Obama visiting Lima this morning

    LIMA - Barack Obama visited Lima this morning, attending services at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 209 W. North St.

    A spokesperson for the Obama campaign confirmed the visit at 10 a.m., saying the services were about to start.

    The possibility of an Obama visit to Lima was raised last week as the Democratic convention was being held. Obama made plans to visit Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan over Labor Day Weekend.

     The visits mark the first time in at least 50 years a Democratic presidential candidate has visited Allen County, which is a longtime Republican stronghold for Ohio.

    Obama and vice presidential selection Joe Biden also will be in Toledo today, where they will discuss the economy. After that, they hold a rally in Battle Creek, Mich.

     On Saturday, Obama campaigned in Northeast Ohio as well as the Columbus area.

      In Boardman, he expressed hope that the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina three years ago would help to protect the Gulf Coast from Hurricane Gustav this time.

      Obama and Biden visited a diner in this Youngstown suburb, an area that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton carried during her failed presidential bid. Trying to connect with those who are economically struggling, the Democratic candidates and their wives chatted with diners and told reporters that a properly orchestrated evacuation would be key to protecting the Gulf Coast.

        "It wasn't last time, and hopefully we've learned from that tragedy," Obama told reporters as he left the diner, heading to a memorial service for the late Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She died Aug. 20 from a brain hemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm.

       On the way to an evening rally in the Columbus area, Obama spoke to Federal Emergency Management Agency chief David Paulison, Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. He also spoke with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal.

      While at the capital-area rally in Dublin, he joked about the marathon primary season: "After 19 months of traversing through every state except Alaska," Obama began, referencing the home state of John McCain's vice presidential pick Sarah Palin and earning laughs. "Which now that I think about it, we're going to have to go there now."