EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Heading into the final days before he accepts the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama set off a four-day campaign swing through presidential battleground states Sunday, portraying himself as the champion of middle-class and blue-collar workers.
“This election is about you,” he told about 300 people at the Gun and Rod Park in Eau Claire. “The teachers, the nurses, the cops, the firefighters, the farmers, who are out there struggling.”
The relatively small event, with a softer-spoken Obama, was a sharp contrast to the throngs of people who turned out in Springfield, Ill., on Saturday to see him introduce Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.
Although they just officially became a ticket, Obama and Biden are not expected to campaign together until Friday. Biden, who learned he was Obama’s pick Thursday during his wife’s visit to a dentist for a root canal, is scheduled to fly to Denver today.
Obama, speaking to reporters for the first time in more than two weeks, said he was “thrilled” about his choice and noted Biden’s passion, working-class roots and international credentials.
“The conversations we’ve been having over the last couple of days make me absolutely convinced he is the right man for the job,” Obama said.
The Illinois senator also mentioned he is excited to hear his wife’s speech at the Democratic National Convention tonight. And that he is still “tooling around” with his own acceptance speech.
Obama’s stop in Eau Claire, as well as in other towns he plans to visit this week in Iowa, Missouri and Montana, are part of the candidate’s overall strategy to campaign in places Democrats usually don’t.
“We like to go to places which aren’t Democratic strongholds, where there are Reagan Republicans and areas where the (voter) registration is tilting,” said Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “If we don’t, and don’t introduce him to people, we will never have a chance.”
Wisconsin Democrats won control of the state Senate in the mid- term elections, in part because of two seats wrestled from Republicans in Eau Claire. Only Republicans, independents and undecideds have been invited to an event today in Davenport, Iowa. Obama’s stop in Montana — his fifth — is in territory Democrats usually don’t even fly over.
A smaller crowd seemed to fit Obama’s relaxed mood Sunday, with the candidate even making a joke about why he’s running for president: to protect his girls from boys.
“The real reason is for the Secret Service protection for my two girls as they enter into their teenage years,” he said.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
