Because Senator Obama’s chartered jet made an unscheduled stop in St. Louis following a mechanical glitch, the candidate never made it down to Charlotte, North Carolina, for his economic discussion. Instead, he headed to Drury Inn near Lambert Airport and addressed the more than 200 people who were expecting to see the candidate in person by telephone.

Here’s what he said:

Hello North Carolina. Well listen guys, I’m so sorry that I’m not down there we had a little glitch in our plane. It was nothing to worry about, although it gave the press some exciting things to write about, but everybody’s safe and sound we’re in St. Louis, we can’t get down there fast enough and so I’m just heartbroken that I’m not going to get a chance to see you guys today. But I promise you we’re going to be back down in Charlotte sometime soon.

In the meantime, I just wanted to make sure first of all that I thanked Senator Kay Hagan who’s going to be an outstanding United States Senator, Senator Walter Dalton who’s running for Lieutenant Governor, Representative Trisha Gotham who I know isn’t there but was really helpful putting the event together, I want to acknowledge Larry Kissle who is running for the 8th congressional district and will be an outstanding member of congress, Joe Ford of Nicklandberg democratic chair, Kevin Monroe and Pat Stanford who have just been outstanding volunteers, and I especially want to thank principal Anna Renferrow and the staff of James Martin Middle School who have just been terrific in helping us set up this event. Finally I want to make sure that I acknowledge Lieutenant Governor Bedford who was going to be the next Governor of North Carolina. She is running an outstanding race and I think she’s going to have a chance to address all of you before this thing is over.

When we planned this trip we wanted to start off this week in a city that has seen wonderful economic growth over the last several years, as some of the finest people and the best trained workforce of any area in the country. But like the rest of the country is experienced some tough times. I don’t need to tell all of you that times are tough. Everywhere I go all across the country and every time I visited North Carolina I’ve heard the same story. I mean families who don’t have health insurance for themselves and their children in some cases are at risk of financial bankruptcy if somebody in the family gets sick. I’ve talked to folks who are now seeing the cost of their commute double and that extra hundred dollars or two hundred dollars is now going to be the oil company’s means them having to cut back on savings for their kids or in some cases food that’s put on the table.

All across North Carolina people are concerned about jobs as the economy has slowed down. The fact that jobs continue to be shipped overseas, that plants are still being shutdown, that we’re now moving into a cycle where even if you keep your job your wages and your income has made a flat line. And people are worried and scared of the prospects for the future. And the main message that I want to deliver today to all of you is that although we’re going through tough times now, it is not inevitable that we continue these tough times. We’re going to have to make some adjustment to globalize the economy, we’ve got to train our kids more effectively, make sure that they are getting the best education in the world that they are able to afford college, we’re going to have to make certain that we have a real energy policy, not gimmicks like the gas tax holiday that would not even save you $30 and would probably benefit the oil companies, but instead a long term plan to raise fuel efficiencies standards on cars, develop the new generation of alternative fuels that are going to power this economy and create jobs all across North Carolina. There are, we’re going to have to invest in our infrastructure, rebuilding our roads and our bridges, laying broadband lines throughout North Carolina, those are the long term adjustments that we’re going to have to make.

But in the short term people need immediate relief. I wanted to say to you that help is on the way, because you know, my economic package is designed not only to lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth, but also to give people some immediate help, an energy rebated tax stimulus of several hundred dollars that would go back into the pockets of the people who really need it to offset the rising costs of food prices and costs of gas. A serious plan to help make sure that we’re preventing forecloses and stabilizing the housing markets so we can get the economy back on track. Measures to make sure that people are protected from predatory lending practices, to make sure they are not bankrupt when they get sick, more assistance to parents who need to take time off to look after a lung.

There are a range of polices that are out there that I have been talking about over the last year to year and a half, that would start helping people get back on their feet right now. Making sure that we have an affordable health care plan for every American, and that we are lowering the prices for people who don’t have health care, making college more affordable with a 4,000 dollar tuition credit for every student every year. These are all designed to make sure that those who are experiencing difficulty in this economy are able to get back on track, are able to get a firmer footing, not only for themselves but also for their children, because the central premise of this campaign has been that when the economy works for everyone, when it grows from the bottom up, that is not just good for individual Americans, it’s also good for the economy as a whole. John McCain has a different philosophy. John McCain is decent and honorable man but if you look at the essence at his economic policies, which are based on a large mass of tax cuts for corporations and wealthy individuals, only a quarter of those tax breaks going to the middle class.

In contrast to my tax plan that would be designed where 95% of beneficiaries are of tax breaks would go the middle class. What you see is just a difference of philosophy. John McCain wants to continue the same policies that George Bush made a cornerstone of his administration. They haven’t worked. And the message that we need to spread all across North Carolina is that if you are satisfied with the way things are going now then you should vote for John McCain. If you think we need a fundamental change and that we have to grow this economy from the bottom up so that ordinary Americans can achieve the American dream and that we are building a better future for our kids, then we have got a clear choice in this election. And we’ve got a [inaudible].

So I want all of you know in Northern Carolina we are going to be campaigning actively there, there’s been a tradition of democrats conceding the state before the battle is even joined that is not what is going to be happening this time now. We’ve got people on the ground we are going to be running ads I’m going to be campaigning there, because I think that North Carolina like the rest of the Country is desperately looking for a different direction. And there looking for a sense of optimism and a sense of purpose, as we navigate through these difficult times to start putting this country back on the track of long term economic growth. So, I thank all of you for being there I’m so sorry but I can’t get the chance to see you guys in person and answer some questions. But like I said we are going to be back this slight glitch in our schedule and in the meantime I hope all of you are working as hard as you can on the ground, with not only the wonderful elected officials who are there today, but with our staff and our volunteer, to make sure that we are building the kind of movement for change that can’t be stopped and that will bring us to victory in November. So, thank you very much everybody, God bless you guys.

John and Elizabeth Edwards sat in the front row of Barack Obama’s Raleigh, NC, speech today, where the presumptive Democratic nominee talked about the economy. “I don’t think there are two people in the country who have done more to elevate the debate about politics, who have focused on critical issues like health care, and who’ve made us all think about our obligations to create one America,” Senator Obama noted at the top of his speech.

When talking about his health care plan, Obama gestured towards Mrs. Edwards and told the approving crowd, “By the way, I’m gonna be partnering up with Elizabeth Edwards. We’re gonna be figuring all this out.”

While John Edwards endorsed Obama at a rally in Michigan last month, Elizabeth Edwards kept mum on her choice, causing many to speculate that she had in fact parted ways with her husband and supported Senator Clinton.

An Obama spokesperson noted this won’t be an official partnership.

According to his prepared remarks, Senator Barack Obama was supposed to say, “I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on her victory in the state of Indiana.” Instead, Obama said, “I want to start by congratulating Senator Clinton on what appears to be her victory in the great state of Indiana.”

Not a huge difference, but Senator Clinton’s margin in Indiana has narrowed as the returns have come in. The campaign says they’re not “holding our breath,” but wait for results to come in from places like Gary, IN, which is expected to be an Obama stronghold. The two Democratic candidates have not yet spoken, per the Obama campaign.

Prior to Obama’s speech, Senior Advisor David Axelrod and Communications Director Robert Gibbs sounded confident in their North Carolina victory, saying it brought them closer to the finish line.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind - After a stinging defeat in North Carolina and a close win in Indiana, Hillary Clinton’s path to the nomination has become that much harder tonight. North Carolina represented the last real chance for Clinton to shock the political world with an upset win, or what she herself called a “game changer.” What’s more, both states had large chunks of pledged delegates she needed to start closing the gap; her ability to make up ground in that metric is now severely diminished.

Aides insist that in even their rosiest scenarios, they would still lose North Carolina by 5. But with polls tightening over the last week, the endorsement of popular governor Mike Easley, and a heavy travel schedule in the state, expectations were building for a close contest — and some in the campaign even believed a win was possible.

And in Indiana, while the campaign says they came from behind and overcame the home field advantage Obama enjoyed in his home state’s next door neighbor. But polls over the last two weeks suggested she’d have a bit more breathing room here, instead of sweating out the result well into the night.

So how does the Clinton campaign make the best out of what looks to be a bad situation? Campaign officials say it comes down to demographics. While African Americans, young voters, and the more affluent went for Obama in higher numbers than usual, they say the blue-collar swing voters Democrats need in a general election went even more strongly to her. Those voters, they argue, are far less likely to choose Senator Obama in a match-up with John McCain than the coalition of voters Obama’s amassed.

That’s the case the campaign will be making to superdelegates in the coming weeks. As Major Garrett reports, Team Hillary is laying the foundation for a costly and public post-primary campaign to woo undecided party leaders, to include rallies, direct mail and paid advertisements directed squarely at the superdelegates upon whom their hopes now rest.

They’ll also revive their push to get the delegations from Michigan and Florida seated in full at the Democratic National Convention, a move that would close the pledged delegate gap significantly.

More immediately, Senator Clinton will soldier on. She has a fundraiser in Washington with her mother and daughter on Wednesday, and takes the campaign to three upcoming states on Thursday — stopping in West Virginia, South Dakota, and Oregon.

“Between here and North Carolina, we’re just gonna be bouncing back and forth, so we are really gonna be working hard to try to get every vote in Indiana,” Barack Obama told reporters today. Indeed, the candidate is hitting the campaign trail in full sprint today – the day before the North Carolina and Indiana primaries.

With just a few hours of sleep, the candidate began his day with a round robin of pre-taped morning show interviews at 5:30 in the morning and then headed over to a construction site on the campus of the University of Evansville in Indiana. As the sun rose, he greeted construction workers as they filed on site and took a few questions from a gaggle of reporters.

“I think our chances are good,” Obama said, despite polls showing his onetime Indiana lead no longer. “I mean, we’ve had a great week of campaigning, we’ve seen people really asking themselves do they want more of the same or do they want a change in direction? That’s what this campaign’s been about from the start. We’re working as hard as we can and I desperately want every single vote here in Indiana and North Carolina and I want to have a chance to do something for folks who are having tough times,” he continued.

The candidate then headed over to the Evansville Labor Temple where a hodgepodge of union workers sat around what appeared to be a bar. No Bloody Mary for Obama, however, who ate eggs and a biscuit. “I’ve been losing weight on the campaign trail,” he said as he headed over to the buffet.

Before jumping on a North Carolina-bound plane, Obama told the union members, “This is gonna be a tight election here in Indiana. Every poll shows it is a dead heat. We need every single vote, so you guys are pretty persuasive - I need you to tell your members that this is something worth fighting for and that they need to come out and vote, and vote for me.”

Obama just landed in North Carolina, where he will  hold a town hall meeting and is expected to make a couple unscheduled retail stops. The marathon will continue when he flies back to Indianapolis for a nighttime rally and a late night stop by a local factory that will put Obama back at his hotel after midnight.

MOORESVILLE, NC — Having run a race for the Democratic nomination for 15 months, Hillary Clinton soaked in a different kind of racing at the spiritual home of NASCAR – and couldn’t avoid comparing the country’s most popular sport to her own run around the political track.

“It’s an exciting race,” she said of the Democratic contest. “People think it’s worth coming out to, kind of like a big NASCAR event.”

“This is like the NASCAR of Democratic primary elections, because there are more people participating than have ever participated.”

Clinton may have been egged on in her liberal use of sports metaphors by her campaign partner for the day, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley. Flanked by classic cars and classic driver Junior Johnson at Mooresville’s NASCAR museum, Easley said the Bush administration has “had the caution flag out for way too long in our economy. And we’ve got somebody here who doesn’t know but one speed, and that’s the pedal to the metal.”

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GASTONIA, NC - Barack Obama’s campaign and supporters have accused Hillary Clinton of pandering to voters by advocating a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax that they say would do very little to ease people’s pain at the pump. But two actual voters confronted Clinton with the charge at an outdoor rally today — getting the NY Senator all fired up in the process.

“I’ve been all over North Carolina, and people are really upset about these gas prices,” she told the crowd from her perch in the bed of a cherry red 1956 Chevy pickup truck. Spotting a handmade neon green sign in the crowd, she paused. “I see that sign over there,” she said. “Guy’s got a sign saying a gas tax holiday is blatant pandering. Well I’ll tell you what, I’d rather the oil companies pay the gas taxes than you pay the gas taxes this summer.”

“I’ll tell you something else. When the Federal Reserve and the Federal Treasury bailed out Bear Stearns to the tune of $30 billion, I didn’t hear people talking about it being pandering,” said Clinton, voice rising. “I think it’s time we didn’t just bail out Wall Street. What about bailing out Main Street? What about recognizing that for many people, they count those pennies every single week?”

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WAKE FOREST, NC — Hillary Clinton today cast Barack Obama’s opposition to suspending the federal gas tax for the summer as part of a larger inability to provide both short term and long-term solutions to the problems facing the country.

“Someone running for office, particularly running for the presidency, has to be able to deal with both the immediate, the urgent, the long-term and necessary,” she said. From the gas tax, to the mortgage crisis, to health care, Clinton argued that she’s the only candidate who’s shown that ability.

“My opponent is running ads and holding press conferences attacking my plan to try to give you some kind of break this summer,” she said. “There is no contradiction between trying to provide immediate relief and having a long term vision and a plan for what we must do to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and be moving toward more homegrown fuels.”

“So here’s what I propose: I want the oil companies to pay the federal gas tax this summer.”

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CARY, NC – Hillary Clinton said she plans to fight on no matter what happens on Tuesday – but wouldn’t say whether she’d take that fight all the way to the convention in August.

“I plan on going all the way through the next contests, West Virginia and Kentucky and the others,” she told the moderators at a forum for family advice website momlogic.com. “I would not be doing this if I did not believe I’d be the best president.”

While she often touts her ability to do the job on day one in the Oval Office, Clinton made it clear why that immediate readiness is so important. “There’s a narrow window of opportunity for a president before the politics descends upon you again,” she said. “You have to go in there knowing exactly what you intend to do, getting as much done as possible. And having been there gives me a tremendous advantage.”

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RALEIGH, NC – After spending the day attacking Barack Obama for his opposition to her proposal for a federal gas tax holiday, Hillary Clinton preached a message of unity at the Democratic Jefferson Jackson dinner here tonight – but it wasn’t exactly well received.

Telling a crowd that was fairly evenly divided between Clinton and Obama supporters that “the stakes are too high for us not to pull together as one team,” the New York Senator said “If Senator Obama is the nominee you’d better believe I’ll work my heart out for him.” The vocal Obama supporters drowned her out with chants of their candidates name.

As the chants subsided, she said “I hope Senator Obama would say the very same thing” — drawing no real reaction.

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