BILLINGS — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama met with about 200 veterans and military families this morning at Riverfront Park.

In what his campaign billed as an “informal gathering,” Obama made opening remarks and then paced between seated audience members as he listened to and answered questions.

Many of the questions were from military veterans and related to VA health care, including one from an American Indian veteran who said Indian vets do not receive the medical care they were promised by the government.

Montana’s military veterans face more challenges accessing mental health care than do vets in other states, and that is unacceptable, Obama said.

“Almost no other state has a higher concentration of veterans than Montana or more obstacles to getting treatment for PTSD,” Obama told a crowd of vets and military families at Riverfront Park.

“We’re not doing right by our veterans, not here in Montana and not anywhere in the country,” he said.

As president, Obama would work to expand and increase services offered through the Veterans Administration, which he said is under-funded.

Obama said that he understands the plight of U.S. veterans better than does his opponent, Sen. John McCain, who served in the U.S. Navy.

“I honor John McCain’s service to our country,” Obama said. “We owe him our gratitude. But we do not owe him our vote. The stakes are too high.”

Obama spoke for about 20 minutes from behind a podium. His remarks were followed by a question and answer session with members of the invitation-only audience.

The Illinois senator, who is slated to accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination Thursday, opened his remarks with a joke about Montana’s weather.

“It’s still August, and, you know, it seems a little chilly to me to be August,” Obama said. “I hear it was like 100 degrees just last week — or this week.”

Obama generated laughs from the audience several times, including when he said he’d been looking at a Montana real estate brochure.

He also mentioned Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who spoke Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.

“How about your governor yesterday?” Obama asked. “He was getting folks fired up. Some people called me and said, ‘Is everyone in Montana like Schweitzer?’ I said, ‘No, he’s unique even for Montana.’ He’s a unique guy. He just did a great job.”

After the jokes, Obama quickly moved on to the more serious topics such as the nation’s economy and sacrifices made by members of the military and their families.

Incomes that rose under the Clinton administration have fallen under Bush, and Americans are struggling to make ends meet, he said.

“All across America, families are struggling,” he said. “Not because they’re working any less and not because they are any less committed to doing right by their families, but because the economy is not working for them.”

Bush, McCain and other Republicans are out of touch with the average American and are not paying attention to people’s problems, he said.

Obama drew more chuckles from the crowd when he mentioned recent remarks in which McCain defined a rich person as someone who earns $5 million a year and said that he didn’t know how many homes he owns.

“I am going to fight as hard as I can over the next 70 days,” Obama said. “The American people deserve a president and a White House fighting for them, not fighting for special interests.”

People sat in lawn chairs and at picnic tables as they waited to hear Obama speak.

Some were bundled up in the chilly morning air.

Some guests at the invitation-only event didn’t know how their names got onto the invite list. They said they received a telephone call from the Obama campaign asking if they wanted to attend.

About 200 people of all ages were bused to the park from a staging area, and they seemed excited to see the candidate on the day before he was to accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

Many in the crowd wore military paraphernalia, including medals.

Obama put down the microphone at about 12:15 p.m. after one final entreaty for support.

“I need to win Montana, so I hope all of you will stand with me in the days to come,” he said.