MADISON, Wis. -- Nearly 4,000 people flocked to Monona Terrace in Madison on Monday to hear Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

VIDEO: Watch Obama's Speech | SLIDESHOW: See Photos Of Obama's Speech

The event and fundraiser was called "Countdown to Change" and Obama, a U.S. senator from Illinois, is positioning himself as candidate who can bring the most change to Washington, D.C.

Students paid $15 and other attendees paid $30 to hear Obama outline his vision for the country should he become the next president in 2008. About half the crowd attending the event was made up of University of Wisconsin students, WISC-TV reported.

Obama came onto the stage on Monday afternoon in an open-collared shirt, which matched the image that he's trying to portray as a man of the people. He said that he would work on reforming the health care system and ending the war in Iraq. He also said that he's in step with the average American.

"All they expect is that somebody in Washington is going to be fighting for them," he said. "Somebody is going to be looking out for their interests. Somebody is going to be walking shoulder to shoulder with them as they try to grab hold of the American Dream. That's the kind of politics that we have to restore in Washington."

Obama detailed his plans for concluding the Iraq war.

"The first thing I will do as president of the United States is call the Joint Chiefs of Staff and give them a new mission. And that is to start bringing our troops back because we cannot have them in the midst of a civil war," he said.

When speaking about his ideas for changing the health care system, Obama stressed moving quickly to alleviate the growing crisis.

"We are not going to do it 20 years from now. We're not going to do it 10 years from now. We're going to do it by the end of my first term as president," he said. "We are going to make sure that every single American has the health care that they need."

Obama also talked about investing in education, including early childhood education, making college accessible and affordable to everyone and paying teachers more.

"If we are serious then we are going to invest in early childhood education and close the achievement gap," he said. "And then, we're going to pay our teachers more."

However, he didn't outline how he intends to pay for his ideas, WISC-TV reported.

Many of those who came to speak said that they had high expectations of the candidate whose campaign theme is hope and change.

Barbara Widder said that she thinks Obama will lead the country in a new direction.

"I'm here because this country needs a change," she said. "The war is disgusting. This man will bring about change."

Another supporter, Pam Peterson, said that she thinks Obama will provide leadership in many issues at home.

"The war is a big part of it. But I think we've got so many domestic issues at home as far as health insurance," she said.

Peterson said that she believes hope is the most important facet of Obama's appeal.

"There is a good chance of hope. And that's what we all want to find is hope," she said.

Jillian Turner said that she supports the senator's stand on key issues, particularly education funding.

"We really are interested in the change in education," she said. "And how teachers should be treated with utmost respect and paid much more than they are."

Obama interrupted his speech three separate times when he noticed people in the crowd had passed out in the very warm ballroom, WISC-TV reported.

After speaking, Obama left the crowd by driving home his core message.

"Let's go change the world!" he said.

Both Obama and his campaign staff told the crowd that they should contact as many people as they know to build support for the campaign. His staff was signing up people willing to go to neighboring Iowa to campaign.

Obama's visit is the first presidential visit of this election for Wisconsin's capital city.

The last Republican candidate to stop in Madison was former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole in 1996. The last Democrat was U.S. Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 race. Kerry held a large rally that featured an appearance by Bruce Springsteen.

Although Kerry won Wisconsin in the general election, he ultimately lost to President George W. Bush.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.