SOUTH BEND — An excited crowd of more than 3,500 greeted presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama at Washington High School Wednesday night.

It was a late night, made just a little bit later by the fact that Obama didn't take the stage until around 10:40 p.m.

First there were spirited introductions from former South Bend Congressman Tim Roemer and South Bend Mayor Steve Luecke, who endorsed the senator. Both called him the right candidate to bring change to Washington and the American people.

"We need to change Indiana to a blue state," the mayor said. "I am here tonight to endorse Barack Obama."

The crowd chanted "Yes, we can!" over and over at times throughout the night.

When Obama finally took the stage, they welcomed him with a roar. But despite the raucous welcome, Obama was all business Wednesday night, thanking a short list of supporters, including Washington High School staff for allowing him to speak there, then launching into his key campaign topics.

They included the war in Iraq, and what he called "the fierce urgency" to develop a plan to bring U.S. troops home. He also spoke about the future of education, and the U.S. economy, from mortgages and foreclosures to gas prices — which he called "a crisis" without a solution from the Bush administration.

All, he said, are the real reasons he was in South Bend Wednesday night.

"We can't afford to wait. We can't wait to fix our schools. We can't wait to fix our health care system. We cannot wait to provide good jobs and good wages to Americans. We can't wait to free ourselves from our dependence on foreign oil. We cannot wait to bring this war in Iraq to a close. We cannot wait. And that's why I'm running for President of the United States of America," he said as the crowd cheered.

Stay with WSBT.com for the latest on Sen. Obama's visit to South Bend.