Before convention, Obama makes Midwest victory lap

EAU CLAIRE, WIS. -- The road to Denver went through western Wisconsin on Sunday for presidential candidate Barack Obama, who began a victory lap of Midwest states that will end Thursday when he claims his party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

On a beautiful summer day in a leafy park along Half Moon Lake, a relaxed (but admittedly starving) Obama spoke for nearly a half-hour to about 300 supporters about his plans to improve the lives of working-class Americans.

The same theme had been sounded only the day before as Obama announced his running mate -- Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden, a longtime Washington figure known not only for his foreign policy expertise but also for his ties to blue-collar America, a voting bloc that Obama has not always scored well with.

"We had a great day yesterday," Obama said, "when I had the honor of introducing ... the person who I believe will be the next and one of the greatest vice presidents in the history of the United States."

One of the things he's learned in the 19 months since he began his race for the White House, Obama said, is that "the American people are anxious right now. Times are tough. ... It's not just people's imaginations."

With the collapse of the housing market, declining property values and flat family incomes, Obama said he's committed to tax cuts focused on the middle class, and to new jobs using Apollo-size investments for renewable energy and the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

Biden was not with Obama on Sunday, which may have been the only disappointment for the enthusiastic supporters who came to see up close the political star on whom their hopes are riding.

Obama is scheduled to speak today in Davenport, Iowa. He will stop Tuesday in Kansas City and Wednesday in Billings, Mont., before heading to Denver for his acceptance speech Thursday at Invesco Field.

Supporters speak up

People in the crowd had been invited in the past few days by campaign workers in western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota. Ethan Scheck, 18, of Houston, Minn., got the call from an Obama organizer in Rochester and borrowed his grandfather's car Sunday. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially if he's going to be our next president," said Scheck, beginning his freshman year today at Winona State University. "I've been for him since Day One, since he declared."

Ken Slezak, a native of Hope, Minn., and a Vietnam vet who does refrigeration work in Neillsville, Wis., was invited to hear Obama after holding a campaign house party two weeks ago. He's for Obama, he said, partly because he hopes Obama can break the influence of moneyed interests in Washington.

Obama arrived at Rod and Gun Park with Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold about 11:30 a.m., after attending services at First Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, leaving him spiritually nourished but hungry for a bratwurst.

Obama was introduced by Doyle, Feingold and Scott Campbell of Eau Claire, a plumbing supply company worker who is tapping his 401(k) account and working extra jobs to make ends meet for his three children. Campbell and his family chatted with Obama beforehand. "He is just a pleasant, down-to-earth gentleman," Campbell said.

With deadpan security personnel stationed discreetly throughout the park, Obama joked that the real reason he was running was "Secret Service protection for my two girls as they enter their teenage years" and begin to date.

No mental recession

For a candidate famous for massive arena rallies, it was an unusually intimate and folksy affair. The low-key setting provided chances for interaction.

When Obama mentioned that McCain supporter and former Sen. Phil Gramm said he believed Americans were just going through "a mental recession," a man in a baseball cap piped up, "Not here."

"Not here," the man said.

Obama warned that the election won't be easy. "They're going to try to scare the heck out of you," he said, mentioning rumors that he will take away people's guns and tax them to death, that he's a leftist radical and a Muslim.

The convention this week, he said, will give people a chance to see him and his wife, Michelle, for who they are -- people from middle-class backgrounds who struggled to pay off student loans and find good child care.

"Now," the hungry candidate said, "let's go get a bratwurst. Thank you, everybody."