WASHINGTON (CNN) – In her first speech outside Alaska this year, Republican Gov. Sarah Palin praised her state, criticized the president's economic recovery plan and talked at length about her anti-abortion views.

But she didn't touch on what a lot of people wanted to know: Will she run for president in 2012?

Palin's appearance before the sold-out Vanderburgh County Right to Life dinner in Evansville, Indiana, brought in nationwide media and forced organizers to open up an overflow area for attendees.

"It's great to be here in Indiana, the crossroads of America," she said to thunderous applause.

Palin's dinner speech took her out of Alaska in the waning days of her state's legislative session, drawing harsh criticism from Democrats.

Listen: Palin proves she's still a draw. CNN Radio reports.

"They condemn anything that I do, but especially traveling outside the
state to speak in another state at a function like this," she said. "Which is ironic, because these are the same critics who would love to see me outside the state forever, permanently, you know, outside the governor's office anyway."

The state legislature on Thursday rejected her nominee for attorney general, adding more tension for a governor who many in her state see as being too preoccupied with national ambitions since she was picked to be Sen. John McCain's running mate in last year's presidential election.

Palin's reticence to request the full economic stimulus money owed to Alaska has also sparked concerns back home.

She criticized the Fed's economic stimulus package as having too many
strings attached and said states will "at the end of the day realize those dollars can actually be bad for states."

"This isn't free money folks. Our nation is $11 trillion in debt. This is borrowed money," she said. "We're borrowing money from China, and we may someday find ourselves enslaved to countries that hold our notes."

Palin dedicated most of her speech to the anti-abortion cause and her support of adoption. She became emotional when discussing her son Trig, who has Down syndrome, and the fear and concern she felt during her pregnancy.

"I had to call upon my faith and ask that my heart be filled up and I will tell you, the moment he was born, I knew for sure that my prayer was answered and my heart overflowed with joy," she said choking back tears.

Palin is scheduled to attend a breakfast Friday morning in Evansville with members of S.M.I.L.E., a nonprofit for relatives of those with Down syndrome.

Florida beat Oklahoma in Thursdays BCS Championship game. Obama favors a playoff system instead.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Details of President-elect Barack Obama’s multi-billion dollar economic stimulus plan might still be murky, but his position on the hottest topic in the world of college football certainly is not.

“We need a playoff,” Obama told reporters after being asked about Florida’s 24-14 victory over Oklahoma in Thursday night’s BCS Championship game. "If I'm Utah, or if I'm USC or if I'm Texas, I might still have some quibbles.”

Florida, Oklahoma and Texas all finished the season with one loss. Texas actually handed Oklahoma its one defeat in October on a neutral field. When the BCS computer system put Florida and Oklahoma in this year’s national championship game, the annual back and forth over whether to have a college football playoff system was reignited. Utah was the only college football team to finish the season undefeated but its conference is considered less competitive and therefore was put at a statistical disadvantage in the BCS.

Friday was not the first time Obama stated his preference for a playoff system.

Related: BCS is a political football in 2009

"It would add three extra weeks to the season," Obama said in a interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes just after the election. "You could trim back on the regular season. I don't know any serious fan of college football who has disagreed with me on this. So, I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

The night before Election Day both Sen. John McCain and Obama made brief appearances during Monday Night Football. “I'm fed up with these computer rankings and this that and the other. Get eight teams - the top eight teams right at the end. You got a playoff. Decide on a national champion,” he said then.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – When President-elect Barack Obama heads to the Democratic National Committee Thursday afternoon to formally announce the name of the party's new chair, there will be a notable absence.

Current Chairman Howard Dean is leaving Thursday morning for Pago Pago, American Samoa to attend the inauguration of that territory’s governor, and to help raise money for the Democratic Party there. Dean has so far visited all 50 states, and all territories except American Samoa.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, who was on the shortlist to be Obama’s vice-president, will succeed Dean and formally take over his DNC post later this month.

Click here for an update to this post

Pres. Bush signed an agreement with the Iraqi government in Baghdad Sunday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - As President Bush prepares to leave office and looks back over his tenure, he Tuesday continued to stand firmly by his decision to go to war in Iraq, calling the decision to send troops into harm's way the most important one he made he has made in the Oval Office.

"I listened to a lot of people before we went into Iraq. And I listened to a lot of people, including in my own administration, who said, 'it's just not working. Let's get out.' And I listened very carefully to them. And obviously, came to a different conclusion," President Bush told CNN's Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley during a tour of the Oval Office.

While he did not want to revisit his decision to go to war, Bush he was ultimately concerned about "whether or not we would succeed."

"I have worried about it in the past, in 2006 in particular. In Iraq, I was deeply concerned about whether or not we would succeed," he said. "A lot of people in Washington, were saying, let's get out now. And I obviously chose not to do that. But, that was a very difficult period," he said.

The president said he "considered all options" when it came to Iraq and contemplated leaving but said, "I could not live with myself, if I had chosen to just leave and leave behind the valor and the sacrifice of a lot of our young men and women. I would have never been able to face their loved ones."

Returning to Texas

Bush and first lady Laura Bush will head to Dallas after they leave Washington to live in home the president has yet to see firsthand. He plans to open up an institute at Southern Methodist University and will write a book he hopes will present a fuller picture of his presidency than perhaps some of his critics have portrayed.

"I would like to share my experiences, and I think it's going to be important for people to remember what the actual history of my presidency was all about. History tends to shift very rapidly people forget what the environment in which the decisions were made," he said.

Crowley, who started covering the president when he was Texas governor in 1998, asked whether he was still the same person he was back then.

"I didn't change my basic values," Bush said. "I loved my wife then. I love her now. I realize my most important job was to be a loving father, and it is still my most important job. I believed in an almighty then my belief has been strengthened. You've got to say I'm a little wiser. My knowledge of the world is more profound."

Looking forward to a historic moment

Even though his days in office are winding down, the president said he is "not sitting around doing nothing," especially with the transition to President-elect Barack Obama's administration underway.

Bush said he hopes Obama, who will become the nation's first African-American president, is pleased with his administration's efforts.

"We care about him. We want him to be successful, and we want the transition to work," Bush said.

Looking ahead to inauguration, Bush said he is thrilled to "have a front row seat in an unbelievable moment in American history. And I was deeply touched by a lot of people I saw on election night with tears streaming down their face and saying, 'I never, ever thought I would see this day coming.'"

Bush said his "faith in Democracy" made him sure that someday an African American would hold the office he has occupied for eight years, and he is certain more changes will come.

"I believe there will be a woman president," he said. "I am amazed to have watched, you know, Barack Obama come from basic, relative obscurity to now be the - soon to be the president of the United States. And he gives a lot of people hope. And that's good for the country."

Obama brought up comments made by various Republicans about certain places being 'real America'.

LEESBURG, Virginia (CNN) - In recent days, comments made by various Republicans about certain places being the "real America" or certain people being "pro-America" have started to creep into Barack Obama's stump speech. The lines appear to be resonating with supporters.

"I know some folks may not think so, but this looks like the real Virginia to me. This looks like authentic Virginia and y'all look like a bunch of Virginians," he said at an early evening rally. "I've been traveling across this great state of Virginia. I've met folks everywhere I go I haven't seen a real Virginia and a fake Virginia I've just seen Virginia."

As Obama's motorcade made its way through quaint downtown Leesburg, residents were lining the streets and standing on porches waving a mix of Obama and McCain signs. Hanging from one white Victorian home was a hand painted sign that said "real Virginians for Obama."

Obama said Wednesday McCain is 'not fighting for Joe the plumber'.

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) –- Joe the plumber is getting some company on the campaign trail.

“Let’s be clear who Senator McCain is fighting for, he’s not fighting for Joe the plumber. He’s fighting for Joe the hedge fund manager. John McCain likes to talk about Joe the plumber but he’s in cahoots with Joe the CEO. So don’t be fooled, don’t let them hoodwink you,” Obama told thousands at a mid-afternoon rally.

Obama’s now infamous conversation with Ohio plumber Joe Wurzelbacher has become a rallying point for both the Democratic and Republican candidates.

McCain has repeatedly said Obama’s tax plan would punish Joe the plumber because the Democratic nominee wants to change the income distribution to help those making less and thereby hurt entrepreneurs and those trying to get ahead. Obama counters that he wants to give a tax cut to the majority of working Americans and roll back the Bush tax cuts to the rates that existed under President Bill Clinton where the wealthier paid more.

In recent days Obama has taken to highlighting statements McCain made in 2001 in which he said he could not support President Bush’s tax cuts because “so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us, at the expense of middle-class Americans who most need tax relief.”

“I had a nice conversation the other day with Joe the plumber. Joe is cool. I’ve got no problems with Joe. All I want to do is give Joe a tax cut,” Obama said. “We can give relief to the nurse and the teacher and the bus driver and the janitor. John McCain calls that socialism.”

A reporter asked Obama at a press conference earlier whether his comment to Wurzelbacher that he wanted to “spread the wealth around” had given Republicans an opening in the campaign’s final weeks.

“They have been trying to throw whatever they can against the wall to see what sticks and this their latest version,” Obama said. “Was John McCain a socialist back in 2000 when he opposed the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Cause all I’m trying to do is reverse those so that we can give relief to people who really need help. It’s not a very plausible argument that he’s making right now and I think it’s an indication that they have run out of ideas.”

Watch Obama on Ellen.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) – Barack Obama lauded his wife Michelle at his evening event for being a better speaker than he is. Apparently she is also a better dancer.

The Democratic presidential nominee taped an appearance for the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" after his rally on a makeshift set behind the press filing tent. DeGeneres told Obama that when Michelle appeared on her show "she was talking some smack" about his dance "moves."

Standing in front of a few rows of supporters, Obama danced to James Brown's "Get Up Offa That Thing" much to the delight of the talk show host.

"Let me tell you that Michelle may be a better dancer. But I'm convinced I'm a better dancer than John McCain," Obama said.

Watch: Obama says he's a better dancer than McCain

Obama told DeGeneres that his daughters were opting for scary Halloween costumes this year. He said Sasha, the younger daughter, is planning to be a "corpse bride" and Malia will be an "evil fairy."

"I've got to admit they both look too cute. They're not scary enough for my taste," he said.

The segment will air on Wednesday.

Clinton and Obama campaigned together in Florida Monday.

ORLANDO, Florida (CNN) – Hillary Clinton came to Florida, a state she won in the primary but whose delegates she could not fully claim, to urge her supporters to turn out for Barack Obama on Election Day.

“We are 15 days from the finish line and we cannot falter, we cannot stop, we cannot take a single vote for granted,” Clinton said Monday. “I am asking you to work as hard for Barack as you worked for me. If you made phone calls for me, make them for Barack. If you walked streets for me, make them for Barack. If you talked to your friends and neighbors for me, do it again for Barack. We cannot risk four more years of the same failed Republican policies.”

The two former rivals had not appeared together at a public rally since they came together in Unity, New Hampshire shortly after the primary season ended, and before Obama officially became the Democratic nominee. Monday's event marks their first joint appearance of the general election season.

The Obama campaign said Senator Clinton has done countless fundraisers and events on behalf of the Obama-Biden ticket. She and former President Clinton recently campaigned with Senator Joe Biden in Scranton, Pennsylvania – an area where the New York senator has deep family ties.

“Sending the Republicans to clean up the economic mess in Washington is like sending the bull to clean up the china closet. We’re not buying that anymore,” Clinton said Monday, straining her voice to be heard over raucous applause. “Now is the time to close the deal for Barack Obama, and close the book on eight years of failed Republican leadership. We are in an economic crisis born and bred by the failed Republican policies of George Bush and John McCain.”

Obama praised Clinton’s performance in the primary campaign and for her role in “shattering barriers” for women. Several times during the event Obama referred to Clinton, and told the crowd he would work with her to reform the health care system.

Clinton called Orlando and central Florida “the battleground of the battleground” and practically begged the crowd to vote early.

“Friends, this is the mad dash to the finish line. This is the opportunity each of us have to stand up for what we believe is best about America. I hope that each and every one of you will do all you can in the next two weeks because you understand what is at stake in this election," Clinton said.

Obama is taking Thursday and Friday to visit his ailing grandmother in Hawaii.

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida (CNN) – Senator Barack Obama will leave the campaign trail Thursday afternoon and travel to Hawaii to visit his grandmother, who is seriously ill.

Robert Gibbs, a senior advisor to Obama, told reporters on the flight from Orlando that 85 year-old Madelyn Dunham’s health “has deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious.” Gibbs would not elaborate on the severity of Dunham’s condition, but said the fact that Obama was traveling to see her “underscores the seriousness of the situation.”

Dunham was released from the hospital late last week.

Obama had been scheduled to appear in Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa on Thursday. Those events have been canceled. Instead, Obama will do a morning event in Indianapolis, Indiana and then head to Hawaii. He will return to the trail on Saturday with a campaign event in a western state.

His campaign will continue to function normally and in no way is being suspended.

Obama often speaks on the stump about his grandmother, what an integral figure she was in his youth and how she struggled against the glass ceiling in her career. He and his family traveled to Hawaii in August to visit Dunham.

In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, Obama said of his grandmother: “She’s the one who put off buying a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life. She poured everything she had into me. And although she can no longer travel, I know that she’s watching tonight, and that tonight is her night as well.”

Obama and Palin both agree on moving away from 'conventional campaigning'.

TAMPA BAY, Florida (CNN) – Barack Obama told voters here the tenor of the campaign is only going to get worse but that apparently he had found an ally in the fight against Republican attacks: GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin..

“We’ve seen it before. And we’re seeing it again. Ugly phone calls. Misleading mail and TV ads. Careless, outrageous comments. All aimed at keeping us from working together, all aimed at stopping change,” he told a crowd of thousands at Steinbrenner Field. “It’s getting so bad that even Senator McCain’s running mate denounced his tactics last night. You know, you really have to work hard to violate Governor Palin’s standards on negative campaigning, you’ve got to work hard. ...

“What we know is that change never comes without a fight. Power concedes nothing without a fight. In the final days of campaigns, the say-anything, do-anything politics too often takes over,” Obama said.

Watch: Obama mocks Palin for speaking against her campaign's robo calls

Palin told reporters Sunday that if she were in charge of the campaign there would be more time spent one-on-one with voters and less time on “the old conventional ways of campaigning that includes those robo-calls.”

The Obama campaign descended on Florida Monday, the first day Floridians could vote early. The Democratic nominee and Hillary Clinton were scheduled to campaign together in Orlando. Clinton held a solo event earlier in Ft. Lauderdale. Michelle Obama and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson will headline separate events across the state on Tuesday.

Polls have shown the state all but tied and the Obama campaign aides think if “sporadic voters” can be mobilized to cast a ballot early, that may be the edge they need to win.

“I want everybody after this rally, if you have not already voted I want you to go vote. Don’t wait until November 4th you don’t know what might happen on Nov 4th. Your car might break down, you might have an emergency, you might the alarm might not go off you don’t get to work on time. So take the advantage of early vote,” Obama implored the crowd.

According to Steve Schale, the Obama campaign’s Florida state director, estimates are that over 40 percent of the state’s residents will either vote early or vote absentee. Schale also said the campaign is estimating that as many as 9 million Floridians will vote in this election.

Schale said he had a “fairly decent level of confidence” in the ability of election officials to handle the expected Election Day voting crush. But he did concede some concern over how recent state budget cuts could impact local election boards, saying this first day of early voting is a “big test.”

Obama campaigned in North Carolina earlier Sunday.

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (CNN) – Colin Powell’s endorsement of Barack Obama could not have come on a more opportune day for the Democratic nominee as he campaigned in eastern North Carolina, an area awash with military members and their families.

“With so many brave men and women from Fayetteville serving in our military, this is a city and a state that knows something about great soldiers,” Obama said to a capacity crowd waving small American flags. “I have been honored to have the benefit of his wisdom and counsel from time to time over the last few years, but today, I am beyond honored and deeply humbled to have the support of General Colin Powell.”

The campaign said Obama and Powell spoke for ten minutes on the phone after the former Secretary of State’s appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Powell, Obama said, reminded voters “we don’t have the luxury of relying on the same political games the same political tactics that are used every election to divide us from one another and make us afraid of one another.”

Obama promised the audience the next 16 days would be full of “more of these robo-calls making outrageous accusations.”

In his video announcing the campaign’s massive September cash haul, campaign manager David Plouffe said supporters needed to keep donating money so they could respond to such calls with their own.

Obama’s campaign has shattered its own presidential fundraising record.

DUNN, North Carolina (CNN) – Barack Obama’s campaign had a record-breaking September, hauling in over a $150 million last month - a new high-water mark in campaign fundraising history.

In a video to supporters, Obama Campaign Manager David Plouffe said a record 632,000 new donors gave to the campaign, with an average contribution under $100, although several multi-million dollar fundraising events last month did pad that total. Over three million individual donors have given so far.

In addition, the Democratic National Committee raised $49.9 million in September.

John McCain's campaign is operating under the public financing system which limits its spending to $84 million for the general election, although the Republican National Committee is able to assume certain activities on its behalf.

Regardless of this stunning haul - which dwarfs the $65 million raised in August - Plouffe told supporters the campaign still needed more money because “of the slime that we’re getting from the McCain campaign.” Plouffe cited recent attack ads and robo-calls in battleground states and said the campaign needed to have every resource to “fight back.”

“Their campaign is going to descend even more into the gutter,” he said.

Plouffe also said the campaign was expanding its reach to compete “aggressively” in West Virginia and tightening polls in Georgia and North Dakota meant more money and resources could be sent to those two states in the remaining days.

“We can’t afford to make any cuts. We have to execute everything we think is required to win,” Plouffe said of their battleground strategy. “None of us can look back on the night of November 4th or the morning of November 5th and wished we had done something extra.”

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (CNN) – Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill chastised Governor Sarah Palin for recent comments that she likes to visit “pro-American” parts of the United States.

“We have reached a new low in American politics when someone dares to say that one part of America is more pro-American than another part of America,” McCaskill said at an afternoon Barack Obama rally.

McCaskill, an ardent Obama supporter and ubiquitous campaign surrogate said voters are beginning to “see clearly the differences between these two candidates.” She described the Obama campaign as exhibiting the “kind of leadership that America needs in a crisis” because in her mind it has been “slow, steady, thoughtful, constructive.”

McCaskill criticized the McCain campaign as “stumbling, erratic, all over the map” and said it is trying to “distract American with small, petty, unfair personal attacks.”

“As America has taken the measure of these men, they have looked at their judgments on the campaign trail. One picked one of the strongest candidates for vice president he could’ve picked in the United States. The other didn’t,” she said.

Senator Jim Webb thinks that McCain is now regretting his VP selection.

ROANOKE, Virginia (CNN) – Introducing Barack Obama at a Friday campaign event, Virginia Senator Jim Webb questioned John McCain’s vice presidential pick and said it was a decision the Republican nominee now probably regrets.

“Do you really think that Sarah Palin is the most qualified person in the Republican Party?” asked Webb. “I don’t know how many people here like country music? I like country music. There’s a song about two years ago it was called ‘I know what I was doing but what was I thinking?’ I think John McCain is probably singing that song right now,” he added, referring to the Dierks Bentley tune “What was I thinking?”

“If you’re trying to talk to friends about clear distinctions in terms of judgment, temperament, vision, this is something you can really ask them to take a look at,” he said.

Webb said the choice of a running mate was the one real window into the kind of judgment a future president would exhibit in office. He said he did not really “understand the process” by which McCain picked Governor Palin but said Obama’s choice of Biden was “thoughtful,” and Biden is “capable in a moment of stepping forward” into the presidency.

“I watched the vice presidential debate and I thought Joe Biden did a very good job and at the beginning f the debate Governor Palin turned around and said ‘nice to meet you can I call you Joe’ and I was thinking Joe what you really ought to do is say ‘yeah, you can call me whatever you want - in two months you can call me Mr. Vice President,’” Webb said.

The junior senator said southwestern Virginia voters can “trust [Obama]” - and that the “Karl Rove” type campaign going on against him has gotten tough.

“What they do is they say that person is not like you that person doesn’t understand you,” he said. “There’s a lot of comments that have been made about certain ethnic issues in this campaign, and I would like to say we know Barack Obama’s father was born in Kenya. Barack Obama’s mother was born in Kansas by way of Kentucky. We’re going to see on Election Day the election of the 44th President of the United States, whose ancestry and whose family line goes back to the mountains of this area.”

Obama is speaking about last night's debate out on the campaign trail today.

LONDONDERRY, New Hampshire (CNN) – At a Pennsylvania campaign event Thursday, John McCain repeated his advisors’ favorite line from Wednesday night’s debate: that Barack Obama wasn’t running against George Bush. And on the trail in New Hampshire, Barack Obama repeated his comeback.

“He said, ‘I don’t know why you’re running against George Bush,’” Obama told a rain-soaked crowd south of Manchester. “I said ‘I’m not running against George Bush, I’m running against all those policies of George Bush that you support, Sen. McCain.’

“In three debates and over twenty months, John McCain hasn’t explained a single thing that he would do differently from George Bush when it comes to the most important economic issues we face today. Not one,” he said to loud cheers outside of Mack’s Apple Farm, a location he campaigned at a year ago.

Obama said last night’s debated highlighted McCain’s “attack strategy,” and said the remaining 19 days of the general election campaign should focus on the “genuine differences” between the two candidates.

The Democratic nominee defended his tax plan, which he has said would cut taxes for 95 percent of workers and said his opponent’s plan would give generous tax breaks to the wealthy and leave out millions of Americans.

“By the way, in the debate last night he didn’t deny those facts he just kept on saying ‘well I don’t want to tax anybody, I don’t want to tax anybody, I’m going do this I can do it, I know how,’” said the Democratic nominee.

“Well, the fact of the matter is that he’s blowing a hole through the budget on tax breaks that are the exact same kinds of tax cuts that George Bush offered, same argument, same philosophy,” he said. “Then he’s trying to suggest that that a plumber is the guy he’s fighting for - how many plumbers do you know making a quarter of a million dollars a year?” Obama said, referencing the Ohio plumber he spoke with on the trail, who was made famous in last night’s debate.

Running mate Joe Biden expressed similar skepticism over sudden celebrity plumber Joe Wurzelbach, who had been repeatedly cited by McCain. “I don't have any Joe the plumbers in my neighborhood that make $250,000 a year,” he told NBC’s Today Show Thursday morning.

As he did at a Manhattan fundraiser earlier in the day, Obama implored the audience not to grow complacent in the face of a favorable outlook for his campaign.

“I learned right here, with the help of my great friend and supporter Hillary Clinton, that you can’t let up or pay too much attention to the polls. We’ve got to keep making our case for change; we’ve got to keep fighting for every single vote; we’ve got to keep running through that finish line,” he said.

Despite trying to keep the confidence level in check, the Obama campaign is taking advantage of recent state polls in their favor. Starting Friday, the candidate will travel to a slew of competitive “red states,” including Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina and Florida.

Obama does not want his supporters to get too comfortable with his recent lead in the polls.

NEW YORK (CNN) – He may hold the edge in most polls with just 19 days to go, but Barack Obama can’t relax, pointing to the ghosts of election nights past.

“For those of you who are feeling giddy or cocky and think this is all set, I just say one word - I guess it’s two words for you - New Hampshire,” Obama told a high-dollar fundraiser crowd in Manhattan, referencing his loss to Hillary Clinton in January’s primary. “I’ve been in these positions before where we are favored and the press starts getting carried away and we end up getting spanked … and so we want to make sure we are closing strong, right through the tape.”

The morning after the last presidential debate, Obama displayed a mix of wistfulness and humor about one part of the political process coming to an end.

“We had a fun night last night. I’m deeply sad that after 26 debates we have no more debates,” he said to laughter. “I was hoping to have several more.”

At a breakfast that pulled in at least $3.6 million for the Obama Victory Fund, the Democratic nominee said “we are now 19 days not from the end but from the beginning,” emphasizing the amount of work and the number of challenges the next president will face. He asked those in attendance for more help going forward.

“I’m going to need all of you in that process not just for campaign support and financial support. Once we’re done there’s extraordinary expertise in this room ,and we’re going to need good advice and who knows there might even be some of you who decide that you want to spend a little time in government, and we’re going to need people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and make sure that Washington and Wall Street and the country as a whole are working in ways that leave a better future for our children,” he said.

David Axelrod spoke with reporters on board a plane en route to New York Wednesday.

HEMPSTEAD, New York (CNN) –- With Barack Obama holding the advantage in most recent surveys, the goal for his campaign is to stay the course.

“Let me just say this, we weren’t discouraged by polls when they were not favorable for us, we’re not seduced by polls now,” Obama Senior Strategist David Axelrod told reporters on the plane ride from Toledo, Ohio to New York. “We think this is going to be a battle everyday right till the end and we’re prepared for that.

“I think Senator McCain’s problem is fundamental which is he’s got a bad argument, he’s on the wrong side of history. He’s arguing for a set of policies and approach that have been discredited in a really dramatic way over the last eight years. And I’m not sure any stylistic change or approach in a debate can change that.”

Axelrod dismissed the notion that the Obama campaign was “goading” John McCain into bringing up Barack Obama’s relationship with 1960s radical William Ayers. Yesterday, McCain said the issue was all but certain to come up because Obama said in a recent interview he was surprised the Republican ticket would bring the relationship up at rallies, but that the Arizona senator would not mention it in their face-to-face debates.

Axelrod said he did not think voters were “interested in a lot of finger-pointing and back-and-forth and personal gratuitous attacks. You know, I hope and I expect that this is not what this debate will be but all we can control is what we do. And all Sen. Obama can control is what he does and what he’s going to do in this debate is try and address the concerns that are on the minds of people.”

The preparation for tonight’s debate was not much different than it has been for the previous faceoffs, according to Axelrod. Obama is already “comfortable with the material,” he said, so a good bit of time was spent on the “logistics” and getting Obama accustomed to sitting at a table in close proximity to his opponent.

“It can change the feel of the debate, being in close proximity to someone else. It can change it in terms of lowering the tone it can raise the tone, so you know it’ll be interesting to see and I have no predictions. I don’t know what approach Senator McCain is going to bring,” Axelrod said.

When asked whether Obama was prepared for McCain to unveil a new economic policy proposal like he did during the last debate, Axelrod said it would not impact Obama’s focus.

“We’re not in the business of reinventing ourselves from debate to debate - that’s not what Obama is going to do. He’s been very consistent for 20 months, he’s going to be consistent tonight. And it may be that there’s a new wrinkle from Sen. McCain.

“Sen. McCain has been has been churning from day-to-day, and coming up with new approaches on the economy that sometimes are starkly different than the ones that he unveiled just a few days earlier, and we’ll see what happens tonight.”

Obama offered specifics on his economic plan this afternoon.

TOLEDO, Ohio (CNN) – Barack Obama said the average American consumer is facing an “immediate economic emergency” and steps need to be taken right away to stop things from any getting worse.

Watch: 'J-O-B-S,' says Obama

“If Washington can move quickly to pass a rescue plan for our financial system, there’s no reason we can’t move just as quickly to pass a rescue plan for our middle-class that will create jobs, provide relief, and help homeowners,” Obama told Toledo voters. “If Congress does not act in the coming months, it will be one of the first things I do as President of the United States.”

Obama proposed $60 billion worth of measures his campaign said would offer “relief” to homeowners and workers. Many of the ideas build on policies Obama has already proposed and authority the government already has. The campaign suggested many of them could even be passed in a lame duck session of congress after the election.

The Democratic nominee wants to: temporarily lift taxes on unemployment benefits; allow investors a penalty free withdrawl of up to $10,000 from their 401k or IRA this year or next year; place a 90 day moratorium on foreclosures for homeowners who are “making a good-faith effort” at meeting payment deadlines; and temporarily offer businesses a $3,000 tax credit for “every net new job” added in the United States in 2009.

“It’s a plan that begins with one word that’s on everyone’s mind, and it’s easy to spell, J-O-B-S. Jobs. We’ve got to work on jobs,” he said.

John McCain’s campaign told reporters on a Monday afternoon conference call that Obama’s plan would have little impact — adding that the Republican nominee would be unveiling economic proposals of his own on Tuesday.

Listen: McCain advisors blast Obama's proposals - and tell reporters how the Republican nominee plans to counter them

Obama’s job message could play well in the Toledo area. Recent data puts the city’s unemployment rate at close to 10% and the number statewide at 7.4 percent. These numbers are expected to rise given the recent economic downturn.

Northwest Ohio, where Obama is spending three days preparing for Wednesday’s final debate, is considered a crucial swing area. John Kerry handily won mostly Democratic Lucas County, which houses Toledo, in 2004 but lost almost all of the surrounding Republican leaning suburban, exurban and rural counties.

Upon his arrival Sunday, Obama canvassed a neighborhood in Holland, just West of Toledo, where many residents expressed concern about the home foreclosures on their street and not being able to pay the bills.

This area, according to Eric Rademacher of the Ohio Poll, “has been a fairly good predictor of how the state goes.” Given the current economic climate, Rademacher said he would give Obama the advantage here - but noted that the state of the race could change several times before Election Day.

The Pennsylvania governor stumped for Obama in Philadelphia Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Barack Obama and his band of Pennsylvania pols criss-crossed Philadelphia Saturday in an effort to drive up turnout in a city where Obama needs big margins to win the state next month.

“Senator Obama has done everything he could to bring us to this point. For two years he’s campaigned across the length and breadth of this country and he’s done a great job,” Governor Ed Rendell told a mostly African-American crowd in north Philadelphia. “In the primary, only 53 percent of the registered voters in Philadelphia turned out. Twenty-four days from today, 53 percent will not cut it. It will not cut it if we want to make sure that Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. We need to turn out at least 75 percent.”

The homage to the Philadelphia Phillies and requisite cheese steak references aside, Obama stuck to the economic populist stump speech he’s delivered in various battleground states since the financial crisis began.

“We need policies that grow our economy from the bottom-up, so that every American, everywhere has the chance to get ahead,” Obama told residents in Germantown, a Northwest Philadelphia neighborhood. “These are the Americans I’m standing for. These are the folks I’m fighting for. The cops, the teachers, the guys who pick up the garbage, the folks who are mopping the floors at night, the people who are starting a small business the barber shop owner, the hardware store owner, that’s the kind of leadership I’m offering. That’s what I mean when I’m talking about change.

Obama drew thousands at four stops in distinct sections of the city. Crowds jammed his motorcade route screaming, waving and occasionally running in between the cars, creating havoc.

Rendell and Michael Nutter, the city’s mayor, had long advocated for a full day of fast-paced, grassroots campaigning.

“No question the mayor and I were clamoring to get into Philadelphia and we were clamoring to do this type of day. We had a little bit of a tug with Chicago,” Rendell told reporters, referencing Obama headquarters and citing Secret Service concerns and demands on the candidate’s time. “It’s challenging. But we thought it was worth it, the buzz it will create. Everyone in Germantown will know before they go to sleep tonight that Barack Obama was in Vernon Park … that’s very meaningful, Barack where we live.”

“I think Chicago is pretty happy,” Nutter added. Obama campaign aides said they had always planned a day of Philadelphia centered events.

Both Nutter and Rendell were avid supporters of Senator Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary race, and skeptical of Obama’s chances statewide should he be the nominee. While Rendell said he is now confident Obama will take Pennsylvania next month he offered a word of caution.

“I think it’s a very very fluid election. I think this changes from literally day to day,” he said. “With 24 days to go and a lot of stuff supposedly left to come out, the Republicans, as Senator Obama said, it’s like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks who knows what’s out there. My message to all of us … we can’t be over confident for one second. When that 15 point poll came out I shuddered because I don’t believe for a minute we’re 15 points up and we’ve just got to be ready to do everything we can. It’s too important for us to take this for granted.”

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) – Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell dismissed the McCain campaign’s recent attacks against Barack Obama’s character Saturday, and said the Republican nominee’s current strategy has severely damaged him here.

“I think the John McCain of 2000 would have been a very difficult candidate to beat. The John McCain of 2008 is much less difficult to beat,” Rendell told reporters after an Obama rally.

When asked if he thought there has been any racial undercurrent to the McCain-Palin ticket bringing up issues like Obama’s relationship with 1960s radical William Ayers, Rendell shook his head.

“Not particularly. I think they’re just stupid, they’re dumb, dumb,” Rendell said of the attacks. “They’re all dumb when people are facing the challenges in their own lives that they’re facing no one wants to hear that stuff it’s just dumb.

"You know tell us what you want to do. If he’s got a plan for the mortgage bailout explain it to the American people that might get people’s interest … but don’t tell us about you know something that happened when Barack Obama was just 8 years of age, it’s just dumb.”

Obama thanked McCain for his Friday comments.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (CNN) - During his four-stop swing around the city of Philadelphia Saturday morning, Barack Obama acknowledged John McCain's efforts to "tone down the rhetoric" on the campaign trail.

"I appreciated his reminder that we can disagree while still being respectful of each other. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Senator McCain has served this country with honor, and he deserves our thanks for that," Obama told a north Philadelphia crowd, to a mix of heavy boos and cheers.

Earlier: 'Don't be scared' of Obama presidency, McCain tells supporters

At an event Friday in Minnesota McCain referred to Obama as a "decent person," and praised him as a "family man" after two voters expressed fear over Obama being elected.

Obama, however, quickly dispensed with polite talk Saturday, and pivoted to his main campaign trail argument: that McCain is out of touch on the economy.

"Senator McCain's campaign manager actually said that Senator McCain wasn't talking about the market because there's just not much a candidate for President can say - and they aren't sure what he'd say each day even if he did talk about it," Obama said.

"But here's the thing Philadelphia. They can run misleading ads, and pursue the politics of anything goes, they can try to change the subject. They can do that what they want to do because the American people understand what's going on - but it's not going to work. Not this time."

Gov. Ted Strickland introduced Obama Friday in Ohio and offered tough criticism of the McCain-Palin ticket.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (CNN) – Governor Ted Strickland told southern Ohio voters here that the McCain-Palin ticket and gone too far with its campaign tactics in an effort to keep the White House in Republican hands.

"I know Barack Obama. I think I know what's in his heart. He is bright he is capable he is mature he is steady we can trust Barack Obama," he said.

Watch: McCain's 'ignoring' the economic crisis Biden says

A native of the area, Strickland has traveled with Obama on his bus tour here, and offered testimonials in a region that would not automatically be considered friendly to Democrats. At the Friday morning rally on the county court house steps, the Ohio governor told the audience Obama was a "strong Christian family man" and to the gun owners and sportsmen he said they had "nothing to fear" when it came to their Second Amendment rights.

"Why do I share those two things with you this morning? Because the McCain-Palin campaign, and unfortunately some of their followers, would want you to be afraid of Barack Obama," he said. "They want you to believe that he is untested and unknown, and they are doing it my friends for one reason, they want to hold onto the power they have and to the positions that they want. This election is too important for us to be fooled by untruths and half-truths and smear tactics. They don't want us to focus on the fact that they have been in charge of the White House for eight long years."

Later, he added, "We are drawing a line in the sand in Chillicothe and southern Ohio."

Obama echoed Strickland's sentiments, although not as overtly. He continued to argue that the McCain campaign's "barrage of nasty insinuations and attacks" were a result of the Republican nominee's failed economic ideas.

"They can run misleading ads, they can pursue the politics of anything goes. It will not work. Not this time. I think that folks are looking for something different this time. It's easy to rile up a crowd, nothing's easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States. The times are too serious," Obama said.

Obama said McCain has a 'radical' plan to address the health care issue.

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (CNN) – Barack Obama told thousands in Indiana that John McCain failed to present a case for change in Tuesday night’s debate and would simply continue the policies of the Bush administration should he be elected.

“In order to bring about change we’re going to have to take a new direction. It will take new leadership in Washington. It will take a real change in the policies and politics of the last eight years,” he said. “All we heard from Senator McCain was more of the same Bush economics that led us into this mess in the first place.”

Obama said he supported the Federal Reserve’s emergency rate cut and the decision to act in concert with other countries’ financial entities. He explained to the wet crowd assembled at the state fairgrounds why the extraordinary Wall Street rescue package signed into law was necessary to help the average family struggling to make ends meet.

“Here in Indianapolis and all across America, you’re seeing your hours getting cut or realizing that you can’t pay every bill that’s sitting on the kitchen counter,” he said. “You know back in 1980 Ronald Reagan asked the electorate whether you were better off than you were four years ago, at the pace things are going right now you’re going to have ask whether you’re better off than you were four weeks ago.”

As he has for the last several weeks, Obama remained laser focused on the economy but did acknowledge the nasty tenor of the campaign.

“Senator McCain’s campaign announced last week that they plan to 'turn the page' on the discussion about our economy and spend the final weeks of this election attacking me instead. He and Governor Palin are out there saying all kinds of stuff,” he said in a not so subtle nod to Palin’s recent comments that Obama associates with “terrorists.” “I can take four more weeks of John McCain’s attacks, but the American people can’t take four more years of John McCain’s George Bush policies.”

Recent polls show Obama trailing here, a red-state his campaign has targeted for a possible pick up. Obama heads to Ohio Thursday for a two-day swing and plans to return there early next week to prepare for the final presidential debate.

Obama is campaigning in Florida Saturday.

DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (CNN) – Barack Obama told voters here that if John McCain became president he would “privatize” their Social Security – a debate over the program that could resurface as a major issue in the closing weeks of the campaign given the wild swings in financial markets.

“If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it would’ve had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week. Millions would’ve watched as the market tumbled and their nest egg disappeared before their eyes,” he said. “I know Senator McCain is talking about a ‘casino culture’ on Wall Street – but the fact is, he’s the one who wants to gamble with your life savings and that is not going to happen when I’m president. When I’m President, we’re not going to gamble with Social Security.”

The McCain campaign disputed Obama’s assertion calling it “a desperate attempt to gain political advantage using scare tactics and deceit.”

CNN Election Center: Where the candidates stand on Social Security

Obama also highlighted an article McCain penned in this month’s issue of the American Academy of Actuaries magazine, called “Contingencies,” in which he said consumers would have more choices for health insurance products if the market was opened to more “vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last decade in banking.”

“He wants to run health care like they’ve been running Wall Street. Well, senator, I know some folks on Main Street who aren’t going to think that’s such a good idea,” Obama said.

The Democratic nominee has one more event in Jacksonville before heading to North Carolina for an event Sunday in Charlotte.

The campaign announced Obama will spend several days next week prepping for Friday’s first presidential debate in the Tampa area – a spot along the I-4 corridor which is considered a crucial swing vote region for both candidates.

Protesters holding posters saying Sen. Barack Obama was endorsed by the KKK are escorted from his speech

(CNN) - Barack Obama's campaign rally in Coral Gables, Florida Friday was interrupted by a group of about 10 African-American protesters holding signs that called themselves, "Blacks Against Obama."

The signs said Obama was for gay marriage and abortion, and said his candidacy was "endorsed by the KKK." Another sign said, "Jesse Jackson hates Obama."

Obama originally said the protesters could stay inside the event, but they were escorted out when they would not stop shouting.

Barack Obama criticized John McCain Thursday, over his position on the AIG bailout.

ESPANOLA, New Mexico (CNN) – The economy remained the focus Thursday as Barack Obama continued to criticize John McCain for not being consistent in his response to the staggering financial roller coaster this week.

Watch: 'McCain's stealing my lines,' Obama says

“On Tuesday, he said the government should stand aside and allow one of the nation’s largest insurers AIG, to collapse, I mean he said this in three different interviews despite the possibility that it would put millions of Americans at risk,” Obama told a crowd of thousands at a northern New Mexico rally. “But by Wednesday, he changed his mind. And today he accused me of not supporting what the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank did with AIG, despite no evidence whatsoever that that’s what I had said.”

Watch: Obama questions McCain's position on the AIG bailout

The McCain campaign seized on Obama’s comments Wednesday that not enough “details” were known about the “arrangement with AIG and the Federal Reserve” to criticize the Democratic nominee for not taking a solid position on the deal. Obama also said the deal “must not bail out the shareholders or management of AIG.”

Obama plans to meet with his “top” economic advisors tomorrow while he is in Miami to discuss further economic proposals. During his remarks here, Obama said he would work to pass what he called the “Homeowner and Financial Support Act” which would “establish a more stable and permanent solution” and help provide “liquidity” and “capital to the financial system.” This act would also help homeowners “restructure” mortgages to try and avoid foreclosure.

The Obama campaign will continue to keep the economy front and center on the trail, using the issue to paint McCain as out of touch and shifting positions for political expediency.

“He has consistently opposed the sorts of common sense regulations that might set out some rules of the road for these financial institutions have lessened the current crisis,” he said. “Except now, with the magnitude of the crisis apparent even to the Bush White House, John McCain wants to reverse himself, he wants to reverse course. Now, all of a sudden, he has become a populist now he’s unleashed an angry tirade against all the insiders and lobbyists who happened to have supported him for twenty-six years … John McCain can’t decide whether he’s Barry Goldwater or Dennis Kucinich.”

Entertainment executives arrive at Greystone mansion in Beverly Hills, Calif., for a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois.

LOS ANGELES (CNN) - Senator Barack Obama rubbed shoulders with the glitterati in a pair of fundraisers Tuesday night that brought in about $11 million for his campaign and the Democratic Party - breaking his own campaign's one-night fundraising record.

With the likes of Will Ferrell, Chris Rock and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on, Obama told the crowd "the financial crisis has suddenly focused people's attention and it's reminded people of what's at stake, it's reminded people that this is not a game, this is not a reality show, no offense to any of you," he said to laughter.

Obama took a serious tone. "The pain that we're seeing now on Wall Street I've been seeing for the last 19 months as I've traveled all across the country," he said at a dinner at Greystone Mansion which boasted views of Los Angeles most only see in movies and the per plate cost was $28,500. "Just remember what this campaign has been about from the start, it's not about Barack Obama it's not Joe Biden or Sara Palin or John McCain but it's about you and it's about us and it's about those who will never see the inside of a building like this and don't resent the success that's represented in this room, but just want the simple chance to be able to find a job that pays a living wage."

Obama acknowledged the tight race and tried to assuage fears that he would not close the deal in November – a sentiment he has heard frequently from voters on the trail.

"I know a lot of you, just in conversations while we were in the photo line, had all sorts of suggestions. I know that will surprise you and a lot of people have gotten nervous and concerned . we always knew this was going to be hard and this a leap for the American people and we're running against someone who has a formidable biography, a compelling biography. This is a genuine American hero," he said, referencing his Republican opponent. "If we can cut through the nonsense of lipstick and pigs and the silliness then I'm absolutely convinced that we're going to win."

In his standard stump line involving "lipstick" and "pigs," Obama normally references Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, two starlets that appeared in an ad over the summer playing up Obama's celebrity - but omitted that part of the line in front of last night's celebrity-heavy crowd.

Despite Tuesday night's haul, the campaign's decision to forgo public financing is going to make fundraising a regular part of Obama's schedule in the final stretch of the campaign when time is crucial. He has two more money events in Florida on Friday.

"There was this misapprehension somehow that even with the fact that we have this very large and dynamic fundraising base at the grassroots that we were going to have some huge fundraising advantage that was never the case," senior strategist David Axelrod told reporters Tuesday. "The whole corporate lobbying community is rallying to Senator McCain's side. They're producing a lot of money for him. So we always believed that between the Republican National Committee, the stipend that McCain would get in the general election from the government, and the 527s that we were going to have to struggle to keep pace and we are going to have to struggle to keep pace. But that's just the nature of the deal, you can't challenge that group and not expect that they're going to have a lot of money."

Obama campaigns in Nevada Wednesday and New Mexico on Thursday.

Obama campaigned in Colorado Monday.

GRAND JUNCTION, Colorado (CNN) – At the start of his western swing, Senator Barack Obama continued to paint John McCain as a creature of Washington, so steeped in the ways there that “change” under a McCain-Palin administration is impossible.

“It’s great that he now wants to talk about putting corporate lobbyists in their place. But he needs to explain why he put seven of them in charge of his campaign,” he said at an outdoor rally under a cloudless Colorado sky. “If you think those lobbyists are working day and night for John McCain just to put themselves out of business, well I’ve got a bridge to sell you up in Alaska.”

While Obama said McCain was not personally responsible for the current turmoil in Wall Street, he said the Arizona senator would continue the policies that put various financial institutions like Lehman Brothers on the brink.

“It’s a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise,” he said. “Now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up - from the struggles of hardworking Americans on main street to the largest firms of wall street. This country can’t afford another four more years of this failed philosophy.”

Tightening poll numbers and excitement about the addition of Governor Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket have given the Obama campaign pause, and forced them to promise Democrats the party’s nominee would get tougher on the stump.

“These times are too serious, the stakes are too high to let the other side pull the same stunts and use the same scare tactics that they always to do. Because we know what the consequences are because we’ve lived them,” Obama said Monday. “We’ve seen them turn an entire campaign into a debate about swift boats and windsurfing. And what do you get when it’s over? Iraq and Katrina and a melt down on wall street and millions w/out jobs, or homes, or health care, pain at the pump. Enough, enough of this not this time not this year.”

Sen. Obama met with former president Clinton in Harlem Thursday in their first extended sit-down meeting since Obama defeated Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

NEW YORK (CNN) - Former President Bill Clinton predicted Barack Obama will "win" this fall's election and "will win pretty handily.”

The two men chatted with reporters in a photo-op at Clinton's Harlem office before sitting down for a private lunch.

Clinton is scheduled to campaign for Obama in Florida later this month. According to aides, the former president will appear at a mix of fundraisers and campaign events on behalf of the Democratic ticket throughout the fall.

"We're putting him to work," said Obama.

Clinton said he’d "agreed to do a substantial number of things, whatever I'm asked to do.”

Obama smiled at Clinton's prediction that he would take the White House: "There you go, you can take it from the President of the United States. He knows a little something about politics."

The image of the two men meeting comes as a relief to many Democrats who have been hoping to put to rest the "Clinton-Obama rift" storyline. Both Clintons praised Obama in their convention speeches, but agreed a face-to-face meeting with the president was a necessary step in putting the contentious primary season behind both camps.

The two men were said to be dining on a mix of sandwiches, salads and pizza from the lunch chain Cosi.

More

Chants of "zero" are filling the Xcel Center as Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle asks how much executive experience Barack Obama has.

Various playful buttons have been spotted at the RNC.

Two new buttons have appeared on the floor:

One says "Super Huck" and has a picture of former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee dressed as superman.

The other is a toast to Sarah Palin – it's a white button with a big pink heart surrounding her name.

UPDATE: Another new button spoted:

"The hottest VP from the coolest state"

ST. PAUL (CNN) – More information about how Monday's abbreviated opening session of the Republican convention will run should be available in the next several hours.

According to Credential Committee Chairman James Herring, a conference call is underway with RNC Chairman Mike Duncan and others to figure out the

details of what needs to take place tomorrow in order to meet convention rules.

Herring is also the chair of Mississippi's Republican Party and plans to meet with his delegation later today to assess whether anyone needs to go home to prepare for Hurricane Gustav. Herring said the priority for his delegation is to protect everyone's "life" and "property" but "we also need a quorum" to complete convention business.

Barney Smith got the Invesco crowd to its feet.

While TV cameras weren't watching, "ordinary guy" Barney Smith - part of the convention's "American Voices" segment - brought mile-high stadium to its feet.

He told his story of losing the Indiana factory job he'd held for 30 years and then said America needed a president who paid more attention to "Barney Smith" not "Smith Barney."

The crowd leapt to its feet chanting "Barney, Barney!"

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton toured the convention stage Tuesday (AP Photo)

DENVER (CNN) – Hillary Clinton toured the stage at the Pepsi Center in advance of her much anticipated speech later Tuesday evening, in which she faces the difficult task of convincing her most committed supporters to back Barack Obama's candidacy.

After some podium adjustments, Clinton gazed out across the venue saying, "you bet" when a reporter asked if she was excited about tonight.

Before Clinton took the stage, her daughter Chelsea came out holding a microphone and stood behind the podium quietly taking cues from production staff. "That podium won't be there," a staffer told her.

"Hello everyone! Good morning or good afternoon," Chelsea said, getting a feel for the stage. Clinton staffers have not officially confirmed Chelsea will introduce her mother tonight, but when the New York senator emerged, they shared a bear hug and practiced waving to the crowd.

The former Democratic presidential candidate also coached her daughter on her voice level as she expressed surprise at how her voice carried across the room. "Oh, that's sensitive ... Chelsea, the mic is sensitive," Clinton said.

Before departing, Clinton surveyed the mass of media assembled below her.

"See you all tonight," she said.

Dean is is honoring Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

DENVER (CNN) – DNC Chairman Howard Dean, who convened to order the Democratic convention, is wearing a "STJ" button with a picture of the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

The 58 year old Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, died last week after suffering an aneurysm.

Jon Stewart met with political reporters in Denver Monday.

DENVER (CNN) – As Comedy Central's "Daily Show" descends on Denver for four days of coverage, Jon Stewart took after the "established" media for getting too cozy with candidates and regurgitating campaign spin when it comes to political coverage.

In a breakfast with reporters, Stewart directed most of his ire at the 24-hour cable news networks, which he called "gerbil wheels," and said the media at-large had "abdicated" to what he called the "slow-witted beast."

He said the never-ending television news cycle creates a "false sense of urgency" and forces reporters to "follow the veins that have been mined," instead of pursuing serious and in-depth reporting.

Even as Stewart shredded reporters for, in his estimation, getting too cozy with and used by political candidates, he readily admitted that candidates flock to his show to attract his much sought after younger audience. "It's just one part of their sales pitch," he said.

Stewart said he found neither Sens. McCain or Obama particularly funny and it was "absolutely irrelevant" which one takes the White House because "the jokes will be there." He dismissed criticism that comedians are having a hard time joking about Obama because of his race and said "the age joke with McCain is somewhat meaningless because it's already trite."

The choice of Joe Biden as Obama's runningmate, Stewart said, was refreshing because of the Delaware senator's large personality and endless possibility for jokes. "Biden is really nice. His style is so effusive and unguarded," Stewart said. "He's emotion plus."

Stewart said politicians in recent campaigns are "animatronic" because all of the "humanity has been managed out of campaigns." He referenced the back-and-forth during the Pennsylvania Democratic primary over Obama's lack of bowling skills.

"It's stunning where this election is going to be decided on," he said. "Or what we allow it to be decided on."

Sen. Barack Obama listens to British Tory Leader David Cameron Saturday in London.

LONDON (CNN) – It is no secret that Sen. Barack Obama’s whirlwind tour of the Middle East and Europe has left him, and everyone staffing and covering him, absolutely exhausted.

When asked how he was feeling the other day, he told reporters aboard his campaign plane that he was feeling a bit “sleepy.”

Earlier today, while meeting with Conservative Party Leader David Cameron, the pool camera microphone picked up some light banter between the two men about Obama’s current state of fatigue.

Cameron told the candidate, "You should be on the beach...you need a break. Well you need to be able to keep your head together."

Obama told Cameron he would try to take a week of in August. And he said he got advice from a Clinton White House veteran on how to handle the demands on his time.

Obama said, "Somebody who had worked in the White House who-not Clinton himself- but somebody who had been close to the process, said that should we be successful that actually the most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking and the biggest mistake that a lot of these folks make is just feeling as if you have to be..."

Cameron interjected, "these guys just chalk your diary up."

Obama agreed, "right, exactly, in 15 minute increments"

Cameron told him, "We call it the dentist waiting room. You have to scrap that because you've got to have time."

Obama said not taking that break is when "you start making mistakes or you lose the big picture."

Sen. Barack Obama leaves 10 Downing Street Saturday.

LONDON (CNN) - Sen. Barack Obama conceded to reporters that his stint off the American campaign trail may hurt him a bit with voters but felt the trip was vital to giving a “sense of where an Obama administration might take” U.S. foreign policy.

“I am not sure that there is going to be some immediate political impact. I wouldn’t even be surprised if that in some polls that you saw a little bit of a dip as a consequence, we have been out of the country for a week," he said. "People are worried about gas prices and home foreclosures. So the reason I thought this trip was important was I am convinced that many of the issues that we face at home are not going to be solved as effectively unless we have strong partners abroad.”

Throughout his eight-country trip Obama sought to distance himself from his battle with Sen. John McCain and focus on foreign affairs. As he finished his meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama reengaged in the contest at hand when asked about McCain’s criticism that his time abroad appeared like a “premature victory lap.”

“It is hard for me to understand Sen. McCain’s argument. He was telling me I was supposed to take this trip. He suggested it and thought it was a good idea. But although I have to admit we had it planned before he made the suggestion,” he said.

John McCain has visited every one of these countries post-primary that I have. He has given speeches in Canada, in Colombia, Mexico, he made visits. And so it doesn’t strike me that we have done anything different than the McCain campaign has done which is to recognize that part of the job of the next president, commander in chief is to forge effective relationships with our allies.”

The scene outside Number 10 Downing Street appeared to surprise Obama as he strode out of the door. He had barely reached the microphone before British journalists started throwing questions.

Obama was asked whether he had any “advice” for Prime Minister Brown who is in a bit of political trouble after tremendous losses for the Labour Party in a recent election.

“I don’t have advice for Prime Minister Brown. I will tell you that you are always more popular before you are actually in charge of things. And then, you know, once you are responsible then you are going to make some people unhappy, and that is just the nature of politics,” Obama said. “And these things go in cycles. Even in the course of this campaign there have been months where I am a genius and months where I am an idiot. At least if you read the newspapers, it seems I am pretty much the same guy throughout this process but my actions and the results are going to be perceived differently at any given time.”

Obama returns to Chicago on Saturday and is expected to hit the campaign trail almost immediately.

Obama will speak in Germany Thursday.

BERLIN, Germany (CNN) – Without offering up too many hints, Senator Barack Obama told reporters that his much-anticipated public address here later today will not be "a wonkish policy speech."

Obama sought to "tamp down" expectations of crowd size and did concede he was seeking out a larger audience beyond the one that will gather in Tiergarten Park.

Watch: Christiane Amanpour previews Obama

"No doubt that part of what I want to communicate on both sides of the Atlantic is the enormous potential of us restoring a sense of coming together," he said. "The people in the crowd aren't voters so in that sense it's not designed to get them to the polls, it's not a political rally. Hopefully it will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the United States and Europe."

Related: Obama to reach out to Europe in key speech

Obama said speech writing started about two weeks ago and demurred when asked if he had looked to the Berlin speeches given by Presidents Kennedy and Reagan for inspiration. "They were presidents, I am a citizen," he said.

The Democratic presidential candidate chatted with reporters aboard his campaign plane shortly before takeoff for Berlin, the first European stop of Obama's overseas tour.

In Jordan and Israel, the media attention and public interest in Obama's visit was intense and Europe will likely be no different.

"I think the world is keenly interested in this election and I think they're hungry for a sense of where America is going, certainly there's a curiosity factor involved,” Obama responded when asked if he was surprised at the attention he has received.

(CNN) - Barack Obama departed Israel early Thursday after a pre-dawn visit to one of Jerusalem’s holiest sites, the Western Wall.

Under tight security, Obama arrived at a section of the Wall that had been cordoned off at 5:11am local time. While the visit had not been announced in advance, dozens of people were waiting in the darkness for his arrival.

Obama, wearing a white yarmulke, walked towards the site with the Rabbi of the Wall. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich read Psalm 122, and he and Obama looked through a Holy Book on a stand. Obama placed a note written before he arrived in the Wall, following a custom of visitors to the sacred site. Obama then bowed his head and placed his hand on the Wall for a few moments.

CNN producer Sasha Johnson, a pool reporter for the brief visit, reports a man screamed “Obama, Jerusalem is not for sale” throughout the event despite pleas from the crowd for him to stop.

Obama shook hands with some in the crowd as many reached out to him as he departed. He then went by motorcade to the airport in Tel Aviv, where he took off for Berlin.

Obama arrived in Jordan on Monday.

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) – Senator Barack Obama arrived in Jordan Tuesday Morning to begin what his campaign describes as days of back-to-back in-depth meetings with world leaders where the topics of Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran promise to loom large.

Obama, along with Senators Chuck Hagel, R-Nebraska, and Jack Reed, D-Rhode Island, wrapped up several days of assessing the situation in Afghanistan and Iraq. The three will hold a news conference at the historic Amman Citadel before attending a small dinner with Jordanian King Abdullah. Obama will also have a one-on-one meeting with the king where aides say the Israeli-Palestinian peace process will likely be discussed.

On Wednesday Obama spends the day in Israel where he will meet with a variety of officials including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He will also travel to Ramallah where he will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Palestinian leaders were upset by comments Obama made in June to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that Jerusalem “must remain undivided.” But In an interview the next day with CNN’s Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley, Obama said it would be up to both the Israelis and the Palestinians to “negotiate a range of these issues and Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations.”

Campaign aides say Obama has never changed his position that Jerusalem “should remain” Israel’s Capital and should be part of final status negotiations.

Once Obama arrives in Jordan his campaign will pick up the tab for the remaining days of the Democratic presidential candidate’s travel through the Middle East and Europe. Obama aides bristle at the suggestion that this trip has any political purpose and strongly insist this five-day, five-nation tour is designed to give the Illinois senator the opportunity to listen, learn and have an exchange of views about issues of shared concern like Iraq and rising oil prices.

Obama will be traveling on his campaign plane along with some of his top political advisers. The campaign also would not rule out the idea that some of the video footage shot by its regularly traveling photographers, particularly the much anticipated outdoor speech in Berlin on Thursday, would not be used in the future for television advertisements or other political purposes.

(See CNN Senior Political Producer Sasha Johnson in Jordan)

MoveOn.org is getting out of the 527 business.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The political advocacy group MoveOn.org is getting out of the 527 business.

"While MoveOn Political Action has always been funded exclusively by small donors like you, we've held open the MoveOn.org Voter Fund – a separate "527" organization – which can raise money from big donors. We haven't actually taken any big-money checks since 2004," MoveOn.org Executive Director Eli Pariser wrote in an email to the group's members. "In light of the new politics offered by Barack Obama, I've come to believe it's time to close the 527 forever."

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has said he does not want "527s" and outside, independent groups advertising on his behalf in the general election. A "527" is an political organization that can raise money in high dollar amounts and launch political advocacy campaigns, including television ads.

Past prominent "527s" include the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth," a group that in 2004 attacked Sen. John Kerry's war record and arguably contributed to him losing his White House bid. But few had the impact of MoveOn's.

The group will retain its political action committee, which can take donations up to $5,000, though the group says the average donation hovers in the $50 range.

Even though its 527 is going away, MoveOn.org is not completely heeding Obama's request to stay off the airwaves. Last week, the group teamed up with one of the biggest labor unions, the American Federartion of State, County and Municipal Employees, to go up with a national television ad criticizing Sen. John McCain's position on the Iraq war.

The impact of outside groups this cycle is still up for debate. Since Obama's request some Democratic leaning groups have seen their donor base thin, forcing them to abandon paid media plans and instead shift gears to focus more on research and message. Obama referenced the past power of 527 groups as a factor in deciding to opt out of public financing for the general election.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Hillary Clinton is expected to “officially suspend her campaign” and urge her 18 million supporters to “unequivocally throw her support behind [Barack] Obama” in a concession speech Saturday, says Clinton campaign spokesperson, Mo Elleithee.

In the estimated 20 minute speech, Clinton is expected to stress how high the stakes are in this election. According to Elleithee, Clinton will tell the crowd: all the reasons why she entered the race are still there and everyone needs to get a Democrat into the White House.

Clinton will also reflect on what she and her supporters were able to accomplish, as well as put in context, historically, what her candidacy has meant for women.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Less than a day after Barack Obama effectively clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, CNN has confirmed that some of the staffers at Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters have been told that Friday is their last day of work.

The New York senator - who visited them at her Arlington, Virginia headquarters late Wednesday afternoon after learning of the news - invited them to gather at her home Friday, according to several of those present.

The meeting was described as emotional for some. "We are talking to people who have been at this 24-7,” one staffer told CNN. “We are not surprised - and we are stunned. What can I tell you?” The staffer said Clinton herself was "gracious," but offered no further description of her demeanor.

ABC, which first reported the development, also said those on staff have been informed they will continue to receive paychecks through June 15.

YANKTON, South Dakota (CNN) – Clinton aides said they do not expect there to be a Democratic nominee Tuesday evening when the final polls close in the 2008 primary season.

“Until there is a nominee, we are still working to become that nominee,” said campaign spokesman Mo Elleithee.

It remains unclear how the Clinton campaign will respond should Obama amass the 2,118 delegates needed to clinch the nomination. Elleithee told reporters the campaign would “cross that bridge” if they came to it and suggested if the campaign challenged the allocation of Michigan delegates the number of delegates needed to secure the nomination might change.

Hillary Clinton repeated her promise to voters in Yankton to continue forward after Tuesday claiming her popular vote totals give her reason to do so despite Sen. Barack Obama’s delegate lead.

“The voters will have voted and so the decision will fall to the delegates empowered to vote at the Democratic convention. I will be spending the coming days making my case to those delegates. Their responsibility not only to the Democratic Party but to the country is to vote for the candidate who is best able to lead us to victory in November,” she said right at the start of her remarks. “After all our country has been through we cannot afford four more years of failed Republican policy.”

Earlier Monday Clinton dropped by Tally’s restaurant in Rapid City to press the flesh and thank a mass of supporters that had gathered outside.

“What South Dakota decides tomorrow will have a big influence on what people think going forward,” Clinton said. The New York senator, her daughter Chelsea and President Bill Clinton have blanketed this state in recent days knowing a win here could bolster her argument to uncommitted super delegates that she deserves another look.

Clinton will spend Tuesday at her home in Chappaqua, NY calling super delegates and doing media interviews in South Dakota and Montana markets. She will celebrate election night with family, supporters and staff in New York City.

Clinton says she’s pressing on – but reviewing “available options.”

JACKSONVILLE, Florida (CNN) – Before leaving Puerto Rico, Hillary Clinton told reporters she is taking the presidential race “a day at a time” and is reviewing the “options available” as she moves ahead with her campaign.

“People have been trying to get me out of this race since Iowa and my political obituary has yet to be written and we’re going forward,” she said. (Related: Clinton says she's not ready for 'political obituary')

After Tuesday’s final two primaries, superdelegates will ultimately push either candidate up to the 2,118 delegates needed to secure the Democratic Party’s nomination. Barack Obama leads among this group, but Clinton pointed out superdelegates are always free to “change their minds” and she hopes they will evaluate her wins since February and the coalition of voters she’s pulled together.

“This has been such an intense process, I don’t think there has been a lot of time for reflection of the sort that I’m advocating which is okay we’ve had an extraordinary series of contests, I’m ahead in the popular vote, Senator Obama is ahead in the delegates … they’ve never been separated before,” she said.

“I think it’s only now that we’re finishing these contests that people are going to actually reflect. Who’s our stronger candidate? And I believe I am and I’m going to make that case and at some point it will either be accepted or it won’t be, but I feel strongly about making it.”

In its popular vote tally, the Clinton campaign includes the Michigan contest but does not award any uncommitted votes to Barack Obama whose name was not on the ballot.

Clinton reiterated she “reserves the right” to challenge the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee’s allocation of Michigan delegates – a decision she said was made in “violation of the rules.” She called the half vote penalty leveled against Florida’s delegation “unwarranted under the circumstances.”

When asked if she was concerned Obama could reach the 2,118 delegate mark within days, Clinton said, “it’s not over until the votes are cast. It’s not over until there’s actually a tally that gets somebody the nomination.”

Clinton said she was “thrilled” by her win in Puerto Rico. Her campaign plane stopped in Jacksonville late Sunday evening after leaving the island to refuel en route to South Dakota where she will campaign all day Monday.

Sen. Clinton waves from her campaign caravan in Puerto Rico on Saturday.

Rolling through GUAYNABO, Puerto Rico (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton's marathon caravan through the communities surrounding San Juan rolls on.

For the last several hours, the candidate has stood atop a souped-up white truck with her campaign logo splashed on the side. She's endured drizzle (umbrella immediately appeared) and sun (visor put on).

She's blown air-kisses to the crowd, waved at women in rollers who have come running, screaming, from beauty parlors, and stood quietly looking out over the landscape.

The mess of reporters following her has had the chance to survey every change in her facial expression as they hang off a covered truck mere feet from the presidential candidate.

The never-ending, ear-splitting soundtrack for this Puerto Rican campaign tradition is a mix of Ricky Martin and a salsa campaign jingle that includes an announcer screaming, "Who is here? Hillary Clinton, the next president of the United States!"

At various intersections, drivers of trucks and cars lay on their horns, trying to compete with the decibel level of the roughly 15-foot speaker leading Clintons ever-growing caravan.

As for news? It's slim pickings. One intrepid pool reporter attempted a question about the DNC meeting that could decide the status of disputed delegates from Florida and Michigan as the candidate briefly ducked into a restaurant but came up empty.

The caravan - over 15 cars long - rolls on.

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico (CNN) - Hillary Clinton’s campaign embarked on a jam-packed day of Puerto Rico campaigning Saturday in an effort to get out tomorrow’s primary vote as a Democratic National Committee panel convened in Washington to essentially decide how the Democratic primary process will end.

A Clinton aide said she will likely receive updates from staff at the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting.

Clinton made no mention of the fight to seat the Florida and Michigan delegations during her first stop at a hospital where she talked about her plan to bring equitable and universal health care to Puerto Rico.

Several supporters addressed her as “President Clinton,” prompting cheers from the crowd.

Puerto Rico is not only important to Clinton’s presidential aspirations but also as a senator from New York who represents approximately 1 million Puerto Ricans.

“Campaigning in Puerto Rico is like one long Puerto Rican Day parade,” she said referencing a yearly event in New York City.

Clinton will spend the day “caravanning,” a Puerto Rican political tradition in which the candidate rides through various communities meeting and greeting voters and produces a wild and carnival-like atmosphere.

“I’m dressed for our caravanning,” Clinton said, referring to her festive purple top.

Clinton arrived in San Juan Friday night for a seaside festive rally near a Pina Colada stand.

“I want to see Puerto Rico’s status resolved within my first term,” she said. “I have loved campaigning through Puerto Rico because I believe this is Puerto Rico’s time, that you have waited long enough.”

Clinton campaigned in Montana Tuesday.

(CNN) – With only three primary contests remaining in the prolonged race for the Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton is stepping up her efforts to convince potential voters and the party's superdelegates that she is a stronger general election candidate than Barack Obama.

In a particularly spirited speech Tuesday night at a Montana campaign event, the New York Senator suggested Obama is much more likely to lose to presumptive Republican nominee John McCain next fall.

"We have not gone through this exciting unprecedented historic election only to lose," Clinton said at an event in Billings, Montana.

"You have to ask yourself who is the stronger candidate?" she continued. "And based on every analysis of every bit of research and every poll that’s been taken and every state that a democrat has to win, I am the stronger candidate against John McCain in the fall."

It was not immediately clear which polls and states Clinton was specifically referencing.

Recent polls out of the crucial swing states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida have indicated she has a better chance of beating McCain in those places than Barack Obama. But the Illinois senator performs better is several other swing states that Democrats have historically had difficulty winning, such as New Mexico, Nevada, and Colorado.

Obama picked up several of Edwards' delegates Thursday.

(CNN) – At least six of John Edwards' pledged delegates in South Carolina will throw their support to Barack Obama following Edwards’ endorsement of the Democratic frontrunner, bringing the total number of delegates switching to Obama on Thursday to eight.

One Edwards delegate from Iowa, Machelle Crum, came out for Obama on Thursday morning, as did New Hampshire delegate Joshua Denton. Crum made the decision after receiving a phone call from Edwards supporters encouraging her to make the switch.

In South Carolina, Daniel Boan, Christine Brennan-Bond, Robert Groce, Susan Smith, Mike Evatt and Lauren Bilton - all elected as pledged delegates for Edwards following his third place finish in the primary there on January 29 - announced Thursday they will follow Edwards’ lead and pledge their support to Obama at the Democratic National Convention in August.

John Moylan, the Columbia attorney who directed Edwards’ campaign in the state and is now serving as an alternate delegate for Edwards, appeared on CNN’s “American Morning” Thursday. He stated his support for Obama and hinted that more members of the Edwards delegation would follow later in the day.

“I didn't reach all eight of them, but I can tell you that at least six of the eight are prepared to endorse Senator Obama,” Moylan said this morning.

He added: “I think you will see overwhelming support of John Edwards delegates standing with John Edwards and now standing for Barack Obama.”

Bilton appeared on the show alongside Moylan and confirmed that she, too, is now supporting Obama.

Boan, Brennan-Bond and Groce, all reached by phone or e-mail, confirmed they will switch their commitment to Obama. In a separate e-mail, Moylan said that Smith and Evatt will also move into Obama’s camp.

The remaining two delegates supporting Edwards in South Carolina are Marilyn Hemingway, who told CNN she would continue to support Edwards, and Tim Moore, who said he is waiting until the primary process concludes before deciding whom to back.

Obama had reached out to Edwards' South Carolina delegation even before winning the endorsement of the former North Carolina senator. Last Thursday while in Washington, the Illinois senator arranged a conference call with the delegates to introduce himself and take questions about his campaign