ELKHART — Our area received a lot of attention from presidential candidates leading up to Indiana's May primary. That attention returned Wednesday with Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama making a stop in Elkhart for a town hall meeting at Concord High School.

People began waiting in line for the event as early as 6 p.m. Tuesday night. We found hundreds in line early Wednesday morning, long before the sun ever came up.

Obama’s speech at Concord High School focused on the economy and energy. Those are two issues impacting Elkhart County's struggling RV industry, and one reason the Obama campaign picked Elkhart for a town hall meeting.

But much of the talk before Wednesday’s speech centered on another senator in attendance. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is being talking about as a possible running mate.

While there was no big announcement Wednesday morning, Bayh did take the podium before Obama. For 15 minutes Bayh talked about the need for new leadership in Washington, D.C.

He also noted the historical impact of Obama's visit. Bayh said for the past six decades, Republicans have taken Indiana for granted and Democrats have written off Hoosier voters.

But, neither Bayh nor Obama mentioned anything about a choice for Obama's running mate.

“He's going to listen to us, understand our challenges, and work together to propose practical solutions to the problems we face,” Bayh said in his introduction. “That's the kind of president America needs and that's the kind of president the state of Indiana will support this November.”

“It’s about everyone in this room … about your lives and your future … because you know that what we’ve been doing for the last eight years has not worked,” Obama told the spirited crowd. “That's the essence of this election.”

Obama also compared a lot of his campaign strategies with those of Republican presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain. Much of that part of his speech focused on energy prices and the economy.

Since this was a town hall meeting, Obama also took questions from a few people in the audience.

Watch WSBT News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. for reaction to Obama’s visit. Check back with WSBT.com for raw video from the event.

For more election headlines and voter resources, go to WSBT.com's Campaign ‘08 section.