BOZEMAN -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a crowd Monday night that, if elected, he would push aside special interests in Washington, tell the truth and follow the U.S. Constitution.

That would be a marked departure from what's happened in the Bush-Cheney administration, Obama said before a loud crowd of 7,000 people at Montana State University's Brick Breeden Field House. It was his third stop of the day after events in Billings and on the Crow Indian Reservation as he campaigns for Montana's June 3 presidential primary.

"We have an opportunity to bring an end to that Katrina incompetence and warrantless wiretaps," Obama said.

He drew some of his loudest applause when he called for returning government in Washington to the people and ousting the special interests that have blocked universal health care, tax reform that helps everyday citizens instead of corporations and a major push for alternative energy.

"We want someone to bring an end to the game-playing in Washington," Obama said.

ExxonMobil has registered $11 billion in profits the past two quarters, while some Americans are paying $3.80 a gallon for gasoline, Obama said.

"We're going to have to change how business is done in Washington," he said, adding: "We've got to take back our government.

While praising the presumed Republican nominee John McCain's service to his country, Obama criticized McCain's plan to suspend the federal gasoline tax for three months, saying it would save the average consumer only 30 cents a day, assuming the oil companies didn't raise their prices.

He did not mention that his Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton had backed the same plan. Obama praised her as a strong opponent and said he was sure the rival camps would come together in the fall to elect a Democrat as president.

Americans need real relief, Obama said, saying he will pass a law to give each family $1,000 a year to help them pay for higher gas prices and other rising costs.

Obama pledged to spend $150 billion over 10 years on alternative energy such as wind, solar and biodiesel, a move to rid this country's dependence on foreign oil and one he said would put millions of Americans to work.

He called for enforcing environmental protection laws again, making it more affordable for students to attend college and raising teachers' pay and improving education by emphasizing all subjects, not just the ones that are tested under the No Child Left Behind.

"Bozeman, this is possible, but it's going to be hard," the Illinois senator said. "The status quo doesn't give up power willingly."

He pledged to remove U.S. troops from Iraq in 2009 and said Bush and McCain's support for this war had actually served to make Iran a greater threat. Obama drew some loud applause when he said the soldiers who return from Iraq would be treated far better if he is elected and not have to travel hundreds of miles for health care.

Obama charged that Bush and his administration had not followed the U.S. Constitution.

"You'll have a president who has taught the Constitution, believes in the Constitution and will obey the Constitution," said Obama.

The race, he said, is "about you and your struggles and helping you achieve the American dream."

But Obama said Republicans will try to make the race about him, raising false rumors that he's a Muslim and questioning his patriotism. He told of father leaving when he was two, being raised by his mother and his grandparents in Kansas, often struggling financially, but, able to get an fine education.

"And now here we are, able to run for the highest office in the land," Obama said. "That's my story. It's an American story. It is a story that's only possible in this great country of ours. My patriotism is grounded in the story of my family and the story of your family."

Obama said some people have asked why he is running for president so soon and why he wouldn't wait for another election year. He quoted the late Martin Luther King, who talked about "the fierce urgency of now."

"We cannot afford to wait," he said. "We can't wait to fix our schools. We can't wait to fix our health care system. We can't wait to bring back good jobs and good wages to American workers. We cannot wait and that's why I'm running for president."

Afterward, Brandon Conroy, a 22-year-old University of Montana-Western student from Helena, said, "I loved it. I really enjoyed it."

"It's pretty much affirming everything I've heard about him," he said.

Conroy, studying to be a teacher, was especially pleased to hear about Obama's proposals to revise education.

JoAnne Polsak, a retired psychotherapist from Bozeman, said Obama delivered "a great speech."

"I liked the fact that he is for the people, that we're going to work together to stop the special interests," Polsak said.

Three Forks Mayor Gene Townsend introduced Obama, and actor Michael Keaton, who lives in Montana part time, ran to the stage to put in a good word for Obama.