[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]EAU CLAIRE — One day after choosing U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as his vice presidential running mate, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama was back on the campaign trail. As one of his final stops before the Democratic National Convention, Obama spoke to an invitation-only gathering of a couple hundred supporters seated and standing on picnic tables and playground equipment as part of a “Barbeque with Barack” cookout in Eau Claire’s Rod & Gun Park. Beneath an impeccably clear azure sky, shaded by a tall oak tree and ringed by supporters just a stone’s throw from the peaceful waters of Half Moon Lake, Obama stood front and center on stage. In this idyllic setting, the theme of the day was the economic state of the nation. Obama fired shots at Republican nominee John McCain, using recent gaffes by the senator’s campaign to claim he is out of touch with the American middle class. “When you don’t know how many homes you have and you define being wealthy as having $5 million, what that tells me is you just don’t get what’s going on with people’s everyday lives,” Obama said. The Illinois senator also hit on the hot-button topic of taxes. Obama said his economic plan would provide tax breaks to 95 percent of all Americans and contrasted that to McCain’s. According to Obama, the McCain tax plan would provide no tax relief for nearly 100 million taxpayers. “Figure out a way to make working families make ends meet,” said U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., following Obama’s remarks. “He is infinitely more credible on that than John McCain. [Obama] said he respects John McCain, and so do I, but on that issue, of who is going to help working families, there just is no contest.” As the economy and housing markets continue to struggle, Obama also rejected the notion floated by some McCain campaign ads that his policies could trigger economic disaster. “First of all, economic disaster is here,” Obama said. “I don’t have to lead you to anything. It’s shown up over the last eight years.” The Obama campaign is hoping blue-collar middle class voters in areas like Eau Claire across the upper Midwest will buy into his calls for a different economic approach. “Those states are absolutely crucial,” Feingold said. “I think Sen. Obama will sweep the Midwest, maybe even Indiana. But if he can take Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, we’re going to be in very good shape.” Aside from the criticism of McCain, Sunday’s event was relatively relaxed. A laidback Obama opened by promising his comments would be brief — his remarks lasted nearly 29 minutes — because he was hungry and “looking for a brat, or burger or something.” Despite some speculation Sunday’s appearance could be the second public appearance of the newly minted Obama-Biden Democratic ticket, the vice presidential candidate didn’t join Obama in Eau Claire. Instead, Biden returned home to pack and prepare for the rigors of the upcoming two-month campaign.