SPRINGFIELD, MO. (AP) -- Barack Obama told a crowd of about 35,000 people in Springfield Saturday night that Missouri voters are tired of political "name calling."

The Democratic presidential candidate said voters want their leaders to "just solve problems." He said Americans can't afford
"four more years of the tired, old, stale economic theories."

Springfield is one of Missouri's strongest Republican areas and home to the state's Republican governor Matt Blunt.

Obama's rally at a high school football stadium was his fourth campaign event in Missouri in the past two weeks. He was joined onstage by his wife, Michelle, and their two daughters.

Polls have shown Obama and Republican presidential candidate John McCain essentially even in Missouri.

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