BILLARY: When Bubba Comes To Town

INQUIRER: Former President Bill Clinton is in town today for a speech at the University of Pennsylvania, which he squeezed between some politicking for his wife among diner patrons in the morning and patrons of another sort later on.Clinton dropped by the Penrose Diner in South Philadelphia around 10 a.m.

Then he was off to Penn, to present the keynote address at “Kerner Plus 40,” a University of Pennsylvania-hosted symposium on the legacy of the national commission created by President Johnson in 1968 to investigate the state of U.S. race relations, and the causes behind dozens of urban riots during the turbulent civil rights movement.

Later, in a private meeting with 40 to 50 of Hillary Clinton’s most prominent supporters in Pennsylvania, the former president was expected to rally the faithful, “to brief them on her presidential campaign,” and “energize them” for the organizational work to be done ahead of the Keystone state’s primary in April, said Mark Nevins, Pennsylvania communications director for the Clinton campaign.

Among those invited to the private session are Gov. Rendell, Mayor Nutter, Pennsylvania state Democratic Party Chairman, T.J. Rooney, and other high-profile supporters, said Nevins, who described the meeting as “the kick-off of the Clinton campaign in Pennsylvania.” MORE

RELATED: Bill Clinton is dutifully traveling from state to state and small town to small town on behalf of his wife’s presidential candidacy. But the growling and snapping Bill Clinton the nation saw before the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries has been muzzled and leashed. He is being kept as far from the news media as possible to prevent any more of the red-faced, finger-wagging tirades and freelance political commentary that polls say cost Hillary Rodham Clinton a lot of support, particularly among black voters. MORE

RELATED: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leads rival Barack Obama by six percentage points in Pennsylvania, down from 16 points two weeks earlier, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday. The final two Democratic contenders face off in Pennsylvania’s April 22 primary, which could prove significant if the race for the Democratic nomination in the November election is still close. Following March 4 primaries in Texas and in Ohio, Pennsylvania is the biggest state left on the state-by-state election calendar. The Pennsylvania poll, conducted February 21-25, showed Clinton, a New York senator, with a lead of 49 to 43 percent among likely Democratic voters. A previous Quinnipiac poll, conducted February 6-12, showed her with a lead of 52 to 36 percent. The biggest shift in preference was detected among younger voters, aged 18 to 44, who went from 52 to 41 percent in favor of Clinton in the earlier poll. They moved to 58 to 41 percent in favor of Obama, an Illinois senator, in the more recent poll, Quinnipiac said.

FOLLOW THE MONEY: Senator Barack Obama’s campaign did not release an estimate of its February fund raising totals Thursday, but the amount is believed to be more than $50 million, according to several major donors. Campaign officials said the final numbers are still being tabulated and would only say that their haul was “considerably more” than the $35 million that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign announced it had raised in February.

RELATED: Grand Opening of Obama For America Philadelphia Headquarters and Voter Registration Canvass Kickoff for Change, Saturday 1:30 PM 1500 Sansom Street, Philadelphia