If the Obama campaign is focusing on the working class and manufacturing on its "Betting On America" bus tour through northern Ohio and Western Pa later this week, why is it rallying at one of the most expensive colleges in the country?

The campaign's national press secretary Ben LaBolt responded to that question in a media conference call today (lodged by the Inky's Tom Fitzgerald) regarding Obama's speech Friday at CMU, mixing some G20-esque PR for the city with a political answer on education.

"Pittsburgh in many ways has been a success story for other cities and towns across the midwest, in that it's figured out how to get back onto its feet in the new economy. Carnegie Mellon's got an engineering school and is representative of the sorts of investments the president's been talking about," LaBolt said. "To build an economy that lasts we need to invest in research and development to spur innovation, andwe need to invest in education, and we need to ensure that the skills our workers have match the jobs that are available on the market."

State Democratic Party chair/Allegheny County councilman Jim Burn added the Oakland location is easy for Obama supporters to get to, and is one they should be familiar with, as then-senator Obama visited the campus four years ago. (He's visited twice as president and once as a candidate.)

Some loose ends this pre-holiday Tuesday:

State Sen. John Pippy's resigning to probably take a job at the Pa Coal Association, but we won't know the position until Monday. The assumption is he won't lobby for them, as the state has a 1-year revolving door ban.

The federal government is full-speed ahead on requiring broadcast TV stations in Pittsburgh and the other 49 major markets to post their political ad guy information online, starting Aug. 2, even though broadcasters are suing to stop the FCC requirement. (Sunlight Foundation)

The HuffPost wrote a story -- pegged to a video posted by the Pa Dem party -- on GOP Senate candidate Tom Smith saying a Tea Party speaker spoke "eloquently" in a speech comparing the Obama admin to Nazi Germany.

Speaking of Sunlight, they have another story showing Smith has spent the 4th most on advertising of any congressional candidate nationwide. He's spent $2.57 million on ads so far.

Smith's coal-industry compatriot to the south, John Raese, has a tough new ad tying Joe Manchin to the Obama administration's environmental policies. (Politico Morning Score)

The Obama campaign has released a new ad in Pa, Ohio and a couple other states in advance of his two-day bus swing Thursday and Friday that sounds familiar themes: it hits Romney's business past at Bain Capital and lauds Obama's auto bailout for helping manufacturing. Expect to hear a lot of that stuff during the "Betting On America" tour, including at a CMU stop Friday afternoon. Tickets will be distributed starting at 11 a.m. today at Obama's campaign offices in the city.

In addition, Joe Biden is in Scanton today after addressing the Obama-friendly NEA. The Romney camp has issued a memo from Republican Senators Pat Toomey and Rob Portman welcoming the Obama camp to their states: "What he will no doubt hear from them is a sense of overwhelming frustration. Voters want an explanation: Why did he fail to live up to the many promises he made to them in his last campaign and during his time in office?" it says.

The Romney camp also issued this infographic on unemployment figures (click for larger version):

As we noted in the wee hours of Sunday morning, state Sen. John Pippy vacated his legislative seat just before the clock struck midnight.

His announcement comes after the veteran Republican lawmaker and National Guardsman had already declared he would not run for re-election. That led to a nasty GOP primary, and the pending replacement of the Democratic candidate in the 37th Senatorial District contest.

Pippy didn't explain in his late-night statement why he's now leaving mid-session (though when the Senate returns to Harrisburg on September 24, they likely will only remain in session for three weeks or so before resuming fall campaigning).

An Associated Press article says he's taking a private-sector position, but that he won't reveal what it is until next Monday. 

Pippy's departure means there's two state Senate vacancies for the moment, and both seats previously held by Allegheny County Republicans. That leaves four of the county's six senators in place -- all Democrats. 

While geography can be deceiving when describing legislative representation, the red portion of the map above shows the senator-less section of Allegheny -- unless state Rep. Randy Vulakovich is successful in the August 7 special election to fill former Sen. Jane Orie's 40th District seat.