Angela Couloumbis reports: Check out the latest voter registration numbers just released by Pennsylvania's Department of State.

In a single week - the week of March 24th - 42,867 new voters registered to vote. Of that, 33,281 registered Democratic.

In that same week, 45,977 people switched parties to become Democrats, bringing the total number of Ds in the state to over 4 million.

State Republicans have said that they believe they will be able to reclaim many of the GOPers out there who switched camps so they can vote in Pennsylvania's April 22 primary contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

And some have even suggested that Republican loyalists are heeding a call from Rush Limbaugh to temporarily register as Democrats to vote for the candidate who is least likely to beat Sen. John McCain in November.

But still, the numbers are somewhat sobering for the GOP. In the same time period - the week of March 24 - only 1,808 people switched parties to register Republican. And only 5,986 new people signed up under the GOP banner.

Thomas Fitzgerald reports:

Superdelegate momentum for Obama

Even as he continues to speak in Lancaster, Pa., Sen. Barack Obama got some significant good news for his campaign - the endorsement of freshman Sen. Amy Klobuchar, of Minnesota, who is a Democratic superdelegate.

Said Klobuchar:

“The energy that Barack has unleashed is impossible to contain,” said Klobuchar, noting caucus turnout in Minnesota was three times the previous record – more than anyone imagined or planned for – including many first-time caucus-goers, particularly young people and independents.  Obama won Minnesota’s caucuses 66%-32%.

Sen. Klobuchar is the 64th superdelegate to endorse Obama since Feb. 5. Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey was the 64th last Friday.

Thomas Fitzgerald reports:

12:07 p.m.

This internet meme will not die. An earnest young man in a ball cap asked Barack Obama where he stood on the plan to unite Canada the U.S. and Mexico, with a new currency, the "amero." The man also asked if it was true that Obama was a member of the "globalist" Council on Foreign Relations?

"With all due respect," Obama said, "I see no evidence...there is no conspiracy to create one continental government." He also said that he has spoken to the Council on Foreign Relations, which ihe said is not a nefarious group, but does not think that makes him an official member. "I don't have a membership card and there's no special handshake or anything," he said.

10:46 a.m.

Barack Obama, the candidate of hope, the self-described "hopemonger," starts off with a real bummer. The economy "teetering on the edge of chaos," college unaffordable, 47 million without health care, an endless and wrong-headed war, "the people who killed 3,000 Americans still plotting against us because we are distracted."

Somehow, I think that the hope will come. Here it is: "I'm here to report that the American people are ready." For change, to come together politically and racially.

10:33 a.m.

Barack Obama has begun speaking at Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology in Lancaster, but  he's inaudible due to the cheering, kicking off the fourth day of the 6-day busathon.

"I'm having a great time," he said. "We played some basketball with Bob casey and neither of us got injured. We stopped by some sports bars and had, I admit, a few beers. I fed a calf with a big bottle and theat went alright and then we went bowling, which didn't go so well. There was an 8-year-old giving me tips."

AP

Catherine Lucey reports:

Just how are the Pennsylvania delegates assigned? If you're as confused as we are, check out this story from Dave Davies.

And Will Bunch reports that liberal bloggers think the mainstream press is going easy on John McCain.

Obama is picking up more Democratic party endorsements, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Politico asks: is Clinton having cash flow problems?
Dems look ahead to a cruel, cruel summer.

Who are the undecided Superdelegates? Check out this Politico report.

Karl Rove has convention advice for the Democrats in Newsweek.

The New York Times reports McCain is having trouble courting President Bush's big money fundraisers.

Larry Eichel reports...

It's Day Three of the Obama bus tour, and the candidate has just finished the big event of the day, a mass rally at Penn State on the lawn in front of Old Main. University police estimated the crowd at 22,000. We think that might be a little high. But there were a lot of people.

Obama gave his standard speech, with a few adjustments. And he certainly showed that he understands how Penn State works. Right at the start, he mentioned that he'd met with assistant football coach, Jay Paterno, son of Joe and an Obama supporter. He gave out a shout out to Sue Paterno, wife of Joe, who was in the crowd. And he mentioned that he'd just talked (by cellphone, it turns out) with Joe Pa himself. We're told the conversation was about football and intercollegiate athletics generally. The 81-year-old head football coach is a Republican.

Earlier in the day, Obama played a game of basketball and visited a dairy farm run by Penn State. He fed some milk to a calf and said his young daughters would think that was cool. He said he talks to them everyday, they ask what he did, and he says he gave a speech. "Boring" is the usual reply. Probably not when he next talks to them.

Now, the caravan of buses is heading south on Route 322, heading toward a town-hall meeting in Harrisburg. Obama plans to stop a few times along the way to mingle with the populace.

Larry Eichel reports...

The bus does move after all. Even as we blog, Barack Obama is seeing the high points of Altoona. He's already been to Altoona's Original Texas Hotdogs and had some hot dogs. Now, he's bowling at the Pleasant Valley Recreation Center. We're reliably informed that if he's not too exhausted by all of this heavy-duty sightseeing that he plans to hit a sports bar in State College to watch the NCAA tournament.

On Sunday, for a change of pace, he's going to do the more usual Obama thing -- a mass rally attended by thousands of adoring fans. This will take place outside on the Penn State campus.

And here's video from the tour:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/multimedia/17138301.html

Larry Eichel reports...

The Obama bus tour across Pennsylvania began the day in Johnstown. And now, at mid-afternoon, we're still in Johnstown.

The candidate started the day with a tour of Johnstown Wire Technologies, a plant that makes wire. It was a pretty standard tour, with Obama signing autographs for workers and posing for photographs.

Upon entering the factory, Obama was given a Slinky, that famous toy that goes down stairs all by itself. The factory makes the wire used in the toy. He fidgeted with it throughout the tour. He could not put it down. Of course, there really was no place for him to put it down.

He just finished a town hall meeting at the local high school, then is headed for a number of stops in Altoona, including a bowling alley and perhaps a sports bar. The glamorous life of a candidate and his entourage.