CHEYENNE - Although Barack Obama's campaign has stumbled in recent weeks, Gov. Dave Freudenthal continues to support the Illinois senator in his quest for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

"I still believe that of the two candidates the Democrats offer, Obama has the greatest chance of changing the gridlock chemistry in Washington," Freudenthal said in an interview Friday afternoon.

Freudenthal will speak on Obama's behalf during the Montana Democratic Party's annual Harry S. Truman dinner May 10. Former President Bill Clinton is also on the speaker list to support the presidential campaign of his wife, Hillary Clinton.

Tickets to the dinner, to be held in the Montana State University-Billings gymnasium, are sold out. Bleacher seats still are available at $40 each, party officials said in a news release.

Freudenthal, a superdelegate to this summer's Democratic National Convention, announced his support for Obama in early April. That was before the recent attacks on Obama's campaign for the intemperate remarks of his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, and for his own statement about bitter small-town people who cling to religion and guns.

Freudenthal said he believes Obama has been hurt by his association with Wright.

"But I think he finally said what needed to be said about it," the Democratic said, referring to Obama's public break with Wright..

The campaign overall still is in the "gotcha stage," he said.

"With all due respect to all of the candidates, people who have seven-figure incomes arguing about who best understands people's problems in buying gasoline is a little hard for me to take," Freudenthal said.

Given their financial reports, none of the three candidates, Democrats Obama and Hillary Clinton and the Republican Party's presumed nominee, John McCain, "are in danger of missing any meals," Freudenthal added.

McCain and Hillary Clinton both have called for a suspension of the federal tax on gasoline for the summer. Obama said this is a "gimmick" and wouldn't help motorists that much.

"I thought he had a lot of guts to say that, given the last two weeks," Freudenthal said.

Obama's campaign has attacked Clinton for her disproved story about being under sniper fire when her plane landed in Bosnia during her time as first lady.

Clinton's people have attacked Obama for his remark on rural people and their guns and religion.

This "gotcha" game, Freudenthal said "is more reflective of why the country's in trouble as much as anything else, and I hope people see past it," he said.

Freudenthal said he looks forward to seeing and hearing the former president.

"He's got to be easily the smoothest, most effective political orator on the scene today," he said.

Although President Clinton signed the papers appointing Freudenthal as U.S. attorney for Wyoming, the governor said they didn't know each other. The one responsible for the appointment was former Gov. Mike Sullivan, he said.

Four years ago Freudenthal traveled to Montana to campaign for Gov. Brian Schweitzer, also a Democrat, when he ran for that state's chief executive seat.

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Contact Joan Barron at joan.barron@trib.com or by phone at 307-632-1244.