We'll be at Sen. Barack Obama's campaign event tomorrow morning, and I'll be guest blogging live from inside Penn State Behrend's Junker Center starting at about 8:30 a.m.

Browse to this site as soon as your sit to your desk tomorrow morning for the latest updates and images from the rally.

-- Cody Switzer

Set up is underway at the Junker Center at Penn State Behrend about two hours before the Barack Obama town hall meeting on April 18. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/Erie Times-News

We just sat down here inside the Junker Center, which is still mostly empty except for a handful of Obama campaign volunteers and a few members of the media.

Sen. Obama will be speaking in the round today. The podium set up underneath one of the basketball hoops. There are bleachers on three sides, and the court is covered with folding chairs.

The campaign music is already blaring. This is our final confirmation that campaign music is just about the same for every candidate -- we just heard Bruce Springsteen's "The Rising."

The difference -- Blink-182 is playing now.

-- Cody Switzer

Marie Szklenski, left, 17, Jessica Wilson, center, 17, and Leila Zorzie, left, 18, all of North East, were some of the first in line at the Junker Center at Penn State Behrend in Harborcreek Township about an hour and a half the Barack Obama town hall meeting on April 18. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

The first group in the long line to get in the door arrived at 6 a.m.

Leila Zorzie, 18; Jessie Wilson, 17; and Marie Szklenski, 17, all of North East, said they were outside the Junker Center’s doors, covered in blankets and leaning against the wall for most of the morning.

“We’re here to watch history happen,” Zorzie said.

-- Lisa Thompson

A line of Obama supporters stretches around the Junker Center at Penn State Behrend in Harborcreek Township about an hour and a half the Barack Obama town hall meeting on April 18. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/Erie Times-News

In the long line outside -- which stretches well beyond the Junker Center and in to campus -- Estella Hyde is stirring up support for an issue she cares about very much in this year.

Hyde, the president of the Pennsylvania chapter of the AARP and a Linesville resident, has been traveling across the state this primary season campaigning for health care and financial security.

:"We want candidates, no matter who they are, to look at long-term health care for everybody," she said.

That's why she was here today, wearing a bright red T-shirt with dividewefail.com written across the chest, handing out detailed pamphlets with every candidates position on healthcare and financial security.

That's also why she was disappointed in Wednesday's debate, which she attended -- those issues were almost completely ignored, she said.

-- Cody Switzer

The Obama campaign just played Kanye West's "Testify" across the loud speakers.

The Clintons kept with a pretty conservative mix of classic rock and adult contemporary, but Obama has so far played hip hop, indie rock and some light punk, with the standard Springsteen and U2.

Now playing: The Arcade Fire, "Keep the Car Running."

Obama, who polls well among young voters, could be playing to that demographic here, though the audience is fairly diverse in terms of age and race.

-- Cody Switzer

Sen. Barack Obama will be making a stop at the Erie Bolt Corporation, 1325 Liberty St., before coming to the event today.

He will tour the facility for about 20 minutes.

-- Kevin Flowers

Sen. Barack Obama and his press corps apparently stayed in Erie at the new Bayfront Sheraton last night.

This morning, Obama worked out in the gym on the first floor of the newly-opened building and walked through the lobby.

The hotel opened a week ago today.

-- Kevin Flowers

As the gymnasium here at the Junker Center fills, the line outside is shrinking. The line, which once stretched into campus, is now only 100 feet beyond the building.

Anti-abortion protesters have also begun to show up outside the building, some holding signs calling Sen. Obama a "Pro-abortion extremist." Similar protests have occured outside almost every Democratic campaign appearance in northwest Pennsylvania.

-- Lisa Thompson and Cody Switzer

Obama just finished a short tour of Erie Bolt Corporation, taking a moment to pose for photos with some of the workers before he left.

Obama also toured the facility with members of management, walking to shop floor and looking at the operation.

The campaign bus just left the Liberty Street building and is on it's way to Penn State Behrend.

-- Kevin Flowers

Security is about standard for what we've seen from political visits this spring.

While the Secret Service isn't being specific on all of their security measures, we do know that some Erie Bureau of Police officers are on hand for crowd control and a Pennsylvania State Police bomb-sniffing dog is outside soaking up some sun.

The line seemed to enter the building quickly.

-- Lisa Thompson

The Junker Center at Penn State Behrend is almost full at 10:30am as 1,800 people wait for the Barack Obama town hall meeting on April 18. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/Erie Times-News

1,800 tickets were given out for this event, and almost all of those ticket holders are in the Junker Center now.

The crowd is waiting mostly patiently, with very few people standing.

There is a wide array of people at the event -- a lot of college students, but also a lot of older folks. So far we've seen jackets and T-shirts from several unions and veteran's organizations, and at least one set of fraternity letters.

Now playing: R.E.M.'s "Orange Crush."

-- Cody Switzer

Dejonair Johnson, 7, of Erie, waits in a line of Obama supporters stretching around the Junker Center at Penn State Behrend in Harborcreek Township about an hour and a half the Barack Obama town hall meeting on April 18. GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

Erie Times-News reporter Kevin Flowers, who was with Obama's entourage this morning, just arrived at the Junker Center.

Obama, who was riding in a Chevy Suburban in front of the media bus, is on scene now, and should be taking the stage soon.

-- Cody Switzer

I've been to a few of these campaign events this year, and I've noticed some things that happen right before the candidate (or their surrogate) takes the stage, usually in the following order.

1) The music gets louder, or at least it seems to.

2) Members of the media will scream things like "We have WiFi," or "The soapbox is here," meaning that the wireless Internet network has arrived with the traveling press.

3) The chatter from the crowd increases, people start dancing, bobbing their head more to the music. The crowd seems to get restless waiting, and that's what a lot of these events come down to -- a lot of waiting.

4) A campaign spokesman takes the mic to pump up the crowd and make sure that the audio connection is working for all the cameras.

5) The music fades out.

-- Cody Switzer

Pennsylvania's Sen. Bob Casey has just taken the stage to introduce Obama.

He mentioned the fact that the city of Erie and the county supported his father as governor before asking one more favor -- that everyone in the audience go out and help Obama before the primary.

The crowd broke out in a chant of "Yes, we can."

"The reason we are here is because we love and care about our country, and we know that in the past few years our country has gone down the wrong path," Casey said.

He said that Obama can put the country back on path, and "bring real change to America," taking on special interests and uniting the nation.

Casey pledged his support for Obama earlier in the primary campaign.

-- Cody Switzer

Barack Obama just took the stage to a chorus of "Yes, we can," chants and a standing ovation.

Obama opened by saying that some people in the area were questioning if he would show up -- he joked that he was just waiting for the weather to improve.

"I just wanted to see it get near the 80s," he said.

Obama then thanked the crowd and several local officials, including a special thank you to Sen. Bob Casey, who introduced Obama.

-- Cody Switzer

"We purposefully made this not a rally because I wanted to spend some time answering your questions," Obama said.

He set into a few remarks -- telling the crowd that he has been running for president for 15 months, enough time for a child to learn to walk and talk.

Obama's first issue was the war in Iraq, a war he has pledged he would end if elected to the presidency.

He cited the length of the war and the cost of keeping troops in Iraq, among other issues.

"It has not saved us, in fact it has distracted us from the job we should be doing hunting down Bin Laden," he said.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama's second issue was the economy, citing rising costs of living without higher wages and other economic problems.

"Families are working harder and harder just to get by," Obama said.

He touched on the home foreclosure problem, the cost of an education and gas prices before tying issues together.

"We can not wait to make more jobs in Pennsylvania, we can not wait to end the war in Iraq," he said before drowning out with cheering.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama speaks about changing government. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

Obama briefly touched on his past as a church organizer in Chicago after several plants closed down there, helping people with job training and finding new careers.

It's a blue collar appeal that Obama could use now, especially in a working-class area like Erie.

After Obama's much-talked-about "bitter" comment last week, some writers following the race -- like Time's Jay Newton-Small -- said it could seriously hurt his chances of winning Pennsylvania, where he was gaining on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the polls before the quote broke.

The comment create such a stir that it dominated cable news and generated so much commentary and insight that it is nearly impossible to find the original report on the Internet.

-- Cody Switzer

"It's not enough to change political parties in the White House, we need to change our politics as well," Obama said.

Obama used healthcare reform first as an example of changes politicians have talked about for years, but haven't really changed.

He went on to talk about energy policy, saying that there can't be changed with men who made their fortunes in the oil industry -- President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, specifically -- are making the decision in government.

That's why he said he doesn't take money from oil lobbyists.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama outlined his healthcare plan, some of which he said he has already proposed in congress.

His plan involves offering the congressional health care plan to every American, and subsidize that care if people can't afford it. Preexisting conditions won't matter. He will emphasize prevention and check ups.

The section of his speech ended with a volley of cheers, drowning out his last words..

Obama addresses the Junker Center crowd. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

Obama then went into his plans for American business, including innovation in industry and beginning new businesses.

He said he also plans on giving tax breaks to the middle class and abolish income tax on social security for senior citizens making less than $50,000 a year.

Obama also said if elected he would push for stronger penalties against CEOs who try to leave bankrupt companies on a "gold parachute" while their worker's suffer and also businesses that leave America for cheaper labor.

Obama said one possible for solution for building the economy is new jobs using new technology.

"We need to realize our future is in new jobs in clean energy," he said.

One example he gave is using worker's from a closed steel mill to open a new business devoted to adding energy efficient features to buildings.

Obama drew a standing ovation when talking about reforming the military to provide better care for returning soldiers, work out better troop rotations and end the war in Iraq.

He also spoke briefly about his ideas on foreign policy, which are based on talking to not only our friends, but also our enemies.

"We should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear to negotiate," Obama said, quoting John F. Kennedy.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama addresses the Junker Center crowd. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

Obama put aside bickering within the Democratic Party, saying that no matter who is elected in this primary, the party will come together by November.

He then turned against a common enemy for the democrats -- John McCain.

He quoted a McCain statement saying that the economy has made "great progress" during the Bush administration. He made a local appeal by talking about the Steris Company, which relocated to Mexico.

He also spoke briefly about McCain's stance on staying in Iraq.

Both points drew loud cheers.

-- Cody Switzer

A raucous crowd began the question and answer session with another "Yes, we can," chant and at least one scream of "We love you!"

Obama silenced the crowd and explained how the question-and-answer portion would work.

"We're going to go boy-girl-boy-girl to make sure it's fair," Obama said. "Ladies first."

Obama prepares to answer questions from the crowd. GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

The first question from the crowd was from a Mercyhurst College student majoring in intelligence studies who asked about intelligence and a possible politicizing of the intelligence community during the Bush administration.

He cited the war in Iraq as a failure of intelligence, due, in part, to the fact that some agents and intelligence analysts were ignored when they said Iraq had no link to Al-Qaeda.

"I don't want just good news," he said. "I want facts."

He also said that the nation has to encourage students to learn languages that will help our intelligence community and encourage cooperation between the intelligence agencies.

In the same answer he touched on warrantless wiretapping, coming out strongly against it.

Bennie Ward, 45, of Erie, told Obama that he was disabled and asked for help. GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

Bennie Ward, 45, of Erie -- who later said he was legally blind -- asked Obama what he could do for him, living only on a disability check with bills piling up.

"My first question is always going to be, what can you do for yourself?" Obama said.

He went on to explain that some jobs can be done with minor alterations to accommodate the physically handicapped. Some employers aren't willing to make those changes.

He continued by saying that everyone needs a living wage, and he would work to ensure that.

A college age student stood up while Obama was answering the question to take a picture, and Obama called him on it. "Look at this young man," he said. "Posing for a picture..."

"Penn State," Obama said, laughing.

A woman who works in Penn State Behrend's financial aid office asked what kind of benefits veterans should receive in Obama's opinion and also how civilians could pay for college.

His answer: You're entire college education should be paid if you serve in the military, at least the most expensive public university in your state. Private universities could be included if they are willing to match that amount.

He also said he wanted to increase funding in Pell Grants and take out the "middlemen" in the college funding process, like banks and other loan agencies.

Obama continued to say that tax credits would also be available, but young people would have to give back to their communities through programs like the Peace Corps.

Obama continues to take questions at the Junker Center. GREG WOHLFORD/Erie Times-News

Referring to the growing controversy over the "bitter" comment Obama made over the weekend, the next man to ask a question offered his support.

"You can tell everyone that we are bitter here in Erie, because of jobs going overseas," the man said.

The crowd agreed and cheered.

The man then asked what Obama would do to create jobs in Erie.

Some of his solutions included giving tax breaks to companies who are working on research and development in new technology. He said he would pay for the breaks by auditing current tax breaks and removing those that benefit companies going overseas.

Another solution he came up with is improving infrastructure like roads, bridges and broadband communication lines.

Obama also advocated new businesses that create jobs by saving energy and working with new, cleaner technologies.

-- Cody Switzer

A woman voiced concerns over a public healthcare program devaluing the quality of doctors and hospitals.

Obama said that would not be the case.

He said that people could keep their own healthcare if they wanted to, but it would actually increase medical service because his plan would ignore preexisting conditions.

People who don't have healthcare would benefit greatly from the program, he said.

"You shouldn't have worse healthcare than me, because you pay my salary as a tax payer," he said.

He touched on the similarities between his plan and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's plan. He admitted that the plans are 95 percent the same, but he can actually accomplish the goal.

Obama said that because he hasn't accepted lobbyist money he would be more likely to push the plan forward. He also said that the drug and insurance companies would be brought before the public, that any negotiations would be televised on C-SPAN so that people could see what was happening.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama wraps up his speech. JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News

A veteran stood and didn't ask Obama a question, but simply thanked him for running.

Obama, in turn, thanked the veteran for serving America.

Obama again used the opportunity to talk about withdrawing from Iraq.

"I just want everybody to understand that it is going to be messy, that it is going to be difficult, to get out of Iraq, but it is in our strategic interest to get out," he said.

He also said he would make sure every veteran would be screened for post-traumatic stress disorder when they returned.

-- Cody Switzer

"I am reminded every day, sometimes by events and sometimes by my wife, that I am not a perfect man, and I will not be a perfect president," Obama said. "But I will tell you what's on my mind... and I will tell you the truth."

He concluded his speech with a request: "Give me a chance to serve you as president."

"Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours," blasted over the loud speakers.

-- Cody Switzer

Officially, 2,200 people were in attendance today.

Originally, only 1,800 were going to be distributed.

-- Cody Switzer

Obama only took a few minutes to shake hands before leaving the gymnasium.

Most of the 2,200 people here for the speech are filing out now, and mostly gone.

The crowd was decidedly pro-Obama, giving him several standing ovations and occasionally chanting, "Yes, we can. Yes, we can."

Be sure to check back to this blog later today for video and audio from the event, and pick up Saturday's Erie Times-News for complete coverage.

-- Cody Switzer