DES MOINES — A crowd almost equal to Iowa State’s entire student body came out to see Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., in Des Moines on Friday.

Obama spoke to a crowd of about 25,000 at the Western Gateway Park, in an attempt to rally some last minute support just days before the election.

Campaign challenges were covered, from lack of money to lack of endorsements and lack of belief from the “pundits.” Obama spoke about how the campaign had evolved from when it first started when he announced his candidacy two years ago to his campaign now.

However, he said he believed people’s desire for change would help him carry through with the election.

“On the day of the Iowa caucus, my faith in the American people was vindicated,” he said. “And what you started here in Iowa has swept the nation.”

He then called on for all those to “not let up” and keep working until Election Day on Tuesday.

Obama touched on his familiar talking points, including the economy, the need for change, tax cuts for the middle class and the war.

Obama also spoke briefly about higher education, again mentioning his promise for those who participate in some sort of national service, such as the military or peace corps, can get help to pay for college.

“We are going to make sure you can afford to go to college, we will help you pay for your tuition — no ifs, ands, or buts,” he said.

Obama criticized the policies of the Bush administration and said the country “couldn’t afford” four more years of the same economic policies, which prompted boos from the crowd. He called for more oversight in the market and less tax breaks for the upper class.

“Now you don’t need to boo, you just need to vote,” Obama said in response to the crowd reaction.

He criticized Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for his policies being similar to the those of George Bush.

“We’ve tried it John McCain’s way, we’ve tried it George Bush’s way,” he said.

Obama said America needed to get past the “old ideological debates” that divide the country.

“We don’t need bigger government or smaller government, we need a better government, we need a smarter government,” he said.

Obama called for tax cuts for the middle class including one for 95 percent of Americans who work every day. He said he would pay for the tax cuts by having those who make more than $250,000 yearly to pay the tax they were in the ‘90s. He said he would also give tax breaks to companies for keeping jobs inside the country and he would create new jobs by investing in alternative energy.

Touching on a central focus of his campaign from the beginning, Obama said he would end the war in Iraq and refocus the fight against terrorism abroad.

Nathaniel Oster, graduate student in material science and engineering, and Nathan Weiss, senior in industrial technology, both made the trip to Des Moines on Friday, despite other commitments, such as class and meetings.

Weiss, who has seen Obama before, thought the speech touched on Obama’s goals, and didn’t focus on attacks on McCain.

“It was very good, he hit on all of his main points,” he said.

Oster, who saw Obama at Hilton Coliseum when he came to Iowa in February of 2007, thought the energy was comparable to that atmosphere.

“There’s so much energy, it was such a diverse crowd,” Weiss said.

Both Oster and Weiss thought Obama could make progress on the issues he talked about. However, Weiss said not one person alone could make all the change Obama spoke of, and thought it would take time to bring about the promises he talked about.

Weiss and Oster both predicted an Obama victory and Weiss thought the outcome would be similar to what the polls were showing. Oster though the electoral votes would be a landslide in Obama’s favor, but the popular vote might be close.