President Barack Obama will swoop in to Maryland today with one task: Energize the Democratic base for Gov. Martin O'Malley. It will be his 59th stop in the state, making Maryland the president's favorite destination.

The president will want to reel in voters who might otherwise sit out this election, particularly in the Washington suburbs and Baltimore where O'Malley is wooing African-Americans.

Republican former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich played down the appearance saying Wednesday that it would be unlikely to change any minds. It's no surprise, he said, that a Democratic president would want a Democrat controlling Annapolis. But Ehrlich is frequently quick to add that he too would work well with the president.

RNC spokesman Parish Branden predicted that Obama's remarks would be "another hollow stump speech" and stressed that Maryland employers cut 5,700 jobs last month. Maryland GOP chair Audrey Scott has planned a 12:30 p.m. conference call with reporters, which will likely touch on the same themes.

Nationally, other candidates haven't embraced the President, as the Washington Post observed in a story today, but there doesn't appear to be a significant political downside to the President's presence on the Maryland campaign trail. Sen. Barbara Mikulski has also touted the stop as support for her campaign.

Obama will give his speech at Bowie State University in Prince George's County. Former President Bill Clinton is also planning an event with O'Malley in Baltimore on the eve of early voting. There had been some talk about a second Obama appearance (or maybe Michelle) in Baltimore, though with a pair of polls showing O'Malley solidly ahead of Ehrlich, the First Couple might be deployed elsewhere.