They will visit three key swing states - Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.  They hope to distract from John McCain's running mate selection and the Republican National Convention that begins Monday in Minneapolis.

It has been a tradition in the past for Presidential nominees to embark on short tours with their running mates following the conventions.  For example, in 2000, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney took a train tour after the Republican National Convention, and Bill Clinton and Al Gore went on bus tour of the Eastern United States following the Democratic National Convention in 1992.