NORTH CAROLINA - WITH only 17 days left before the election, Mrs Cindy McCain has been drafted into her husband's campaign and will tour Pennsyvania by bus this weekend hoping to stem John McCain's slide in the polls.
With the clock ticking for the November 4 vote, Mr McCain on Friday was trailing seven percentage points behind Democratic rival Barack Obama, according to a RealClearPolitics poll.
Mrs Cindy McCain, 54, will now take a more prominent role in the campaign from her, so far, low-keyed appearances at rallies where she merely said a few words before introducing her husband and Arizona senator to the crowds.
She has attended many meetings alongside her husband and on some occasions, even alone.
Campaign officials said she has visited numerous schools around the country, but that this will be the first time she takes part in a bus tour.
She has her work cut out for her since Pennsylvania has voted Democrat in the last four presidential elections, but the state's 21 electoral votes make it a worthy prize.
To be elected to the White House, a candidate must win 270 out of the total 538 electoral votes cast by all US states.
Mr John McCain, 72, this weekend will take his campaign to North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio.
Mrs Cindy McCain is the heiress and chairwoman of Hensley & Company, Arizona's foremost beer distribution company worth an estimated tens of millions of dollars. -- AFP
