Biden's Friday in West Virginia

From NBC's Ron Allen The nation's most senior senator, Robert C. Byrd , looks a bit frail these days -- but he remains quite feisty. On Friday, in the heart of Charleston, WV, he sat on stage in a wheelchair, with an appropriate-sized lectern and microphone in front of him, tucked next to the main podium, as Joe Biden made the Democratic ticket's first foray here for Barack Obama . Until recently, the Mountain State seemed beyond reach. Byrd sat flanked by the state's other Democratic heavyweights, Sen. Jay Rockefeller and Gov. Joe Manchin , a powerful united front trying to make a strong last minute case for Obama-Biden. Byrd's voice was muffled, at times almost lost in the PA system, and difficult to hear as he read his remarks. Manchin helped by turning the pages. Seemingly unable to summon more volume, Byrd instead repeated the candidates' names -- and others he wanted to emphasize -- numerous times, to help drive his message. A well-placed holler helped too. As in, "my friend ... (link)