Obama campaigns in St. Louis area today

ST. LOUIS -- Barack Obama kicked off what is essentially the first week of the general election campaign by visiting Missouri on Monday, trying to shore up support in a bellwether state where his razor-thin victory during the Democratic primary campaign might signal a tough fight against Republican John McCain.

Obama appeared at a closed high-end fundraiser Monday night before making campaign stops in the St. Louis area today. Republicans began criticizing the presumptive nominee hours before he arrived in the state, with Gov. Matt Blunt holding a morning news conference to attack Obama's credentials and economic plans.

Obama urged supporters at the fundraiser to put the long primary contest behind them as they turned their attention to the general election. He said the differences between him and Clinton were "minute, trivial, inconsequential" compared with his difference with John McCain, according to a pool reporter at the event.

Clinton's Missouri campaign director, state Rep. Rachel Storch of St. Louis, introduced Obama at his fundraising reception at the Renaissance Grand Hotel downtown. Organizers estimated that close to $1 million was raised.

While Missouri voted for George Bush in 2000 and 2004, there are signs the state could be a battleground in 2008 as voters increasingly shift away from Republican candidates, said Ken Warren, a political science professor at St. Louis University.

In 2006, for example, Republican incumbent Sen. Jim Talent lost his seat to Democrat Claire McCaskill as voters nationwide pushed Democrats into the majority in Congress. McCaskill has since endorsed Obama and campaigned for him statewide.

"I think anyone can win Missouri, and that's one of the reasons Obama is here," Warren said.

Recent polls show McCain and Obama in a virtual tie among Missouri voters, Warren said. Candidates usually fight hard to win over Missouri voters because they tend to reflect national trends, having picked every successful presidential candidate in the last 100 years, except for the 1956 race, Warren said.

The McCain campaign is trying to exploit Obama's narrow primary victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton in February. Campaign spokesman Jeff Sadosky said McCain will try to appeal to independent votes and disappointed Clinton supporters.

"John McCain is the type of Republican that can appeal beyond party lines because of his record and the credibility he has," Sadosky said. "I think looking nationally, what you've seen is that there is a Democratic party that is clearly divided."

An Obama campaign spokeswoman did not return messages seeking comment Monday.

Warren said the Democratic Party already appears to be uniting behind Obama, with Clinton urging her supporters Saturday to back his candidacy. Warren said Obama's close primary victory doesn't necessarily mean he won't get strong support from Missouri Democrats.

"Democrats who say they're going to vote for John McCain, we know from history that that kind of thing is silly," he said.

During his morning news conference, Blunt tried to undermine Obama's campaign theme of bringing change to Washington. Blunt painted Obama as a classic big-tax liberal, and even compared him unfavorably to Republican president Herbert Hoover because of Obama's desire to limit free trade.

"His change is truly change we can't afford," Blunt said.

At a campaign event Monday morning in North Carolina, Obama criticized McCain for originally opposing Bush's first-term tax cuts but now supporting their continuation. He said he would place a windfall profits tax on oil companies while McCain would reduce their taxes.

"At a time when we're fighting two wars, when millions of Americans can't afford their medical bills or their tuition bills, when we're paying more than $4 a gallon for gas, the man who rails against government spending wants to spend $1.2 billion on a tax break for Exxon Mobil," Obama said. "That isn't just irresponsible. It's outrageous."

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Associated Press Writer Charles Babington in Raleigh, N.C. contributed to this report