Next stop: Lynchburg

Photos by Jared Soares | The Roanoke Times

People wait in line to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama speak at E.C. Glass High School in Lynchburg Wednesday.

Obama pins are lined up in anticipation of the candidate's stop in Lynchburg Wednesday evening.

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• Obama to stump in two Virginia cities

MARTINSVILLE – Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama touted his economic agenda before a Martinsville audience today, saying he will fight to improve conditions in economically distressed communities that have suffered from plant closings and job losses.

“I’m not saying that every job is going to come back to Martinsville just because I’m elected president,” Obama said in a town hall-style meeting at Patrick Henry Community College’s motor sports facility. “I’m not saying that suddenly all of the schools are going to be fixed. But what I can do is I can say that I’m going to wake up every day thinking about you and thinking about how to make your life a little bit better.”

About 300 people gathered in the stuffy shell building to hear Obama, surrounded by race cars propped on lifts. Obama and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner shed their suit jackets and addressed the audience with rolled up shirtsleeves.

Obama’s campaign had billed the Martinsville event as a forum to discuss trade policies that have impacted communities with manufacturing-based economies. Martinsville has the state's highest unemployment rate, and the region has been battered by the closings of textile and furniture plants over the last decade.

But Obama largely stuck to broader economic themes, and said Republican candidate John McCain will continue economic policies initiated by President Bush.

“How many of you are better off now than when George Bush took office?” Obama said as his audience sat still.  “Go ahead, raise your hands.”

The Martinsville stop was the first of four campaign appearances Obama has scheduled in Virginia over the next two days, underscoring the Democrat’s efforts to compete for the state’s 13 electoral votes. Obama will hold a town hall-style meeting in Lynchburg this evening and appear with Gov. Tim Kaine tomorrow in Chester and Chesapeake.

Kaine is believed to be among a handful of Democrats Obama is considering as a vice presidential candidate. The Democratic National Convention begins Monday, and Obama is expected to announce his running mate by the end of this week.