White House hopefuls battle over gas tax holiday

"This campaign has been tight throughout. But I am very confident that the American people are looking for the kind of truth-telling and serious policymaking that's going to have an impact on their lives and as long as I'm talking about the issues that matter to them, I think we've got a terrific chance," he said.

(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan and John Whitesides; writing by Steve Holland; Editing by Patricia Zengerle)

(To read more about the U.S. political campaign, visit Reuters "Tales from the Trail: 2008" online at blogs.reuters.com/trail08/ )