AP Photo

Colorado Springs, CO–Country singer, Hank Williams Jr. is often by Sarah Palin’s side throughout her two months on the campaign trail. He opens up with the National Anthem, but at a rally in an airport hangar here, Williams Jr. veered off script and directly questioned Barack Obama’s patriotism before he sang the National Anthem.

“You know, I’m usually at Monday Night Football tonight, but Colorado, this is a lot more important tonight. Join me now in our National—you know, that song that, uh, Mr. Obama’s not real crazy about, we’re singing it right now.”

Williams then sang, “McCain-Palin Tradition” which blasts the “liberal media” and calls the GOP Vice-Presidential candidate a “good lookin’ dish”—it is his standard song after the National Anthem.

Palin took the stage after his performance and thanked Williams Jr. calling him “a great inspiration” because he uses “the first amendment” which seems to defend Williams comment.

“We want to take a minute here to thank Hank Williams Jr. Over the past couple of months he has traveled with us. He and his most beautiful family stops all along the way this campaign trail. Now this is the last rally that we get to do together and he’s been just a great inspiration. Never one to hide his opinion or be afraid to share it.” Palin said, “Hey he exercises those First Amendment rights. We love him! Yes. So we want to thank Hank and we are going to see him tomorrow night on the other side of victory, my friend.”

When asked if Palin agreed with Williams Jr.’s comment and that is why she praised him Palin spokesperson Tracey Schmitt said, “She has said before that she knows Barack Obama loves his country.”

On October 17th, Palin was asked if she believes that Obama loves America as much as she does and she responded affirmatively.

“I know Obama loves America. I’m sure that is why he’s running for president. It’s because he wants to do what he believes is in the best interest of this great nation. I believe that our ticket can do a better job for America as we reduce taxes and rein in government and allow our private sector and our families to prosper, to grow, and to keep more of what they earn and produce so that they can reinvest according to our own priorities. Palin said, “But I don’t question at all Barack Obama’s love for this great country.”

Schmitt attempted to clarify Palin’s comments further,” She was making clear that he was expressing his opinion–just as she has explicitly expressed hers when saying frequently that Barack Obama loves his country.”

AP-Charlotte, NC

CHARLOTTE, NC - The weather matched Barack Obama’s mood tonight at his rally in the Tar Heel State - just hours from when voters will go to the polls tomorrow. Some 25,000 waited in a cold rain for the Democratic nominee, who learned just this morning that his grandmother, the woman who helped raise him, had passed away from cancer just one day before Election Day.

His voice weary and tears at times falling down his cheeks, the man who is poised to make history should he be elected tomorrow, addressed what the world learned just minutes before he took the stage. “This is a little bit of a bittersweet time for me,” he began.

“We have had a remarkable campaign and you know when we started 21 months ago, I didn’t know how it would turn out. And no matter what happens tomorrow, I’m gonna feel good about how it’s turned out because all of you have created this incredible campaign,” he continued.

He then explained to the crowd - who seemed unaware of Madelyn Dunham’s passing - that she died “peacefully” with his sister at her side.

“Look, she is going home,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about it too long, because it’s hard a little to talk about.”

But for a few minutes at the top of his rally, he paused to tell world about her. “Her name was Madelyn Dunham and she was born in Kansas in a small town in 1922,” he started.

Recounting Dunham’s now familiar biography - someone who lived through war and depression while raising a family, he described her as “a very humble person and a very plainspoken person.”

“She’s one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America who – they’re not famous, their names aren’t in the newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They look after their families. They sacrifice for their children and their grandchildren. They aren’t seeking the limelight. All they try to do is do the right thing,” he said somberly.

Its those “quiet heroes” around the nation he said he’s fighting for in this election.

In this crowd there are a lot of quiet heroes like that. Mothers and fathers and grandparents who have worked hard and sacrificed all their lives and the satisfaction that they get is seeing that their children and maybe their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren live a better life than they did.That’s what America’s about. That’s what we’re fighting for. And North Carolina, in just one more day, we have the opportunity to honor all those quiet heroes all across America and all across North Carolina. We can bring change to America to make sure that their sacrifice is honored. That’s what we’re fighting for!

Obama was sure to thank his rival, John McCain, for his condolences and said, “It’s an incredibly gracious of Senator McCain and it’s an example that Senator McCain has continued to serve his country honorably.”

And in what will be his second to last campaign rally, he then delivered his stump speech, often critical of McCain. After all, the fight must go on.

AP Photo-Dubuque, IA

Dubuque, IA–In front of two huge “Victory in Iowa” signs, Palin rallied a crowd of around 3,500 at an events center here. She expressed confidence for a win tomorrow telling supporters that her running mate is headed for victory.

“Appreciate you so much coming out today. End of a campaign trail that has been, especially for John McCain, many, many months in the making here.” Palin said, “Toward victory is where he’s headed, so Iowa, thank you so much for sharing these last hours with us.”

This was Palin’s third of six stops today and she is starting to get hoarse, but she stayed focused asking Iowans for their vote.

“Election Day is just– just a few hours until now people are going to start casting those votes. Election Day so close–the time for choosin’ is near. Iowa are you ready to help carry this state to victory? Are you ready to elect John McCain the next president of the United States? Are you ready to send us to Washington to shake thing up and get to work for you?” Palin asked.

Palin then veered off script trying a new line for the cheering crowd, “How about this too-how about we send an American hero on one more mission. Let’s send John McCain to the White House!”

Clad in jeans with her husband Todd by her side, Palin is the most expressive and intense on the stump than we have ever seen her as she goes from state to state today. Her next stop is a rally in Colorado Springs, CO, which will be both her fourth stop and fourth state today.

AP-Undated Photo of Sen.Obama with Grandparents

CHARLOTTE, NC - Just over a week after Barack Obama took a day off the campaign trail to visit his ailing grandmother, 86-year-old Madelyn Dunham passed away from cancer late last night at her home in Honolulu.

In a statement released by his campaign, Obama and his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng announced that Duhnam, who raised the Democratic nominee from the age of ten, passed away “peacefully.”

In an interview with CBS News the day he left for Hawaii last month, Obama noted his grandmother was “the last one left” of the generation before him. Explaining decision to suspend his campaign so close to the election, he recalled not being with his mother before she passed away from ovarian cancer. “I want to make sure that I don’t - I don’t make the same mistake twice,” he said.

Obama frequently mentioned “Toot,” as he called her, during his campaign events, proudly telling voters about her dedication while working as a ‘Rosie the Riveter’ during World War II, and overcoming great odds to become the Vice President of the bank where she worked - despite only having a high school education.

During his convention acceptance speech, he referred to Dunham as one of his heroes, saying, “She’s the one who taught me about hard work. 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. Tonight is her night as well,” he said.

When the nation discovered she was ailing last month, many sent flowers and cards to her apartment in Hawaii where she lived for decades. Obama recognized the gesture at several campaign events when he returned to the campaign trail, and thanked his supporters for their thoughts. He later told ABC News that he thought she was finally “getting a sense of, of long-deserved recognition towards the end of her life.”

Obama, who spent last night at a Florida hotel, found out about her passing this morning after 8am, before his 11 o’clock rally. He is expected to continue with his campaign events prior to tomorrow’s election - the family will hold a “small private ceremony to be held at a later date.”

Read the statement from Obama and his sister below the jump.

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AP Photo-Zanesville, OH

ZANESVILLE, OH — Joe Biden thinks his reputation as the “gaffe” candidate is a bunch of malarkey.

Speaking to reporters on his press plane, BIden said the caricature of a VP nominee who’s always hurting the ticket by putting his foot in his mouth just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

“For all the stuff about gaffes, I don’t think there have been any real gaffes. I mean I don’t see anything in your polling data demonstrating any of that stuff you guys love to write about,” he said.

Biden has been ridiculed for minor slips, like telling an elected official to stand up and be recognized without realizing the man is in a wheelchair, to more substantive ones - such as seeming to oppose clean coal in a short rope line conversation, and telling a group of donors that Barack Obama will be “tested” by a generated international crisis within the first 6 months of his administration.

The Delaware Senator denied that any of his fumbles have hurt his party’s chances. “No, I never make any big, big gaffes,” he said. “I mean you guys love saying that about me but I tell you what, just look at the numbers. I don’t have any problem with what I’ve said and there’s nothing I’ve said that I would back off of.”

Biden’s foray to the back of the plane was his first since an off-the-record session on September 9th, which wound up becoming part of an on-the-record AP story. Biden cited that incident as one reason he’s been so reluctant to talk to his traveling press.

But with the election just a day away, the VP nominee addressed everything from uniting the country to his own superstitions about discussing the upcoming election

But Biden was most talkative on the topic of his “good friend” John McCain — first offering an explanation for why he feels the GOP nominee has gone so negative.

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AP- Lee's Summit, MO

LEE’S SUMMIT, MO — “Hey folks, 37 more hours!”

Joe Biden greeted a crowd primed for the home stretch of this long campaign with as much energy as he’s had in the last two months on the trail - telling voters in this swing state that “change is on the way.”

“I believe, with a greater degree of confidence than I’ve ever had before, that we are on the cusp of a new brand of American leadership. Because that’s what we need,” he said. “We need to get out and elect Barack Obama president of the United States tomorrow.”

Biden argued again that electing McCain would mean four more years of Bush policies — but as is always the case with the Delaware Senator, a routine line delivered hundreds of times on the trail can still be an adventure. “In the most recent debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, John McCain felt the need to say to Barack, to the commentator and to all America that he was not John McCain,” Biden said in a slip-up. “I mean, he was not President Bush.”

As the crowd guffawed, Biden salvaged the line. “The truth is, he’s not the John McCain I served with a long time,” he said. “Freudian slip.”

Less salvageable? The now-expected “Random Biden Introductory Tangent” - this one about his sister, Val, his wife Jill, and Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, who introduced the Bidens today.

“You know why I think Jill likes Claire McCaskill so well, Senator McCaskill. Jill is one of five sisters, Claire is one of three sisters. And I tell you what, you women raised with sisters are different than women raised with brothers,” Biden said as both women joined him on stage.

“My sister is smart, runs every one of my campaigns, is beautiful. Graduated with honors from college. Is homecoming queen, but she’s a — she is what I call a girl-boy growing up, you know what I mean?”

“And I tell you what. Girl-girl’s are tougher than girl-boys,” he said.

BIden is off for the working class Ohio towns of Zanesville and Akron, where Obama leads in recent polls by an average of about 4 points.

AP Photo-Columbus, OH

COLUMBUS, OH – Standing in front of a barn facade with the words “Victory in Ohio” emblazoned across it, Sarah Palin expressed her confidence for an underdog win Tuesday.

She praised her running mate’s performance last night on Saturday Night Live and had a message for her look-alike on the show.

“Now speaking of great performances, did anyone catch John McCain last night on SNL—Saturday Night Live?” Palin asked in an airplane hangar rally.

“He was such a pro in those skits there with Tina Fey. And little advice for Tina, we want her to make sure that she’s holding on to that Sarah outfit because she’s gonna need it in the next four years.”

AP Photo-Marietta, OH

MARIETTA, OH –-Sarah Palin unleashed a new attack today after an audio file of an interview Barack Obama did in January 2008 was reported on conservative blogs and linked on the Drudge Report. Palin accused the Democratic nominee of wanting to bankrupt the coal industry.

“Barack Obama explained his plan to the San Francisco Chronicle this year, early this year. And he said that, sure, if the industry wants to build coal fired power plants, then they can go ahead and try, he says, but they can do it only in a way that will bankrupt the coal industry, and he’s comfortable letting that happen. And you gotta listen to the tape.

The audio file has been on the San Francisco Chronicle’s website since the January interview with its editorial board, but Palin accused the newspaper of withholding the information until right before the election.

“Now a couple points on this: One is that here again, why is the audio tape just now surfacing? This interview was given to San Francisco folks many, many months ago. You should have known about this, so that you would have better decision-making information as you go into the voting booth,” Palin said as shouts of “liberal media!” could be heard from the crowd.

In the interview Obama spoke about his energy plan which includes an “aggressive” cap and trade policy  which will charge polluters in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions. John McCain is also a supporter of cap and trade.

“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.” Obama said, “That will also generate billions of dollars that we can invest in wind, solar, biodiesel and other alternative energy approaches. The only thing that I have said with respect to coal, I haven’t been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a ideological matter as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way, we should pursue it.”

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AP Photo-Gainesville, FL

GAINESVILLE, FL - Joe Biden may be getting a little tired of stories claiming that the campaign is trying to shut him up.

Washington reporters traveling with the loquacious long-time senator over the past few days noted the tight stump speeches, the lack of reporter access or question from the crowd, and the ubiquitous teleprompter - theorizing that Obama’s staff is trying desperately to minimize the damage that comes from Biden’s big mouth.

But in Florida today, Biden interrupted his speech to prove he’s the same old loose cannon he’s always been.

“I believe the possibilities for this country are absolutely amazing — and stop moving the prompter,” he said, abruptly addressing the teleprompter operator, who’d never before worked with Biden and, as one staffer joked, may have dislocated her wrist trying to keep up.

“There’s a prompter that I hardly ever read here. They don’t want you to know that. They put it up to make me sound disciplined, you know,” Biden continued as the crowd — and a few Biden staffers — laughed along with him.

The bravado isn’t backed up by the fact that Biden stuck almost entirely to the same speech he’s been giving for the last 3 days — but there were moments that proved his point.

An example: coming on stage after his introduction, Biden rambled his way through the traditional thank-you’s for local elected officials in remarks that bear reprinting in their entirety.

“I tell you what, I’m a proud University of Delaware alum, we, we won the national championship in our division a couple years ago. But I tell you what. I watched you all Saturday (applause), and I thought thank God, thank God we don’t play the Gators. A Delaware flag, alright man! You guys are on a roll. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! And I want to tell you. I used the rain as an excuse to wear the hat, but the balder I get the more I love hats. I always loved hats.”

AP

COLUMBUS, OH - As Barack Obama boarded his campaign plane in Springfield, Missouri, this morning, ABC News’ Jake Tapper, whose ability to speak at a level above a 757 jet engine goes unmatched, asked the candidate what he’d ask his Treasury Secretary to do differently with the $700 billion set aside for the bailout.

As Obama laughed, Tapper noted the substance of the question.

“It is, but Jake, we’re on a tarmac,” Obama replied.

The reporter suggested the Illinois senator hold a press conference.

“I will, on Wednesday,” he said before bounding up the stairs.

Reporters filed their stories indicating the candidate would meet reporters Wednesday - as the President-elect or as the runner up. The RNC sent around the story, perhaps to paint Obama as presumptuous.

Staffers later tamped down expectations for a post-Election Day press conference. Spokesperson Jen Psaki explained, “He wasn’t being literal,” and explained the candidate and the campaign “are focused on nothing past Tuesday.”

Obama last met with reporters on October 22nd, when he took five questions.