Barack Obama, in Lima, Ohio, this morning, told reporters that he and his staff are in touch with Gulf Coast officials and will wait to see the impact of the hurricane and to get word on what's most needed in terms of specific supplies or volunteers, and once that becomes clear "we can activate an email list of a couple million people" who support his campaign and would want to help.

As Barack Obama and Joe Biden wrap up their first joint campaign tour since formally accepting the Democratic nomination, Biden is developing one of his roles as running mate - that of self-deprecating Obama admirer who humanizes the campaign. Amid somber talk about Hurricane Gustav, the economy and health care, Biden brought a little levity at his own expense at a town hall meeting in Toledo, Ohio. When a woman in the audience yelled out that she thought Biden was gorgeous, he asked her to repeat what she'd said, and told campaign staffers to make sure his wife Jill heard about it. "I haven't heard that that in a long, long, long time," he joked. Sharing the stage with Obama, who is 47, Biden, 65, added, that "hanging around with this lean young looking guy is making me feel pretty old, you know what I mean?" Later, recalling how he'd campaigned against Obama last year and early this year in the primaries before dropping his bid, Biden interrupted himself and said, "I don't know why the heck I didn't drop out earlier."

Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden are campaigning in Ohio today. But most of the reporters in their "traveling press corps" won't actually see them until around 7 p.m. at a rally at a high school gym in Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb.

That's partly because they're attending a memorial service today for the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Cleveland and it would be unwieldy and inappropriate to show up with dozens of cameras and scribes. But Obama and Biden also are tucking unannnounced local stops into their day. On those, they will be accompanied by a small pool of reporters who share what they see and hear with the other reporters traveling.

Using a pool for smaller events is standard operating procedure. Who's in the pool rotates daily. What's different is that there's typically more than one event per day that the full traveling contingent can attend, and it's typically earlier in the day. It was a similar story Friday, when the campaign plane flew from Denver in the morning to Pittsburgh, Pa., but the reporters outside the pool didn't see Obama and Biden again until nighttime.

With all that background, here are some highlights from this morning's pool report compiled by Mike Dorning of the Chicago Tribune and Nicole Gaudiano of Gannett News Service:

Sen. Barack and Michelle Obama and Sen. Joe and Jill Biden ate breakfast this morning at the Yankee Kitchen, a diner in Boardman, Ohio, a suburb of Youngstown, Ohio. . . Obama and Biden addressed preparations for Hurricane Gustav in response to reporters' questions. Asked about Gustav, Obama said, "We are deeply concerned. I've instructed my Senate staff to monitor the situation closely. Make sure we've contacted both FEMA but also private relief organizations just to make sure that whatever happens people are prepared. And, you know, obviously we're going to be each day seeing what happens and we're praying for New Orleans but we want to make sure that people are making all the necessary precautions."

Biden: "The news cast as I was shaving this morning, it looks like it's heading straight to New Orleans. I've spent a fair amount of time down there, my daughter went down to Tulane down there, Jill was there for a week after when the hurricane hit last time. And it's just, you know, hope to God.

"Last time when it hit my son's guard unit, he headed up a guard unit in Mississippi because Delaware was the first ...guard unit to head down into Mississippi. When I say headed up, he was first on the ground and because of his rank, he was he was the guy in charge. It looks like this time, theyre not taking any, they're not taking any chances. So say a prayer. Say a prayer it doesn't hit. They've had enough."

Asked how he was adjusting to his new role (as vice president), Biden said, "I hope I'm adjusting well."

The Obamas and Bidens spent 40 minutes at the Yankee Kitchen, arriving at 8:32 am and departing at 9:12 a.m. Most of that time was spent shaking hands, greeting and posing for photos with the customers, several of whom said they found out the night before that Obama was expected.

After working the room, the two couples sat down together at a corner booth in the rear of the restaurant to eat breakfast. Obama ordered two eggs over medium, a waffle, bacon and orange juice. Michelle had french toast. Biden had french toast and Jill had scrambled eggs and toast. The Obamas drank orange juice while the Bidens drank coffee. (Some Obama trivia for you: the senator has previously said he long ago gave up caffeine.)

Obama walked over to co-owner Phillip Raptis, age 57, part way through to attempt to pay the bill. Taking a wad of cash out of his pocket, Obama went back and forth with Raptis trying to pay the bill, with Raptis at one point pushing away Obama's hand (and the cash in it.) Raptis never did take the money but Obama later told broadcast pooler Sunlen Miller of ABC that his staff would settle the bill.

Herb Washington stopped by the Obama-Biden booth while they were eating. He's a Boardman, Ohio, resident and a McDonalds franchise owner who hosted a fundraiser for Obama last June. Washington was wearing golf clothes. Standing next to him, Biden said "I've got my clubs with me. Guys, I'm sorry, I'm going with him." Biden said, "I'm playing like an 18 now," apparently talking about his handicap. Washington later said that Biden wanted shots. He said Biden told him his handicap was in the single digits (he either wasn't sure or didn't want to say the number specifically) and that Biden told him being on the ticket isn't good for the handicap. Washington said he bought his second McDonalds from Michelle Obama's uncle.

"I think it's a great ticket," he said. "It was always my hope he would pick Senator Biden because of his foreign relations experience and his experience in the Senate. I caution folks, do not underestimate (opponent Republican John) McCain."

The Obama campaign launched a 30-second ad on cable TV arguing that Republican John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate is merely meant to distract from the fact McCain would be a continuation of President Bush’s policies. “So, while this may be his running-mate,” the announcer says with a photo of McCain and Palin on the screen, “America knows this is John McCain’s agenda.” The visual switches to McCain with Bush. “We can’t afford four more years of the same.”

If the reception he's getting in Beaver, Pa., is any indication, Joe Biden may well give Barack Obama some of that boost he wants in this big swing state. The crowd - estimated at more than 8,000 by the local police chief - went wild at an outdoor rally here tonight in western Pennsylvania when the Democratic nominee's running mate, a Pennsylvania native, was introduced tonight and told them, "My name's Joe Biden. I'm from Scranton, Pa." and said support from steelworkers was key to his first election as Delaware senator in 1972. Obama and Biden were an hour late to the Beaver event. It was their first rally since formally accepting the nomination at the Democratic National Convention - although earlier in the day they'd stopped jointly in the Pittsburgh area to tour a business and to get ice cream. Obama drew lots of applause from this crowd when he said "Let's face it, John McCain's not going to bring change." He didn't mention McCain's choosing a woman as his running mate. "I need Pennsylvania," Obama told the crowd. "I need Beaver, Pa." Leo Girard, international president of the United Steelworkers of America, who warmed up the crowd for Obama and Biden, told everybody that McCain running mate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's husband was a member of the Steelworkers union. But he said, "Being the wife of a steel worker doesn't necessarily qualify you for president."