Weekend in politics: Jobs report, hectic campaigning, and more

Phil Pruitt

It's the last weekend of campaigning in the race for the White House, and it will begin with the last monthly jobs report before Election Day.

Economists expect the unemployment rate to tick up to 7.9 percent from September's surprising drop to 7.8 percent, Reuters reports. Here's an easy prediction: No matter what the Friday morning report shows, President Barack Obama will say it shows the economy is on the right track but more work needs to be done, and Republican nominee Mitt Romney will say it shows Obama's economic policies are all wrong.

[UPDATE: October hiring beats economists' projections]
 [UPDATE: Obama, Romney clash on jobs report]

As for the campaigning this weekend, it's the battle for the battleground states, and just trying to follow the candidates' schedules will make you dizzy.

Obama will hit Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia, Florida, New Hampshire and Colorado before the end of the day Sunday.

Romney has stops in Wisconsin, Ohio, New Hampshire, Iowa and Colorado over the weekend.

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What about the running mates? Vice President Joe Biden will be in Wisconsin and Colorado, and Paul Ryan in Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida. Romney and Ryan will campaign together Friday in Ohio.

First lady Michelle Obama will be on the road, too, this weekend with campaign events in Virginia and Ohio. And former President Bill Clinton will be campaigning for Obama in Florida and Virginia.

Also worth noting: Ralph Nader will host a debate for third-party presidential candidates Sunday evening at Busboys and Poets restaurant in Washington, and "Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden," a full-length feature about the manhunt and raid that took down al-Qaida's leader, will be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel at 8 p.m. EST Sunday. The killing of bin Laden is a foreign policy achievement frequently cited by Obama.

And then there is this: Friday marks four days until Election Day. That's 96 hours. The stump speeches and campaign ads really are coming to an end.

Sources: Yahoo! News, Associated Press, Reuters