site.

Bush claims his education policies have been effective. His campaign Web site says that under Bush schools have received a 27 percent total funding increase, minority literacy levels are rising, and failing schools have been identified and given the help they need.

Both sides claim to reap benefits from a presidential visit. Democrats say the appearance of Pres. Bush energizes their voters by reminding them of the closeness of the 2000 presidential election in Florida. Republicans counter that the president is a powerful draw for their supporters.

The likely victor in the race will be the candidate who can energize voters enough to produce a large turnout of supporters on Election Day.

--By Jason Manning, Online NewsHour