Joe Biden

Hours before voters go to the polls, the Obama campaign will make one final pitch to Pennsylvania, in the form of a Monday evening rally with vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Biden, along with his wife Jill, will rally supporters at Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia. The Democratic ticket is counting on big turnout in Philadelphia. Most polls show Barack Obama's lead over Republican John McCain in high single-digits or low double-digits.

Doors for the event open at 8:30 p.m.

With both campaigns making their final push for Pennsylvania's 21 electoral votes, the vice-presidential nominees will be here Thursday.

Democrat Joe Biden will hold rallies in Williamsport and Allentown. Republican Sarah Palin will be in Erie before also visiting Williamsport. She is scheduled to stay in the state Friday for events in York and Latrobe.

Most polls have Barack Obama and the Democratic ticket leading John McCain and Palin by double-digits. 

For the first time since the state's critical April primary contest, Pennsylvania this weekend will truly be the epicenter of presidential politics, with hardly a moment going by without campaign action on both sides of the aisle.

Candidates from both tickets will be in town for fundraisers. Democratic nominee Barack Obama will make four campaign stops throughout Philadelphia on Saturday, marking his first visit in the City of Brotherly Love in months. His running mate Joe Biden will be joined by both Bill and Hillary Clinton at a rally in Scranton on Sunday.

On the Republican side, vice-presidential nominee will attend a rally in Johnstown Saturday morning before dropping by a Philadelphia Flyers game that evening.

Even Libertarian candidate Bob Barr is getting into the action, appearing at Carnegie Mellon College in Pittsburgh Friday evening. 

Hillary and Bill Clinton will both join vice-presidential hopeful Joe Biden for a rally in Scranton on Sunday.

Both Sens. Clinton and Biden have roots in the area, which could prove a key test of Barack Obama's ability to win over working-class white voters.

Details of the rally have not yet been announced. 

Saturday Night Live this past weekend couldn't resist a skit on the Vice-Presidential debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin. In the skit, Biden's character says of Scranton, it's a hell-hole, a jerk-water of a town and filled with sad depressed people.

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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.

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Former President Bill Clinton will join U.S. Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Joe Biden (D-Del.) at a scheduled campaign stop in northeastern Pennsylvania next month, The Washington Post reports.

While details remain unclear, Clinton and Biden, the vice presidential nominee, had already been scheduled to appear in Scranton Oct. 12.

No word yet if Clinton plans to appear at the same event.

"It's a big October," Clinton said, according to The Post. "I'm going to be out there a lot for him."