DURHAM - Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton hunted votes in every corner of North Carolina on Monday, making frantic final appeals that included new television ads, energetic rallies, speeches from spouses and, for a few surprised Durham voters, free pound cake.

Now it's up to the voters, who are expected to turn out today in record-busting numbers in the most consequential North Carolina presidential primary in decades.

Both campaigns were preparing to launch massive get-out-the-vote efforts the likes of which North Carolina has never seen.

On Monday, the candidates made personal appeals to voters.

"You don't hire a president to make speeches," Clinton told voters in Greenville. "You hire a president to solve problems."

In Durham, Obama suggested that Clinton is part of the past.

"I think the American people understand that it is not enough to go back to the 1990s," Obama said. "We can't afford to spend another eight years bickering."

Meanwhile, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain spoke in Charlotte and Winston-Salem. McCain was more relaxed than his Democratic counterparts, speaking without notes before members of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. His litany of issues ranged from immigration -- he advocated strong borders and compassion -- to health care.

Today's Democratic primaries in North Carolina and Indiana are critical as the long primary season nears an end -- with both candidates vowing to take their campaigns to the Democratic Convention in Denver in August if necessary.

Already, more than 470,000 residents have cast ballots early in one-stop voting that closed Saturday. A North Carolina presidential primary has not been so important since Ronald Reagan's upset of President Gerald Ford in the 1976 primary.

Just a few weeks ago, North Carolina was seen as an easy Obama victory. But the race has narrowed to the point that both Obama and Clinton were throwing everything into the fight -- including sending their spouses, former President Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama, into towns they could not visit themselves.

Both campaigns filled the airwaves with sharp-edged ads. Obama accused his opponent of taking "the low road" and called her gas tax holiday proposal a "Clinton gimmick." Clinton, in her ad, said that "Barack Obama wants to keep you paying gas taxes."

Polls show Obama retains an advantage in North Carolina by an average 7 points, according to RealClearPolitics.com, an independent political Web site.

Obama said he would be the stronger messenger for Democrats in the fall, saying that Clinton is too tied to special interests.

"It is not enough to just replace the party in the White House," Obama told a group of about 150 employees at Cree, an innovative lighting company in the Research Triangle Park. "We have got to change our politics."

Obama said that, unlike Clinton, he does not accept contributions from political action committees or Washington lobbyists. And he said he is more likely to be able to break the partisan gridlock on such issues as health care.

"I think the majority of the people do find me trustworthy more than they do the other candidate," Obama said. "We can't solve problems if people don't think their leaders are telling the truth."

Obama portrayed himself as tested, having survived a month of attacks over the remarks of his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and his service on a board with Bill Ayers, a former sixties radical.

Obama dismissed the idea that Clinton had been vetted during her years as first lady.

"She says she has, but she went through it 10 years ago," Obama said. "I promise you -- folks are are happy to recycle her."

At an unscheduled stop in downtown Durham, Obama proved he could dish out more than political talk. He visited the Blue Coffee Cafe, where he bought iced coffee for himself and pound cake for several customers, serving it himself.

"Oh, my God, it's him," shouted one woman when Obama entered the shop. By the time Obama left, a crowd had gathered outside the cafe, snapping photographs and waiting for a chance to shake his hand when he left.

Annette Uhlenberg, 35, said she planned to put her slice of pound cake in the freezer for safekeeping.

A tiny tot for Clinton

Clinton also continued to argue that she is the more experienced candidate and said she can best take on McCain in November.

"Those of you who are undecided, I hope I'll be able to persuade you and earn your vote." she said.

Clinton reminded about 500 voters in Greenville that she is the candidate with experience in the White House. She said Americans should have a health care plan similar to what members of Congress receive and pointed out that her husband left office with a budget surplus.

"I think her campaign is one of hope," said Don King, 42, a teacher at Pitt Community College whose 1-year-old son, Matthew, sucked on a pacifier and wore a Hillary button on his tiny ball cap at Monday morning's rally.

"I like her vision, I really do," King said.

(Mary Curtis of The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.)