presidential election

Barack Obama will return to Pennsylvania on Friday when he makes a morning campaign stop in Montgomery County, one of the all-important suburbs of Philadelphia that could decide which direction the state swing in November.

The event, to be held at 9 a.m. in Abbington High School, comes at the heels of polls released this week that shows the Democratic presidential nominee increasing his lead over Republican nominee John McCain. 

Obama has not campaigned in Pennsylvania in nearly a month, when he held events in York, Lancaster and Wilkes-Barre the first week of September. 

Since the primary, McCain has made significantly more campaign stops than Obama in Pennsylvania. Republicans say the state's 21 electoral votes could go to a Republican for the first time in 20 years because of McCain's appeal to independents.

Obama, however, has had the advantage of a six-week campaign here in April when he competed against U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the primary.

Obama is expected to talk about his plans to "stand up for middle-class families."

Barack Obama holds a 7-point advantage over John McCain in Pennsylvania largely because voters think he understands the concerns of ordinary Americans, according to a new Franklin & Marshall poll.

The poll surveyed 767 registered voters in Pennsylvania from Sept. 23 to Sept. 28 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

The poll is consistent with others taken in Pennsylvania that show Obama's lead increasing in recent weeks in the Keystone State, which both campaigns consider critical to their hopes this fall. 

Sixty-one percent of voters said they thought Obama best understands the concerns of ordinary Americans, compared to just 28 percent for McCain, the poll reports. Voters also think Obama can better handle the economy compared to McCain, 46 percent to 37 percent, it finds.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday reports Barack Obama now has a 15-point advantage over John McCain in Pennsylvania, a dramatic swing in Obama's favor the poll credits largely to the country's financial crisis, the declining popularity of GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and Obama's debate performance.

The Democratic presidential nominee is up 54 percent to 39 percent over his Republican opponent in the Keystone State, the poll reports. It sampled voters from Sept. 27 to Sept. 29, the three days after Friday's first presidential debate. 

A Quinnipiac poll taken before the debate showed Obama up only six percentage points -- 49 percent to 43 percent -- over McCain.

Fiften points is by far the largest margin shown between the two candidates by any poll in the Keystone State, considered critical to both candidate's chances this fall. All of the polls, however, have shown the senator from Illinois increasing his once slim lead over McCain since the onset of the country's financial crisis. 

The poll showed Obama gaining similar leads since the debate in other battleground states. It reports Obama is up 8 points in Ohio and Florida.

"Pennsylvania is back in its role as the most Democratic swing state of the 2008 election, mainly because voters believe Obama will do a better job handling the economy," said Clay Richards, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

In what is clearly a direct response to GOP criticism, the campaign for Barack Obama has begun airing a TV ad that touts the Democratic presidential nominee's commitment to clean coal.

Republicans in coal-heavy parts of the country, including western Pennsylvania, have seized on remarks Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden made in Ohio, when he told a supporter he and Obama opposed the construction of new coal plants.

The GOP released a radio ad in Pennsylvania and other coal-heavy states Monday that replayed those remarks while touting the importance of the industry to the region's economy. 

The 30-second ad from the Obama campaign features a testimonial from a coal worker in Illinois, who touts Obama's past commitment to building coal plants. 

The campaign for John McCain has launched a new Pennsylvania radio ad that attacks the Democratic presidential ticket for opposing new coal plants.

The ad cites comments made by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden at a campaign event in Ohio, where the senator tells a supporter he and Barack Obama will not build anymore coal plants. 

The one-minute ad touts coal's importance to the state's economy and to the country's quest for energy independence before replaying Biden's remarks. 

"Obama, Biden and their liberal allies -- too risky for our jobs, our economic future,"  the ad says.

The McCain campaign and Pa. GOP have seized on Biden's remarks, using them to gain support in coal-heavy western Pennsylvania, where support for Obama is already soft.

Gov. Ed Rendell: Getty Images PhotoGov. Ed Rendell said Thursday there's "absolutely no reason" presidential nominees Barack Obama and John McCain can't debate as scheduled Friday night.

McCain has called for a delay because of the country's financial crisis, but Rendell said the senator from Arizona needs to be able to do two things at once, especially with a bailout deal reportedly already reached in Congress.

"Gosh, if you're a president, you better learn to multi-task," Rendell said.

The governor applauded McCain's decision to return to Washington, but he said the presidential nominee would have better served the country if he had agreed with Obama's plan to release a statement outlining their shared principles.

"Far better than suspending a debate would have been a letter from the two candidates outlining joint principles," Rendell.

Barack Obama: Getty Images PhotoDemocratic presidential nominee Barack Obama leads Republican nominee John McCain by 9 points among registered and likely voters, according to a new Time/CNN poll released Wednesday.

Obama leads 52 percent to 43 percent among registered voters, the poll finds, and 53 percent to 44 percent among likely voters.The 9-point spread is one of the largest seen in the Keystone State in recent months, with most polls showing his lead below 5 points.

A Fox/Rasmussen poll released Monday showed Obama with a 3-point lead.

The Time/CNN poll, taken from Sept. 21 to Sept. 23, asked 920 registered voters and 730 likely voters their opinions. The margin of error was 3.5 percent for likely voters and 3 percent for registered voters.

Joe Biden: Getty Images PhotoA quartet of western Pennsylvania Republicans seized Tuesday on statements made by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden that he opposes building "clean coal" plants, saying the Democratic presidential ticket clearly doesn't understand the needs of the Keystone State's middle-class families.

"It's fairly clear Joe Biden has sided with the faction of radical environmentalists that is opposed to any application of clean coal," said U.S. Rep. Phil English (R-Erie).

"Senator McCain has spelled out in great detail his strong position on energy that is ultimately a winner for him in Pennsylvania," he said.

English was speaking with reporters on a conference call organized by John McCain's campaign, which acted quickly to exploit Biden's statements to gain an advantage in the state's western half. Clean coal technology is a Holy Grail of the once-heavily industrial region, carrying with it the hope of an economic revival for an area struggling to create jobs.

Former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift (R) will make three campaign stops across central and southeastern Pennsylvania on Wednesday as she tries to rally support for the Republican presidential ticket.

Swift will be in Harrisburg at noon to hold a "Women for McCain-Palin Coalition" luncheon at the law office Buchanan, Ingersoll, and Rooney, located in downtown. She will be joined by Christine Toretti, co-chair of McCain and Palin's Pennsylvania campaign. 

Swift will make a 4:45 p.m. stop in Wayne before finishing her day with a town-hall meeting in Philadelphia at the Parkway Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The event starts at 7:30 p.m.

In addition to Toretti, Swift will also be joined by state GOP Vice-Chairwoman Joyce Haas.

State. Rep. Mike Turzai: Congressional PhotoHARRISBURG -- Gov. Ed Rendell has become a vocal critic in recent weeks of Republican presidential nominee John McCain and what he calls the candidate's outright lies about Barack Obama's economic plans.

But state Rep. Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny County) said Monday that based on the Rendell's own economic track record, voters should treat his words skeptically.

"I wouldn't trust Governor Rendell on the economy," said Turzai, who stood next to local party officials and small business owners at McCain's downtown Harrisburg headquarters.

The group held a press conference to decry the Democratic presidential nominee's economic proposals and tout McCain's "decisive" response to last weeks' financial crisis.