Endorsements from newspapers

The IndyStar, Indiana's largest newspaper, "has opted not to endorse a candidate for president" and is staying neutral because Indiana's battleground status.  

"The paper called Obama 'eloquent and charismatic' but also said it had great concerns about his tax proposals, his liberal stand on social issues and what it called his lack of experience.

The Star said McCain has a 'long and distinguished record of service to the nation' but said he's unlikely to provide a sharp enough break from the Bush administration's policies."

Other newspapers in Indiana, the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne and the Palladium-Item in Richmond, are endorsing Barack Obama.  There are no major endorsements in the state for Sen. McCain.

Ten days until election day!

With only ten days left until November 4th, Indianans find themselves in the political hot seat.  Obama visited the contentious Hoosier state this Thursday in an attempt to seal the deal.  A crowd of 35,000 jammed the American Legion Mall to deliver a harsh criticism of John McCain's tax policies.  

Northwest Indiana seems particularly favorable to the message of change, but disagree on who is best delivering it.  Between hardline Joe the Plumber advocates of McCain and those who see the economic plunder as the plight brought on by Republicans, the decision is iffy.  

So what do the polls say about all of this?  The winner is . . . not clear.  It's a dead heat with McCain only holding on to a mere 1% lead and with the margin of error that is nothing at all.  Obama has outspent McCain in Indiana by millions in advertising and that's what this could come down to.  Obama could be the first Democrat since the 1960s to be carried by Indiana and that would be a feat in of it self.

In the gubernatorial race, the clear winner, at least at this point in time, is Republican Daniels who enjoys a sizable lead over his opponent.

Obama as a terrorist!

Indiana becomes the next state to fall victim to negative phone calls. Hoosier voters have been recieving calls paid for by the Republican National Committee accusing Sen. Barack Obama of having "close ties" with a terrorist. The "smear campaign" as some are referring to it, has angered some voters. But the Republican Party is standing by its guns.

Spokeswoman for the McCain campaign, Sarah Lenti gave the following response to this tactic.

"The Obama campaign," she said, "has had at least nine different stories about Barack Obama's relationship with Bill Ayers. Obama's own unwillingness to speak directly to this relationship, and what he knew and when he knew about Ayers' past, is pure issue-avoidance."

Indianans are not the only ones who've recieved the phone calls. People in Maine, Nevada and Wisconsin have also recieved the phone calls portraying Obama as a friend and ally of terrorists. However, a non-partisan fact checking group Factcheck.org discredited the McCain camp claim.

"'Obama never 'lied' about this, just as he never bragged about it. The foundation they both worked with was hardly 'radical,' and Ayers is more than a former 'terrorist,' he's also a well-known figure in the field of education,' the group said."

Celebrity and Uncertainty

The other celebrity, besides Barack Obama, is to appear at the Verizon Center in Noblesville Indiana today, that would be Sarah Palin.  This is Palin's first appearance in a typically red state that is struggling with its political identity.  Palin will host 25,000 people today in the hopes to persuade voters to not vote for a Democratic candidate like they did the last time, in 1964.  It has been a while since Indiana has played an integral role in the election process and now, since the economy and Wall Street have abandoned ship, Indianans may be looking across the aisle for answers.

This could also help Republicans who are running in the race for governorship of Indiana.  Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels who has a scheduling conflict will not be present which is odd and unfortunate for the Republican party.

In other news, voter turnout for early voting has been high.  More than 60,000 votes have been cast indicating that the November 4th voting might be huge.  There is no indication of a clear winner as of yet as both candidates are neck and neck in most polls that have been taken.

Political Happenings in the Hoosier State

In the gubernatorial race, Democratic candidate Jill Long Thompson criticized the state's investment in speculative bonds, implicating Gov. Mitch Daniels who she sees as acting irresponsibly in "overseeing the investment of more than $3 billion in proceeds from the 75-year lease of the Toll Road."

She also criticized Gov. Daniels response at a debate taht the responsibility rests with the state treasurer.  In her criticism, Long Thompson said that the "buck will allways stop with" her.

This is all a part of an effort on Long Thompson's part to unseat Republican Gov. Daniels as she portrays his administration as an economic liability that doesn't have the best interests of the people in mind.

However, Gov. Mitch Daniels has four times as much cash as his Democratic rival and has been running advertisements almost non-stop since mid-April.  This presence has given Daniels a lead in the polls headed into the November general elections.

Michelle Obama spoke to a crowd of about 1,000 people in Fort Wayne Indiana yesterday advocating that her husband, Barack Obama, "gets it" when it comes to the harsh economic realities people are facing in today's times.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will be in Noblesville, Indiana, to drum up support for McCain.  The 24,000 tickets that were available were all reserved by Wednesday afternoon.  As compared to an earlier Obama rally which drew 21,000 supporters in the middle of the week, Palin's audience will rival that number as many are interested to hear what the Alaskan governor has to say.

Obama's ACORN

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN, faces allegations of voter fraud of being more than 2,000 voter registration forms filed in Lake County Indiana have turned out to be bogus.  ACORN is a left leaning Obama supportive voting organization, and a subsidiary of ACORN has received $800,000 to help register voters from Obama's campaign.  There is no direct link between Obama's campaign and the forged documents, most of whom bear the names of deceased individuals.  Of course the Republican Party is of the opinion that Obama's camp is attempting to sway the election his way.  Voter fraud is nothing new to elections.  LBJ is known for winning the Senate seat in 1948 by a margin of 87 votes, the votes that were filed by people already deceased.

The Democratic Agenda in Indiana: Cheat?

According to an Sen. Lindsey Graham, the only way the Democrats can win in Indiana is "if they cheat us out of it."  Graham went on to say that ACORN is "trying to steal the election in Indiana.  

There is an ongoing investigation into ACORN as to whether or not it committed fraud when registering voters.  About 1,100 new voter applications in the contentious Lake County were reported as "no good" because they were incomplete or contained unreadable handwriting.

The Obama has Landed

Yesterday, Barack Obama made an appearance at the State Fair grounds in Indianapolis Indiana.  His message of better days to come rang out across the fairgrounds to a visiting crowd of 21,000.  This is his 46th visit this year to the state of Indiana where some polls show John McCain lagging in support.  When speaking of the economic troubles most people are facing, Obama said the following:

"What this crisis has taught us is that at the end of the day, there is no real separation between Main Street and Wall Street.  There is only the road we're traveling on as Americans, and we will rise or fall on that journey as one nation, as one people."

His promise to end the war with Iraq resonated with the crowd as they cheered their approval.  John McCain has some serious work to do in Indiana.  Whether he'll make the investment is a question most Indianans are asking.

Voter turnout

There's been an unprecedented showing of early voters who flocked to the polls on Monday to cast their ballots.  The national data indicates that as many as 1/3rd of all votes will be cast in early voting.  With 465,000 new registrations since the 2006 election voter turnout is expected to be at an all time high.

Indiana's Political temperature is heating up.

Presidential candidate Barack Obama is heading to Indiana to campaign at the State Fairgrounds.  This will be part of an increased effort to sway the red state away from John McCain who has just now started to increase his visibility with television advertisements.  Northwest Indiana, especially Lake County is especially contentious.  McCain has started opening offices there.  Indianans are somewhat surprised by this move as they have, in the past, voted primarily for the Republican party.  The interest in Indiana has grown by both parties. and a recent poll shows Obama is leading McCain by a 3 point advantage.

The threat that the Democratic Party poses to Republicans has become so pronounced that Republicans are attempting to block early voting in Lake County.  Lake County primarily consists of low income voters.  Motions were filed in state courts to delay the opening of the polls and the state court upheld the restraining order.  Federal courts were upset by the decision as it is a voting rights issue and more on the federal level, and so ordered that the state court's decision was invalid, recessing the hearing until this coming Thursday.  The Republicans were successful in delaying the opening of the polls.

Also in Indiana, it is the last day to register to vote and the first day of early voting.  Nearly 70% of Indianans are registered to vote and as history has it, a large voter turnout typically favors the Democratic party.

Light and time could play a factor in the selection of Indiana's next governor.  Gov. Mitch Daniels pushed for legislation that effectively moved up the time change which affects Indiana uniquely.  Indiana inhabits two time zones, Central and Eastern.  The time change affects how businesses operate, and even affects how students, according to a study conducted by The University of Notre Dame, score on SAT scores.  All of this may just be steam blown around, but if it gets hot enough then Gov. Mitch Daniels should expect competition.