Beverly Perdue is holding a discussion on rural development today.

The governor-elect will hold the roundtable at the Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville at 10 a.m.

It is part of a series of issue-oriented "listening" events she is holding. Previous roundtables on the economy and other topics in the Triad, the Triangle and Charlotte. 

Barack Obama's crowds in North Carolina have gotten bigger.

Below are crowd estimates from events held during the primary and general election by the Democratic presidential candidate.

In all, they total 194,050, although presumably some people attended more than one rally.

Before Election Season:

Durham, Nov. 1, 2007: 4,000

Before Primary (57,550):

Fayetteville, March 19: 150
Charlotte, March 19: 2,500
Greensboro, March 26: 2,400
Raleigh, April 17: 2,000
Greenville, April 17: 8,000
Wilmington, April 28: 6,000
Chapel Hill, April 28: 18,000
Winston-Salem, April 29: 2,000
Hickory, April 29: 2,500
Raleigh, May 2: 5,000
Charlotte, May 2: 9,000

On Primary Day:

Raleigh, May 6: 2,000

After Primary (133,000):

Raleigh, June 9: 500
Raleigh, Aug. 19: 2,500
Charlotte, Sept. 21: 20,000
Greensboro, Sept. 27: 20,000
Asheville, Oct. 5: 28,000
Fayetteville, Oct. 19: 10,000
Raleigh, Oct. 29: 25,000
Charlotte, Nov. 3: 25,000

Sarah Palin has drawn big crowds in North Carolina.

Below are crowd estimates from events held during the general election by the Republican vice presidential candidate.

In all, the crowd estimates total about 22,600, though some supporters may have been at more than one event.

Greenville: Palin spoke to a crowd of about 8,000 at East Carolina University on Oct. 7 then watched the second presidential debate with Pat McCrory and Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr.

Elon: Palin spoke to around 2,000 people at Elon University on Oct. 16 then attended a private fundraiser in Greensboro.

Asheville: Palin addressed more than 7,600 people at a rally in the Asheville Civic Center on Oct. 26. Thousands more were turned away.

Raleigh: Palin spoke to more than 5,000 people at the Exposition Center at the State Fairgrounds on Nov. 1. (Note: WRAL estimated the crowd at 10,000. There was no official estimate.)

Related: John McCain's visits to North Carolina.

GREENVILLE — Not even Joe the Senator can get many college students out of bed before noon. 

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is scheduled to speak at East Carolina University this morning, but the modest-sized crowd appeared more heavily populated with local Greenvilleians than college students, Mark Johnson reports.

Perhaps free coffee would have helped. 

Nadiah Sarsour, a senior and Obama voter, was already skipping class but wasn't certain she'd join the rally.

"I'm checking it out," she said before eventually succombing to the lure of Motown and other music piped through the loudspeakers as Biden's 10 a.m. appearance was pushed back past 10:30.

Obama is drawing a heavy percentage of new voters in most surveys, due partly to his campaign's push in college towns such as Greenville.

Joe Biden will also visit Greensboro Monday.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate was scheduled to be on an early vote promotional bus tour in Greenville.

He'll also appear at the Price Bryan Performance Place in Greensboro at 2:15 p.m.

Joe Biden will be in North Carolina Monday.

The Democratic vice presidential candidate will hold an early voting rally at East Carolina University in Greenville at 10 a.m.

He was in Charlotte, Winston-Salem and Raleigh Thursday for similar rallies. 

Chris Credle didn't make it to the Sarah Palin rally tonight.

But Palin found him anyway.

The 29-year-old Greenville resident, a sales rep for Behr paint, headed out for some pizza and beer after work with a friend at Boli's on the Boulevard, expecting to watch sports and hang out.

He first sensed something was up when he saw the owner getting checked by security guards with a wand. Then his buddy pointed out Sarah Palin was walking in.

Credle, a Republican, said he has been impressed with Palin's independence and honesty, but he also saw that she was "down to earth" when he got the chance to chat with her at the pizza restaurant.

Then he called up his cousin, who had gone to the rally.

"I said, we're here with Sarah Palin," he said. "He's like 'Get out!'" 

Sarah Palin said she came to Greenville to watch the presidential debate tonight with "a whole lot of real Americans."

Update: Here is the full quote: "Tonight it's town hall time, live from Nashville. And I wanted to come to Greenville so I could watch the debate from here with a whole lot of real Americans, hard-working folks. Because you guys get it."

Here are a few of the homemade signs at the Sarah Palin rally in Greenville:

"Read my lipstick"

"Drill, baby, drill"

"Tar Heels for High Heels" 

"N.C. 4 Palin"

"Palin Power"

"Palin Nation"

"Pirates Love Palin"

"No Obama"

"Dear Sarah Will You Marry Me?"

"Our Mama Stomps Obama"

Protesters outside had their own signs: "Wicked Witch of Wasilla" and "Palin is Failin' to Deliver" were two.

Sarah Palin was late to Greenville.

The Republican vice presidential candidate landed at the Pitt-Greenville Airport at 6:58 p.m., about an hour after she was scheduled to arrive and just as dusk fell to the frustration of the assembled cameramen.

She was greeted at the bottom of the stairs by U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, his wife Brooke, Pitt County Republican Chairwoman Kim Hendrix, Trent Woods Mayor Chuck Tyson, volunteer Bill Tarpenning and House Minority Leader Paul Stam.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole had been at the airport earlier, but she left long before Straight Talk Two arrived.

Palin did not speak to reporters before jumping in a black Suburban, where she was whisked to the Minges Auditorium at East Carolina University.

She passed about two dozen people who were standing in the parking lots of a Hardees and other local businesses during the 10-minute drive.