Candidates criss-cross battleground states

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania, tapped as key for Republican John McCain's presidential campaign, took center stage Tuesday with visits by both major-party candidates on tap.

McCain, whose campaign designated Pennsylvania as a state it will try to peel away from Obama, planned a solo appearance in Hershey and a joint rally with running mate Sarah Palin in Quakertown. Palin was scheduled to stump in other Keystone State locales while McCain traveled to North Carolina, a normally reliable Republican state that is in play this election.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama, meanwhile, scheduled a rally in Harrisburg. Obama, also visiting Virginia Tuesday, and former primary rival Sen. Hillary Clinton were slated for joint appearances in New Hampshire and Colorado.

Obama leads McCain in the national polls and most surveys of battleground states, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Speaking in Ohio and Pennsylvania Monday, Obama's address, described by aides as a "closing argument," reviewed his platforms for the economy, education, energy and national security, downplayed partisan politics and revived the themes of change and hope the Illinois senator used in the primaries.

McCain, meanwhile, reiterated his economic policy and portrayed Obama as a tax-and-spend liberal while stumping in Ohio and Pennsylvania as well. He touted his experience and urged voters to look beyond Obama's oratory to his record.