Photos by Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times

Barack Obama speaks Tuesday to a crowd of about 2,400 people at Lebanon High School in Russell County.

Barack Obama targeted his speech Tuesday to the economy, job losses and energy prices.

LEBANON, Va. -- His Republican critics insist that Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama can't possibly connect with the voters of rural Southwest Virginia, even if he can be competitive in the rest of this emerging battleground state.

But don't tell that to the 2,400 people who packed a steamy high school gymnasium in Russell County on Tuesday and rattled the rafters cheering for the Illinois senator.

Obama stirred his audience at Lebanon High School with a message aimed at voter concerns about the economy, job losses and energy prices. He drew sharp distinctions between himself and Republican nominee John McCain, portraying McCain as indifferent to the economic pressures confronting working families.

Obama, who has staked his campaign on a message of change, repeatedly criticized McCain for promising change after supporting much of President Bush's legislative agenda in the U.S. Senate.

"You can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig," Obama said, triggering a loud ovation. "You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change; it's still going to stink. After eight years, we've had enough of the same old thing."

The rhetoric between the two presidential campaigns has sharpened since the two parties staged their national conventions, and Virginia seems likely to hear plenty of it. McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, will campaign today in Fairfax. Obama will campaign today in Norfolk.

McCain's campaign responded angrily to Obama's "lipstick" remark, accusing the Democrat of taking a swipe at Palin. In a conference call arranged by McCain's campaign, former Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift called Obama's comments "disgraceful" and said he should apologize.

According to The Associated Press, Obama's campaign later said he wasn't referring to Palin and said the GOP camp was engaging in a "pathetic attempt to play the gender card." Obama's camp also noted that McCain once used the same phrase to describe Hillary Clinton's health care plan.

Obama's visit to Lebanon was his second trip to far Southwest Virginia since the end of the primary season. The man who could become the country's first black president used economic issues and personal stories to make connections with his largely white audience.

Obama said his economic and tax policies would favor working, middle-class families, rebutting McCain's claims that he will push to raise taxes. Obama insisted that he will cut taxes for 95 percent of American families.

"If you're like an ordinary person, making 30, 40 or 50 thousand dollars, then you realize how tough things are," Obama said. "And that's why I'm running for president, because that's where I come from."

Obama's outreach to Southwest Virginia voters has drawn criticism from McCain backers. Former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, a native of Scott County, said Monday that Obama is "wrong and out of touch" on a range of issues important to the region, citing the Democrat's criticism of the coal industry and his much-publicized comments about why rural Americans feel strongly about guns and religion.

"His elitism prevents him from relating to small-town America," said Kilgore, a state co-chairman of McCain's campaign. "When he makes statements like we cling to our faith and our guns, what message does that send to rural America and rural Virginia?"

Obama took on the gun issue without being asked about it, insisting that he poses no threat to law-abiding gun owners.

"I will not take your shotgun away," Obama said. "I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away.

"If you want to find an excuse not to vote for me, don't use that one, because it just ain't true," he said.

Kenneth Patrick of Lebanon, a retired mine worker and hunter, said Obama's comments on guns hit the right note.

"The Republicans stress that every campaign," Patrick said. "I thought that's the best answer he could have given."

U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, touted Obama as a "friend" of the coal industry that is vital to the region's economy, noting that Obama has supported greater investments in so-called "clean coal" technology and efforts to create liquid fuel from coal.

Obama also got full-throated backing from Cecil Roberts, president of the United Mine Workers of America, who fired up the crowd before Obama's arrival with unsparing criticism of Bush and McCain.

"I hope you're fed up!" Roberts thundered. "The Republicans have had their chance, and they have blown it!"

And if Obama lacked mountain credibility, he got some help from bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who took the stage about an hour before Obama's arrival to show his support for the Democrat.

"The reason I'm here is to do whatever I can to help Senator Obama be the next president of the United States," Stanley said, drawing boisterous applause. "I believe that Senator Obama would be the best man to get this country back in shape."