Under a rainy sky, Vice President Joe Biden appeared at today's annual Pittsburgh Labor Day parade, joined by U.S. Sen Arlen Specter and Jack Shea, president of the Allegheny County Labor Council.

Mr. Biden joked that the parade organizers would never invite him back, noting that his appearance last year was also weather-challenged -- then with the threat to the Gulf Coast of Hurricane Gustav, which prompted him to cancel his visit.

While noting that "people are hurting" across the country, he boasted of the effects of the administration's economic stimulus package. Mr. Biden praised Mr. Specter's role in supporting that measure.

The two were headed later today to an appearance outside Philadelphia in another demonstration of the Obama administration's support for the newly Democratic senator.

Mr. Specter was introduced by Pennsylvania AFL-CIO president Bill George, who called him a friend of labor. The veteran senator recited a roster of his pro-union votes on issues including the minimum wage and promised that Congress would deliver a health care bill with "a robust public option."

Several hundred union members and labor supporters, some chanting "health care now," gathered outside Mellon Arena to hear Mr. Biden and Mr. Specter speak before the 10 a.m. start of the parade. The cool, drizzly weather appeared to thin the parade crowd considerably.