SAN FRANCISCO -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spent the past two days campaigning throughout the Bay Area in a visit highlighted by a massive fundraising rally at the Bill Graham Civic Center Wednesday night in front of some 6,000 paying supporters gathered to hear the Illinois senator speak.

It may seem to many Americans that the 2008 presidential campaign has already dragged on too long. But -- believe it or not -- real voting is now just seven weeks away.

So, even though Obama's evening appearance at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco's Civic Center was billed as a fundraiser, it had the feeling of a massive rally.

To attract young people and voters not swimming in money, the Obama campaign charged anywhere from ten to thirty dollars.

Until recently, polls showed Senator Hillary Clinton with an overwhelming lead over Obama and John Edwards. But in recent weeks polls have tightened. The change is credited partly to Clinton stumbling in the last debate, but also partly to Obama's more active criticism of the former first lady.

Numbers are especially tight in the momentum building state of Iowa where the first caucuses will be held in a month and a half. Clinton, Obama and Edwards are currently in a three-way dead heat there.

For those wondering if voters might hold Obama's race against him, his strong showing so far in Iowa is informative. Iowa is a predominantly white state, very few African Americans there.

Obama's Bay Area visit wasn't all about money. Earlier at a forum in Mountain View, he told Google employees that of all the candidates running, he would have the most credibility with foreign leaders.

The visit to Google headquarters not only attracted a visibly larger audience than any previous candidate, but also two of the world's richest men: company founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Obama told the assembled Google employees he will win the presidency next year by "being straight with the American people."

"Democrats lose when they are not clear on what they stand for," Obama said. "The problem we have is when we get defensive. And we are not sure about our beliefs or convictions."

Obama did not hesitate to offer specifics during the forum, which was streamed and is available for download on Google's YouTube site. He said as president he would have American combat troops out of Iraq in approximately 16 months.

"We can safely bring out 1 to 2 brigades per month," Obama said.

The freshman U.S. Senator from Illinois also promised to negotiate directly with Iran if elected and he criticized his opponents, without mentioning any specific candidates, who have rejected direct negotiations.

"The notion that not talking to our enemies makes us look tough I think is fundamentally flawed. It makes us look arrogant," Obama said.

Obama, like every major presidential candidate that comes to Silicon Valley, promised his presidency would increase broadband access nationwide and make more H-1B visas available for foreign workers.

Brin and Page were also visible in the audience, which was not the case previously when candidates appeared at company forums open to the media.

Former California State Controller Steve Westly, now a co-chairman of Obama's California campaign, said Obama's getting stronger as more California residents begin to pay attention to the presidential race.

"I think he's got huge momentum building," Westly said.

Obama only took one question from a reporter as he was leaving the Google event. The reporter was journalism student Allison Tam, 10, of Saratoga. She asked him what he would do about contaminated toys being imported from China and other countries.

"I would have our safety inspectors go to those countries," Obama told Allison.