Good to see the push in Appalachia:

With national and battleground-state polls giving Barack Obama a healthy lead, his campaign is redoubling efforts in Appalachia, the scene of several primary-season defeats, to see if it can finally win over the region's white, working-class voters.

 

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden on Friday talked about plans to create jobs and cut middle-class taxes, at a rally in Charleston, W.V., his first campaign visit to the Mountain State. "We estimate [the plan] will create 12,000 jobs here in West Virginia alone," Sen. Biden told the crowd of roughly 3,000.

Earlier this month, the Obama campaign began airing its first statewide advertisements in West Virginia, where Republican nominee John McCain has been leading in recent polls. A new TV ad called "Defend," airing throughout Appalachia, where gun rights are a big concern, touts Sen. Obama's pledge to uphold the Second Amendment.

Appalachia includes a wide swath of rural, mostly white, low-income communities stretching into key battleground states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia. George W. Bush won the area in 2000 and 2004, and Sen. Hillary Clinton handily beat Sen. Obama there in the primaries. But mounting voter concerns about the economy and the Illinois Democrat's growing lead in many polls are encouraging him to intensify his efforts in the region.

---------------------

Obama Intensifies Effort in Appalachia

By AMY CHOZICK, WSJ

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122489199081768515.html?mod=djemTew

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- With national and battleground-state polls giving Barack Obama a healthy lead, his campaign is redoubling efforts in Appalachia, the scene of several primary-season defeats, to see if it can finally win over the region's white, working-class voters.