In Pennsylvania, just down the street from Palin

The tug of war between supporters of John McCain and Barack Obama is very evident in Pennsylvania.

After landing at Pittsburgh International Airport, I got a lift from an old college buddy east to a small town called Greensburg, about 15 minutes from the site of Gov. Sarah Palin's rally tomorrow (Friday).

Along the way, I kept tabs of how many McCain and Obama signs I saw. At least in this part of the state, Obama signs appear to be holding the lead.

It's hard to gauge this town in the dark, but it's mainly comprised of a tight main road with a concrete median running down the center. There's lots of traffic, the trees still have leaves and it's about 50 degrees outside.

I'm meeting up with Palin and the rest of the press pool tomorrow morning at 7:45 a.m. She's staying in a hotel up the road.

Palin will hold a rally in Latrobe, Penn., which is about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh in Westmoreland County.

After researching the town a bit, I found Latrobe has some inklings of being Wasilla-like,

In 2000, the city had just under 8,000 people, it has a local brewery and local college. It has its own local airport, just like Wasilla.

It's also the home of Fred Rogers, the deceased children's television start. That has nothing to do with Wasilla, but that's still a nice claim to fame.

Another Wasilla-like element to Latrobe is its railroad station, though Latrobe's is an Amtrak stop.

I've got a lot of questions I'm interested in asking Palin when and if I get a chance to sit down with her. I really want to know how this whole experience has changed her, or if she thinks it has at all. Of course, there's a lot that's gone on since she left the state to begin stumping for McCain, so some of that will drive my coverage.

I'll travel with Palin throughout the day Friday and attend various rallies and tours of what seem like local blue-collar employment outlets.

It seems like political season is taking its toll on some of the locals here. Almost every time I mention to someone why I'm in town, they all respond pretty much the same way: mostly by saying, “Let's just get it over with.”

We'll see how the locals react tomorrow with only five days to go until election day in this heavily fought-for state.

Michael Rovito, reporter