What's behind the candidates technical difficulties?.

ZANESVILLE, Ohio (CNN) – In the final days of a presidential campaign, nothing is left to chance. With so much planning and set-up going into every stop, no detail is too small. So everything runs with clockwork precision, right? Uh, yeah, sure. But when events veer slightly off course, the candidates are quick to point some playfully partisan fingers.

In Reno on Saturday, Barack Obama’s microphone died mid-sentence during a rally. He walked the stage and shook hands for the three minutes while crews worked on the problem. When the sound came back, he told the crowd as he resumed, “Hello, hello, hello! I told you folks are having trouble making their electricity bills. Either that or somebody from the McCain campaign kicked our plug out of the socket. That was just a joke, guys, there’s no evidence of foul play. Now, where was I?”

Sunday, the lights went out over the stage during the introductions to John McCain at a high school in Zanesville, Ohio, Senator Lindsey Graham was left speaking in the shadows, filling until the problem was fixed so McCain could take the stage. To laughter, McCain said as he began, “Thank you for the warm welcome. I think the lighting is brought to you courtesy of the Democratic National Committee.”

At least we think they’re being playful.

(CNN) — Several protesters tried to block the motorcade of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Grand Junction, Colorado on Monday afternoon, but police dragged them out of the way in a dramatic encounter.

The incident — just feet from the car carrying Palin — was captured on video by CNN affiliate KKCO-TV.

Eight to 10 protesters broke away from a larger group of demonstrators and darted into the street in front of Palin's car just after the first police motorcycles in her motorcade had passed, said Acting Chief Troy Smith of the Grand Junction Police Department.

Wearing bandanas and with faces covered, they blocked the path and held up a large banner. Officers in the motorcade stopped their motorcycles, and grabbed protesters, dragging several out of the path of the oncoming motorcade.

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McCain and Palin are increasingly suggesting Obama is a socialist.

CONCORD, North Carolina (CNN) – John McCain stepped up his rhetoric against Barack Obama on taxes in his weekly radio address, comparing his plan to 'socialist' programs that would “convert the IRS into a giant welfare agency, redistributing massive amounts of wealth.”

The remarks were part of a theme McCain has used since the final presidential debate that criticizes Obama’s philosophy, but his most recent comments were the first time he directly invoked the word 'socialist.'

In the radio address that aired Saturday morning, McCain didn't directly call Obama a socialist, but he let the now-famous Joe 'the Plumber' Wurzelbacher nearly do it for him.

“You see, [Obama] believes in redistributing wealth, not in policies that help us all make more of it. Joe in his plainspoken way, said this sounded a lot like socialism,” McCain said.

In an interview with ABC last week, Wurzelbacher said Obama's proposal to raise taxes by 3 percent on those making $250,000 and over is a "very socialist view."

Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has used the word in speeches the last two days as well.

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A 30-minute Obama ad will delay a game 6 of the World Series.

(CNN) – The Republican National Committee took aim at Barack Obama Wednesday over the Illinois senator's half-hour ad buy that will delay the start of a World Series game by 18 minutes.

"It’s unfortunate that the World Series’ first pitch is being delayed for Obama’s political pitch," RNC spokesman Alex Conant said. "Not only is Obama putting politics before principle, he’s putting it before our national pastime.”

Major League Baseball has agreed to a request from Fox to delay the start time of Game 6 of the World Series (if a Game 6 is necessary) so the network can air the 30-minute Obama spot, a Fox spokesman confirms to CNN. The Illinois senator has also bought similar time on CBS and NBC, set to begin at 8 p.m.

“FOX will accommodate Senator Obama's desire to communicate with voters in this…format," Fox spokesman Scott Gorgin said. "We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for FOX to carry his program on October 29."

It's the first time a presidential candidate has bought that length of airtime on network television since Ross Perot purchased several 30 minute blocs in 1992.

"This is a big platform, this is a big megaphone, the interest level is clearly there and people will watch," Evan Tracey of Campaign Media Analysis Group, CNN's consultant on campaign advertising said.

The October 29 game will now start at 8:38 instead of 8:20.

Sen. John McCain spent part of the day making phone calls to make sure negotiations go well on the bailout plan.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A top aide to Senator John McCain said the Republican presidential candidate will not go to Capitol Hill Saturday afternoon, as negotiators meet to work out a deal on the financial bailout plan.

Senior adviser Mark Salter just told reporters outside McCain’s campaign headquarters in Arlington, VA that the Senator will instead continue to make calls to members of Congress.

Salter said he will not go because “he can effectively do what he needs to do by phone. "He’s calling members on both sides, talking to people in the administration, helping out as he can.’’ The campaign said it will release a list of people McCain spoke with later Saturday.

Senator Barack Obama, traveling for campaign events in North Carolina and Virginia, spoke Saturday with Congressman Barney Frank, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Senator Harry Reid, his campaign said. The Democratic presidential candidate was briefed on the latest with the negotiations.

McCain returned to Washington early Saturday morning from Memphis following last night’s debate because of the bailout situation. He decided to deliver a Saturday evening speech by satellite to a group in Columbus rather than traveling there in person.

Salter said, “We hope to have a deal in place so we can get back on the trail.”

Update: According to the McCain campaign, the Republican nominee called President Bush, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, Sen. Mitch McConnell , Sen. Judd Gregg, Sen. Jon Kyl, Leader Boehner, Rep. Blunt, Rep. Putnam, Rep. Cantor, Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, Rep. Tom Davis, Rep. Chip Pickering, Rep. Heather Wilson, Rep. John Shadegg, Rep. Flake, and Rep. Marsha Blackburn on Saturday.

OXFORD, Mississippi (CNN) – Senator John McCain dropped in on a vocal group of supporters near the University of Mississippi campus late Friday night after his face-off with rival Barack Obama, asking the crowd: “Do you think we showed them who's qualified to be commander-in-chief?”

McCain, joined by his wife Cindy and daughter Meghan, visited a debate watching party at the club Lyric on Oxford Square. A smiling McCain briefly addressed the crowd of about 1,000 backers, “I'm overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and support ,and I want to say that I thank you all for being here. I want to tell you that I will not let you down.”

He talked about his family’s roots in the state, and his time stationed at the Naval Air Station in Meridian. To loud cheers, he said, “I hope I made you proud tonight. I'm grateful for your friendship, I'm grateful for your support and I can't think of a better place to be than Oxford, Mississippi."

McCain then boarded the Straight Talk Express to drive 90 minutes to Memphis. He will fly back to Washington overnight.

Jindal may skip the GOP convention.

(CNN) – Hurricane Gustav, currently moving toward the Gulf of Mexico, may force Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal to skip next week’s Republican Convention.

Three years to the week since Hurricane Katrina battered the Louisiana coast, some forecast models suggest the storm could pose another threat to the state next week.

Jindal, reported to be on John McCain's shortlist for VP, told reporters in Baton Rouge Tuesday afternoon he will not go to St Paul if the storm continues to move in a northwesterly track toward his state.

Considered to be a rising star in the Republican Party, Jindal is scheduled to deliver a high-profile address in prime time at the convention next Wednesday. But he said, “My first priority is with the state of Louisiana. Certainly if the storm continues to come our way, I’ll change my travel plans.”

Louisiana officials along with local and federal authorities face criticism for their preparation and response to Katrina in 2005, before Jindal was in office. He said his would make sure he was in place ahead of the storm’s potential arrival, saying, “Days before the storm, we’ll make sure that we and our local partners are fully prepared.”

(CNN) – Police in the city that will host the Republican National Convention next week are looking for suspects in the vandalism of Barack Obama’s St. Paul campaign offices.

Police spokesman Peter Panos said the incident occurred just after 1 a.m. CT Sunday. Arriving officers found two large plate glass windows shattered, a glass door “smashed out,” and paint splattered inside and outside the building.

The storefront offices on Raymond Avenue had several Obama campaign signs hanging on it. The signs remained on some of the broken windows while large shards of glass covered the sidewalk in front of the building and the floor inside.

One campaign worker was in a lower level of the building when the vandalism occurred. Panos said they do not believe the suspects were aware anyone was inside, and “their intent was not to hurt anyone.” He said no threats were received, and the incident is being investigating as a local property crime case. Federal authorities were not alerted.

Police are reviewing security videotapes from nearby businesses to see if any suspects could be identified. They have issued an appeal for anyone with information to contact officers or a Crimestoppers tip line.

(CNN) — Federal and local officials are on the scene of a threatening letter with white powder received at John McCain’s regional campaign office outside Denver, in suburban Englewood, Colorado.

At 3 p.m. MT, a staffer in the McCain Denver office opened a letter containing a threatening letter and a quantity of white powder," McCain Spokesman Jeff Sadosky told CNN's Justine Redman. "Staff immediately contacted local and federal law enforcement. Staff are taking all necessary precautions, including checking in with medical professionals"

“Agents and Officers are responding," United States Secret Service Spokesman Malcolm Wiley who is in Denver also tells CNN's Jim Spellman.

Biden is a powerful Senate ally of Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and thought to be on Barack Obama’s short list for vice president, is headed to Georgia Saturday night.

His spokesman, Elizabeth Alexander said, “At the request of Georgian president (Mikhail) Saakashvilli, Chairman Biden is heading to Georgia this weekend. He is leaving this evening and will be there Sunday.”

No other Senators are traveling with him.

In a statement, his office said he will meet President Saakashvili, Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze, and U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Tefft. He also will meet with residents who fled the fighting.

Biden said in the statement, “I am going to Georgia this weekend to get the facts first-hand and to show my support for Georgia’s people and its democratically-elected government. I look forward to reporting to my colleagues in the Senate and on the Foreign Relations Committee, as well as the Administration, about what I learn.”

ERIE, Pennsylvania (CNN) – John McCain had dinner Sunday with former Gov. Tom Ridge, before they begin a two-day campaign swing through Pennsylvania.

Anytime McCain appears with someone that might be on his vice presidential shortlist, it stirs up a whole new round of speculation. And as Pennsylvania is a key battleground state, Ridge’s trip is getting plenty of attention.

Ridge greeted McCain on the tarmac at Erie International Airport when the candidate arrived. They hugged and chatted briefly before getting in the motorcade. A McCain aide handed Ridge a McCain hat, which he held as they talked.

If the presumptive Republican nominee needed any reminder of Ridge’s prominence, the airport is also named “Tom Ridge Field” in the hometown politico’s honor. The former Homeland Security Secretary grew up in Erie, and began his career there.

They then went to the Smuggler’s Wharf Restaurant on the waterfront in Erie. The two posed for pictures as they sat down with Ridge’s wife Michelle and daughter Leslie.

Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama are slated to speak at the Democratic convention.

(CNN) – The Democratic National Convention announced its “headline” speakers Sunday, with Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama each getting a starring role in prime time.

As CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux and Candy Crowley reported last month, Clinton will speak on Tuesday night. That day, August 26th, will be the 88th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote.

A statement from the convention called Clinton a “champion for working families and one of the most effective and empathetic voices in the country today.”

Michelle Obama will address the convention in the headline spot on Monday night.

Wednesday night will feature a speech from Barack Obama’s still unnamed running mate. Former president Bill Clinton will also speak that night.

Obama will accept the party’s nomination Thursday night, delivering his acceptance speech away from the convention hall at the larger Invesco Field at Mile High. Sixty-thousand tickets for his speech were given away the first day they were made available. His speech, on August 28th, comes on the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

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Tom Ridge will be hitting the campaign trail with John McCain this week.

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain spends the next two days campaigning through Pennsylvania with the state’s former Gov. Tom Ridge at his side.

Anytime McCain appears with someone that might be on his vice presidential shortlist, it stirs up a whole new round of speculation. And as Pennsylvania is a key battleground state, Ridge is getting plenty of attention.

Ridge, a former Homeland Security Secretary, grew up in Erie and begin his political career in the northwest Pennsylvania city where the McCain tour begins.

And if the presumptive Republican nominee needed any reminder of Ridge’s prominence, he’ll get it the moment his plane sets down. The Erie International Airport where McCain lands late Sunday afternoon is also named “Tom Ridge Field” in the hometown politico’s honor.

Obama has a new ad pushing for a windfall profits tax on big oil.

(CNN) — The Obama campaign is out with a new television commercial this morning which outlines some of candidate’s energy proposals, including what it says is a “windfall profits tax on big oil to give families a thousand dollar rebate.”

Watch: New Obama ad "Pockets"

The ad also accuses major oil companies of donating $2 million in contributions to rival John McCain’s campaign and says that “after one president in the pocket of big oil, we can’t afford another.”

The Obama campaign says the ad will run across the country but didn’t provide specifics.

The ad comes as Obama kicks off "Energy Week," with trips planned to Ohio and Indiana to discuss gas prices and rising heating bills.

Obama travels to battleground Michigan on Monday to unveil details on his energy policy.

Obama speaks at 11am ET in the Lansing, where the campaign said he will announce his “New Energy for America” plan. He will discuss an energy rebate to help with gas prices, creating five million “green” jobs and trying to eliminate the need for Middle Eastern oil in 10 years.

McCain, who will discuss small business issues Monday in Pennsylvania, also plans an energy event in Michigan this week. On Tuesday, he will visit the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant outside Detroit, for an event promoting his call for an increase in similar plants.

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Nancy Pelosi had lots of praise for Rep. Chet Edwards of Texas.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Plenty of high profile names are getting bounced around as Barack Obama’s potential running mate. But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may have a lesser-known candidate in mind.

Newsweek and other publications say Pelosi has been lobbying for Rep. Chet Edwards (D – Texas). The 56-year-old Edwards is a 9-term congressman representing a district in central Texas that includes President Bush’s ranch in Crawford.

In an interview Sunday, Pelosi said, “I didn't want to see a discussion of candidates for vice president without showing the House of Representatives… I just wanted people to be aware of the extraordinary credentials of Chet Edwards. And I hope he will be the nominee.”

Pelosi told ABC’s "This Week" that “for years, our colleagues have said to him, why don't you run for president? He is an extraordinarily talented person. He is a champion for veterans in the Congress. Under his leadership, we have passed, including just on Friday, the biggest increase in funding for veterans' health benefits and other benefits in the history of our country. “

Pelosi called him “talented:” and “principled.” Asked if she believed Edwards, not a household name around the country, had a chance to be picked, she said, “Well, I would certainly hope so. But, you know what? Senator Dodd, Senator Biden, Senator Hillary Clinton — there's such a great array of people from whom Senator Obama can choose. So, anyone of them, I'm fine with."

Sebelius is considered a top VP pick.

(CNN) — With the vice presidential selection process perhaps nearing its end, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, D-Kansas, appeared with a high profile Republican guest Wednesday.

Sebelius, thought to be a possible choice as Barack Obama’s running mate, introduced T. Boone Pickens at a town hall in Topeka that focused on his new energy plan.

“We have a crisis in America, no question,” the Democratic governor told the crowd, “It’s pretty simple to understand. We’re borrowing money from China to import 70 percent of oil, much of it from nations that don’t like us very much. And when we burn it, it harms out planet. Now, if that doesn’t seem like a lose-lose-lose situation to you.”

Pushing the Pickens proposal, Sebelius said, “I think we’re right in the middle of a big hole..when you’re in a hole, you stop digging.”

Pickens is calling for an investment plan to make wind and natural gas the main sources of energy in the United States. He told The Hill this week, “I’ll vote for McCain. But I’m not working on his campaign….I don’t see a plan by either Obama or McCain that is going to solve the $700 billion problem. Neither one of them address that.”

But he had words of praise for Sebelius, saying, “you know it, but you have a fabulous governor. Smart, working for Kansas, and highly intelligent.”

Sen. Claire McCaskill says anyone would be thrilled to be asked to be Obama's No. 2.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – How can you tell if a prospective vice presidential candidate is lying? Well, one potential running mate says when they claim they don’t really want the job.

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), thought to be a possible contender for Barack Obama’s No. 2 spot, was asked on Fox News Sunday, “I'm going to do something that people don't do around Washington very often. I think you're not supposed to do this. I think anybody in Washington would be thrilled to be asked.”

Would she take the job, if offered? She said, “I would like to meet somebody who wouldn't. If they're saying they wouldn't, I don't think that they are being as candid or as up front with the American people as probably they should be.”

Obama will campaign in McCaskill’s critical home state week. She said she has not been asked to provide any personal information to the campaign.

McCaskill said she doesn’t believe Obama needs to necessarily pick a female running mate to win support from women voters. She said, “If you look at all the polling, the much vaunted problems that Obama was going to have with working-class people, with people that don't have a college education, with women, with Hispanics, you don't hear a lot of talking heads talking about those issues anymore because it's simply not true.

Also appearing with McCaskill was Sen. John Thune (R-South Dakota). He wasn’t quite as open on whether he would take the running mate position if offered by John McCain. Thune said, “You don't rule anything out in this profession. But it's certainly not anything I aspire to. I like the

job I have.” He also said he had not be asked by the McCain campaign to provide information.

Sen. Obama's campaign aircraft prepares to leave London's Heathrow International Airport Saturday under heavy security and return to the U.S. Photo credit: Getty Images

LONDON, England (CNN) — Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama headed back to the United States Saturday night, bringing to an end his eight-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.

The Obama campaign's chartered Boeing 757 took off from London's Heathrow Airport just after 6 p.m. local time (1 p.m. ET), bound for Chicago, Illinois.

During the trip, Obama visited Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

The senator told reporters just before takeoff that he intended to sleep the entire way home on the nearly eight-hour flight.

Pawlenty is said to be on McCain’s VP shortlist.

(CNN) – Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was able to dodge questions about the vice presidential game – for a second.

At a news conference outside a Bloomington, Minnesota gas station to promote John McCain’s energy plan, the questions turned to whether he’s atop the presumptive Republican nominee’s running mate shortlist.

Pawlenty paused and turned to the gas station owner next to him. To laughter, the owner said “I’m really flattered you’re considering me, asking that question.”

But the governor offered little more, saying he has “stopped engaging in the discussion.” He told reporters, “I’m honored to have my name mentioned. I have just stopped engaging in the speculation because I think it is largely speculation, and it just fuels more speculation.”

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