Obama focuses on party conservatives in Wis.

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. -- Barack Obama on Sunday described his Republican presidential rival, John McCain, as a "cheerleader" for an Iraq policy that's draining the treasury of funds that should be spent at home, as the Democratic candidate continued his outreach to his party's more conservative voters.

Obama, who will accept his party's presidential nomination in Denver on Thursday, began his week in a picturesque setting. As the sun glinted off Half Moon Lake, the candidate addressed a crowd of about 300 clustered around picnic tables at the Rod and Gun Park. Among other things, Obama promised that he will "support strongly the Second Amendment and the legal right to bear arms." Predicting that Republicans will "try to scare the heck out of you about the Democratic nominee," Obama said he hopes to provide a better "sense of who I am" at this week's Democratic National Convention.

Preceding Obama's remarks: a benediction from local pastor Kenneth Van Es and the Pledge of Allegiance recited by Graham Clumpner, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan.

The show of patriotism and piety came in a state where Obama scored a key triumph on his road to the nomination. The Illinois senator won a surprise victory in Wisconsin's Feb. 19 primary over Hillary Rodham Clinton, beating her among the state's blue collar voters. It was a demographic coup he didn't repeat in other Midwestern states.

Gov. Jim Doyle told the crowd here that Obama's supporters "will have to work every single day from now until November" to ensure a Democratic victory. In 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry won Wisconsin by fewer than 12,000 votes. Chippewa County, just north of Eau Claire, voted narrowly in favor of President Bush.

Arriving from the nearby First Lutheran Church, where he was a surprise guest at 10 a.m. services, Obama emphasized economic issues. He promised a tax cut for the middle class, affordable health care and college tuition assistance for students willing to perform community service.

"John McCain doesn't really have an economic plan," Obama told the crowd. His real claim to the presidency has to do with foreign policy and his claim that he's ready and tested and I'm not."