MARION - Fresh off routing his opponents in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, Barack Obama went on a victory lap around Illinois with a stop at the Williamson County Regional Airport, where he was greeted by a hero's welcome.

"I was going to say I was tired but I think you all picked me back up," Obama said to the dozens of clapping people who welcomed him as he entered the terminal.

Obama won with 53 percent - 642,305 votes - of ballots cast statewide. His closest rival was Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, who garnered a 24 percent share. Five other candidates, including millionaire businessman Blair Hull, who led in the polls four weeks ago, filled out the field.

Obama's popularity upstate didn't translate to Southern Illinois, where Hynes beat him in all but Jackson County. Hynes' campaign in this region was bolstered by support from labor.

The African-American state senator and former civil rights lawyer from Chicago squares off against Republican Jack Ryan, who won with 36 percent of his party's vote. The two men are vying for the seat being vacated by Republican U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, who chose not to run again.

The race could help Democrats dislodge the slim majority lead - 51 to 48 with one independent aligned with Democrats - Republicans hold in the chamber.

"This is the second most important race in the nation other than the presidential race. The stakes are extraordinarily high. Control of the Senate is at stake," he said. "John Kerry gave me a call this morning, congratulated me but also talked about how important Illinois is going to be both in the presidential race and in our ability to move a Democratic agenda forward."

The race promises to be a classic liberal-versus-conservative contest although Obama, 42, shies away from such labels.

"I think the labels 'conservative' and 'liberal' no longer work," he said. "George Bush has taken a $200 billion surplus and run it into a $700 billion deficit. I don't know what is conservative about that. There is nothing conservative about those spend and spend strategies: tax cuts to people who don't need them or are even asking for. This is a radical vision that's well out of the mainstream and doesn't make sense.

"A lot of times Republicans want to characterize that this is a values debate. I welcome the conversation," he added. "I'm somebody who doesn't just talk about values, I tried to live them.

The most important values that I know and one of the most important character tests that I know of is how are you treating other people? How are you treating the vulnerable? How are you treating the aged?"

Obama called for spirited Lincoln-Douglass-like debates between Ryan and him. He also stressed how much in lockstep his opponent is with the president on issues.

"The Republican standard-bearer in this race embraces wholeheartedly the Bush agenda for this country. There is going to be a big contrast and sharp debate between me and him about whether Bush's agenda has been good for this country," he said. "The facts speak for themselves."

Obama railed on the Bush administration for its trade policies, saying the United States must do a better job of negotiating agreements with other countries. He said the tax code must be changed to deter companies from moving jobs overseas.

"When you have the president's economic adviser suggesting that outsourcing is good for America and good for the economy, I think that is going to be news to the people in Illinois who work in plants for 20 years and suddenly see their jobs shift out somewhere," he said. "We have a tax code that currently incentivizes companies to move offshore. We have put forth specific plans for shifting those tax breaks to those companies that invest in America, invest in American workers and invest in research and development in the United States."

Obama campaigned lightly in Southern Illinois during the primary, focusing most of his energies in his home base, but said he'll make his presence known in the region in this race.

"We didn't have the resources to run the campaign as we would have liked to," he said. "I'm going to be camped out here. I enjoy campaigning here in Southern Illinois more than just about any other place because it is old fashion retail politics -going to fish fries, popcorn festivals, state fairs and meeting voters and getting to know them in ways that are very difficult to do in a large area like Chicago."

jeff.smyth@thesouthern.com 618-529-5454 x15073