ELKHART — Sen. Barack Obama stopped in Republican territory Wednesday with a town hall meeting in Elkhart, where he talked about his plan to turn the economy around.

A group of Sen. John McCain's supporters set up across the street as the Obama motorcade pulled into Concord High School. They were on hand for a light-hearted jab at Obama's energy policies.

They were poking fun at a recent comment Obama made that Americans could cut oil prices by making sure their tires are inflated. To get their point across, the group had a giant tire gauge and gave out free regular sized gauges.

'He’s claiming that the amount of gas we would get from off shore drilling is the equivalent to the amount we would save if people just filled up their tires and did regular oil changes,” said Elkhart resident Jason Bryant. “There’s no way, the math just doesn't work. We need to be drilling in the U.S. as soon as possible."

“The message is the country needs more energy and we are not going to be able to conserve our way out of it. Filling up your tire is a good idea, but we're going to have to go after the oil that we got here," said Goshen resident Joe Fisher.

Those on hand said it was not an organized effort to show their support for McCain but rather a grassroots type of effort.

“This is a bunch of volunteers who said they wanted to come out here to do this, and I’ve come over to join them," said County GOP Chairman Dale Stickel.

“I just came up from Fort Wayne today to show that Indiana does support John McCain to be the next president,” said Paul Morrison. “I think it’s pretty important to have an opportunity to provide a balanced message with Senator Obama being in town today."

The group even said it would check the tire pressure for local drivers.

When asked about tire pressure Tuesday, McCain said he agreed with the American Automobile Association that we should keep tires inflated.

Wednesday in Elkhart, Obama mocked McCain for changing his position.

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