"These anxieties seem to be growing with each passing day," Obama said on a campaign stop here on Wednesday morning. "We can either choose a new direction for our economy or we can keep doing what we've been doing. My opponent, John McCain, thinks we're on the right track."

That elicited boos from some of the 1,500 people who filled Glendale High School’s gymnasium.

When an AP-Ipsos poll asked the "right track, wrong track" question last month, nearly eight out of 10 said they thought the country was on the wrong track. The same poll set President Bush's approval rating at 29 percent.

"It's true that change is hard, change isn't easy," Obama said. "Nobody here thinks that Bush or McCain has a real answer for the challenges we face so what they're going to try to do is make you scared about me."

This was the first rally on a bus tour across the state for three campaign stops devoted to discussing economic security.

The candidate entered the gym to thunderous applause about 10:15. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri accompanied and introduced Obama, who shook several hands before he bounded onto the stage.

Obama spoke for about 45 minutes before shedding his coat and taking several questions from the audience on several subjects, including how he would stimulate the economy, reduce energy prices, and deal with a looming shortfall in funding for Social Security.

Obama says he offers voters the chance in November to reclaim the idea that opportunity in this country is open to anyone who's willing to work for it. By contrast, he says McCain thinks we're on the right track even though economic anxieties grow daily.

The trip to Springfield put Obama into traditionally Republican territory. Campaign spokesmen said 1,500 tickets for the town hall-style campaign rally were snapped up in about an hour on Monday evening.

Not since 1964 has a Democratic candidate carried Greene County, the home of Springfield and the largest city in southwest Missouri's historically Republican area.

Party officials said a fundraiser for Obama in Springfield on Tuesday night raised about $250,000.

After Springfield, Obama headed for Rolla for another town hall meeting at the university there. His final scheduled stops in Missouri were in Union for a barbeque in the evening and a private fundraiser in St. Louis.

McCain visited Springfield in June. He planned to be in Kansas City on Wednesday night for a private fundraising event. Both candidates have come to Missouri several times since winning the state's presidential primaries in February.

Change with difficulty was a core theme Democrat Bill Clinton used when he opposed President George H.W. Bush in 1992, a campaign also fought during tough economic times.

"We don't need the same old tired answers," Obama said. "We need something new."

Obama said McCain would resort to tired Republican charges that he's a big-spending liberal. Obama asserted that his tax cut plans are aimed at the middle class.

"I want to cut taxes for middle-class families, ordinary folks who are working hard and playing by the rules," he said. "I'm ready to duel John McCain on taxes right here, quick draw."

By spending time in a region where Republicans have been dominant in recent elections, Obama hopes he can bring new regions into play this election cycle because a sour economy is dominating the political landscape. He faces the challenge of convincing voters in largely rural sections of the country to back his campaign.

After a weeklong overseas trip to burnish his foreign policy credentials, Obama has been working overtime to focus on the economy and overcoming doubts voters may have about the first black man to make a serious bid for the White House.

"It's a leap, electing a 46-year-old black guy named Barack Obama," he said, adding that the message that Republicans have for voters is simple: "He doesn't look like all those other presidents on the dollar bill."

Republican Whip Roy Blunt represents Springfield and the southwest corner of the state in the House. Blunt’s 7th District supported Bush with 67 percent of the vote in 2004.

McCaskill is herself a product of rural Missouri. She warmed up the audience by reminding them that Obama was elected in Illinois, a heavily rural state outside of Chicago.

"They said a young black guy named Barack Obama couldn't get elected to the United States Senate from Illinois," McCaskill said. "They were wrong."

In an interview, McCaskill said there are gains to be made in rural Missouri.

"The idea here is it makes a difference if you demonstrate to people in Republican strongholds that you want their vote and that you care about them," she said. "I don't think any of us on the campaign are anticipating that Sen. Obama is going to win southwest Missouri. The question is how many votes can we get in southwest Missouri."

A spokeswoman for Obama, Jennifer Psaki, was blunt in explaining the strategy.

"What we're trying to do is go into areas where people are more skeptical," Psaki said. "You have to go into the belly of the beast."