"This is the second day in a row that we are talking about manufacturing," Barack told the crowd of 150 in the SCHOTT glass factory. "When you meet the workers, it gives you pride that great manufacturing work is still being done in America."

SCHOTT is a bright spot in an otherwise worsening economy. Today the Department of Labor Statistics released new numbers: The nation's unemployment has reach a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August and employers laid off 84,000 workers.

It's no wonder that folks in Northeastern Pennsylvania are so intent on the the choice they have to make in this election. Voters as well as Barack are trying to keep focused on substantive issues rather than the personality issues that can creep into a campaign.

"Personalities? I think I've got a pretty good personality, but that's not why I'm running," Barack said at the town hall meeting. He is running to fix a broken healthcare system, bring balance to a faltering economy, and help the American people pass on a better life to their children.

"So if someone asks you what I'm going to do, now you know!"

Here are the rest of Barack's remarks from the SCHOTT glass factory in Duryea, PA:

Arun Chaudhary
September 5, 2008
En route to Newark, NJ

Joe Biden speaks at Maple Point Middle School Langhorne, PA about he and Bob Dole worked together in 1982.

Author: BarackObamadotcom
Keywords: Joe Biden Obama pennsylvania
Added: September 5, 2008

Grandparents Day is this Sunday, September 7th. The Obama campaign has put together an easy way for you and your family to reach out to grandparents or a special older person in your life and let them know how much they mean to you. Check out our selection of online Grandparents Day cards.

Barack's grandparents played an important role in his life. He was shaped by their values and love, and he learned from their example that each generation has a responsibility to work for the generations that will follow.

Today, with your help, he is putting that lesson into action. Share Barack's story and your enthusiasm for this campaign with your Grandparents and thank your grandparents for the important place they have in your lives. Honor their example and ask them to join you in our movement for change.

We've created online greeting cards you can send to show your love that we will auto-deliver on Sunday, September 7th, Grandparents Day. Together we can make a difference that will last for generations.

Yesterday Barack spent the day in Pennsylvania where he held a discussion on the economy at the Siemens Hydro Powerplant in York. Afterwards he traveled to Buchanan Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he held a "Change We Need" event.

Here is the day in pictures...

Barack Obama spoke at Schott Glass in Duryea, PA. September 5, 2008.

Author: BarackObamadotcom
Keywords: Barack Obama Pennsylvania economy
Added: September 5, 2008

As Vote for Change continues, with voter registration drives continuing with urgency ahead of state filing deadlines, one of the best places to hold drives has been at new citizenship ceremonies. Gabrielle, a resident of Miami-Dade, has been driving much of the grassroots effort in her part of Southern Florida.

Gabrielle has hosted 16 voter registration events since June, including 10 at new citizenship ceremonies. Occurring roughly once a week, each event draws about 6000 new citizens over three sessions a day.

We speak to attendees as they line up and wait to go into the ceremony generally speaking about the importance of registering to vote to have a political voice, exercising their rights and protecting their future and democracy in America.

Gabrielle organizes her events well ahead of time, trying to bring the biggest Obama presence possible to the events.

I post on my.barackobama.com, send emails to my volunteer base, make calls to volunteers and Obama group leads, local Democratic organizations to get volunteers for theses events. I encourage them to sign up on MyBO so we are clear on resources available and where there are deficits. Training is done at the site/event as volunteers arrive. We train and register new volunteers for other events - canvassing etc. - during down time or otherwise place them strategically to cover flow of attendees and family to pass out lit and speak about the importance of registering to vote.

Gabrielle has been involved in political campaigns in the past, but has become particularly motivated to help the Obama campaign: just at the new citizenship events, she and the other volunteers have registered more than 3000 new voters.

I have spent most my life in other countries where voter turnout is above 70 percent. The United States has elected leadership based on general election population minority. We need to first get the voters registered, then educate them on the issues. The era of a voting minority acting as the majority voice and influence must end.

Gabrielle is still doing her part, with nine more new citizenship registration efforts planned. She is always looking for more volunteers. If you would like to help with a voter registration drive in your area or find out about your voter registration status, you can find information here.

Jill Biden spoke in Langhorne, PA on about her husband, how they met, and her passion for education.

Author: BarackObamadotcom
Keywords: Jill Biden
Added: September 5, 2008

Last Monday was Labor Day, but that doesn’t mean our volunteers took the day off. A group of Obama supporters in Englewood, Florida decided Labor Day was the perfect time to show their Obama pride and get others involved.

The group entered an Obama car in Englewood's annual Pioneer Day Parade. “We decided to design an Obama car so we could have a presence in the parade,” explains organizer Katherine from nearby North Port. “We got a local artist to do cut-out figures of Michelle and Barack, and created banners and signs for our volunteers to hold.”

About 35 Obama volunteers marched in the parade while registering voters along the parade route. “It was great to see people’s response. People saw the figures of Barack and Michelle and their faces lit up and they started cheering! It’s like people down here in Englewood have been afraid to come out and support Obama, and our efforts gave them a chance to do so.”

Katherine says they entered a group in the parade because:

We wanted to create an event that would highlight the Obama campaign and show people that we’re out there and getting the vote out, getting volunteers. The campaign doesn’t have a presence yet in this part of Florida, so we wanted to show people that we’re here, and we’re working hard for Barack.

Get involved in your community this weekend. You can sign up to volunteer, or check to find an Obama event near you. 

What events are you doing this weekend? Tell us about your campaign events and send us photos at blog@barackobama.com. 

Two United Steel Workers union leaders talk about Joe Biden's speech today at the Iron Workers Local 401 in Philadelphia, PA. Joe Biden states how the next sixty days of this election will change the course of the United States of America. He says Americans deserve to be shown respect from their government so that they have a chance to improve their lives and empower the middle class.

Author: BarackObamadotcom
Keywords: Joe Biden
Added: September 5, 2008

It didn't take long after Barack accepted the nomination for people across the country to start organizing more than ever for November.  Volunteers spent Labor Day weekend organizing for change and taking action to make their voice heard. The constituents of the campaign were a part of last weekend's campaign-related activities.

In Seattle, Washington the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community held a voter registration drive in Seattle's Chinatown/International District. They spent an evening talking to supporters, registering voters and spreading Barack's message.

Dozens of local small businesses set up booths to sell Chinese pastries, Vietnamese sandwiches and Japanese noodles to several hundred local Washingtonians. Among the crowd were Obama supporters donning stickers and signup forms to encourage Asian American Pacific Islanders to vote. Supporters talked to dozens of local Washingtonians and registered many of them to vote.

According to Christine K, a first time voter, “As an Asian American, I believe that Barack Obama speaks for me. I believe that he understands the problems that my family faces, and I trust him to be my president.”

In Las Vegas, Nevada members of the Latino community gathered to form the Nevada Latino Leadership Advisory Committee. This community consists of over 80 Latino leaders in Nevada.

Among those in attendance were Assemblyman Ruben Kihuen, Chairman of the National Association of Hispanic Publications Foundation Edmundo Escobedo, community activist Vito De La Cruz, and Culinary 226 President Geoconda Arguello-Kline. The campaign, working with the Latino community, created this committee in order to highlight the importance of Latino issues to the campaign, and will be vital to Barack Obama's efforts in Nevada.

Escobedo kicked off the event, talking about the importance of this committee in reaching out to the Latino community and mobilizing them to vote. De La Cruz talked about the most salient issues facing Latino families today: healthcare, education, and sensible immigration reform. Finally, Arguello-Kline spoke poignantly about her experience working her way up as an immigrant, as well as the struggles that working families face in this declining economy.

The Heartland Change Tour for Rural Americans kicked-off in Wisconsin on Tuesday with a roundtable breakfast with Representative Phil Garthwaite.

The goal of the tour is to reach out to voters in Wisconsin's heartland - the rural areas and smaller cities of the state that are filled with the farmers and hard-working Wisconsinites that have been the backbone of the Badger state's identity for generations.

...The tour made stops ... in Monroe and Argyle - where it was joined by State Senator John Erpenbach en route to the day's final house meeting in Middleton.

On Thursday, the tour continued on in Sun Prairie with Senator Mark Miller and Wisconsin's Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Randy Romanski.

The Tour ... took several of Wisconsin's most scenic winding county roads through Sauk County to arrive at Geri and Dick's farm in Fairfield Township just outside of Baraboo just in time for lunch.

"I heard Barack speak, and I said, 'I'm going to work for that man,'" Geri said, adding that she had never been involved in politics before.

Twenty of Geri and Dick's friends and neighbors from around the county took time out of their busy schedules to ask questions, offer ideas and to tell the Campaign for Change where they think their nation is going. Several were still negotiating crops that were damaged from the flooding that had occurred in the area earlier this summer.

But for an hour and a half those who gathered at Dick and Geri's put aside the strains of the past and present and looked to the future - and all were deeply concerned with enhancing the quality of rural life in Wisconsin and America.

Indiana, Minnesota and North Carolina host Women's Wednesday - a day specifically focused on the diverse women who make up this campaign. Women's Wednesday also allows the opportunity for women to gather and work together to help build the Women for Obama community in their hometown. Minnesota lists all the ways that women can get involved in this campaign.

Being a member of [Women for Obama] allows you to play a pivotal role in the campaign to elect Sen. Barack Obama the President of the United States.

Between now and Election Day there will be many opportunities and events held throughout the state of Minnesota.

Women On Wednesdays
•Women calling women phone banks held every Wednesday at all Campaign for Change offices. Phone banks are from 5:00 – 9:00 pm.

Mamas for Obama
•Group of women with children convene; women alternate between providing childcare and volunteering.

Women “Knocking-Out” the RNC
•Go door knocking during the RNC! 

Team Obama
•Assume a leadership role within your community as a Team Obama Captain or Member.

Women Focused Events
•Organize or participate in a women focused event such as Barack the Walk Against Breast Cancer and Obama Supporters Cheering to End Breast Cancer.

There are 20 constituent groups organizing across the country for Barack. Find yours and join the community today.