21 posts tagged “indiana”

The Governor of Indiana was on Face the Nation last Sunday touting Indiana's balanced budget.  He commented that "[Indiana has] come to a position of all debts paid and budget’s balanced and pretty strong reserve."

Yet, here in Indianapolis (the capital city) our mayor is complaining about our crumbling infrastructure and lack of money to fix it.  In fact, he's going to spend money to find money by creating an advisory committee.  (Oy!)

And today's Indianapolis Star is lamenting the conditions at our city parks. 

So, the streets of Indianapolis are cratered and crumbling, our city parks are falling apart and we don't have the money to fix them, but HOORAY ... our state has a balanced budget! 

Watch where you step!

FIRST BITE The suspense starts in Indiana. Most polls close at 6 p.m. and others at 7. Indiana is a ruby red state where Mr. Obama has been running closely with Mr. McCain. Be wary of results that do not include Gary, a city with a substantial African-American population. If Mr. Obama wins it, Indiana could be the canary in the coal mine predicting disaster ahead for Mr. McCain.

from this story in the New York Times.

John McCain is coming to Indy later today, which is hilarious.  The day before election day?  The Republican candidate for president is coming to Indianapolis?  I still have my doubts about Indiana going blue, but yesterday I saw the lines of people wrapped around the block to vote early at our City-County building.  And the line was just as long in the morning as it was in the evening.  And now McCain is spending precious campaign hours in Indianapolis today?  Wow.  It's hard not to be a little bit optimistic. 

Jonathan Martin dissects the significance of McCain's final day itinerary pretty well here.

Later in the day, McCain will hold his first campaign rally in Indiana. No political observer thought this summer the Hoosier State would be contested, but two polls there last week show a dead heat.   McCain may still pull it out on the strength of a huge margins in the southern, heavily rural swath of the state, but that he is being forced to stop the day before the election in a state that Bush won by 20 points four years ago offers the best evidence for how the degree to which the GOP has been forced on defense. And, incidentally, note where McCain is visiting — Indianapolis. Not only is it the largest city in the state, but Obama has pulled into a tie in the state on the strength of his effort in the capital's Marion County and its surrounding suburbs, especially fast-growing Hamilton County.

 

McCain Indiana Campaign Headquarters

1 comment

(from Ken Bode in today's Indy Star)

Some closing thoughts on the long election of 2008.

First, John McCain says we're in for a long night Tuesday, that this election is close and going down to the wire. I offer this alternative thought. The polls in Indiana close at 6 p.m., except for those 12 Central time counties. If it is not too close to call here, we'll be the first state on the network tote boards at 7 p.m.

If they call it for Barack Obama, you can go to bed.

Second, I have never written about women's clothing. But I am puzzled by Sarah Palin telling a rally that they will be returning most of her new $150,000 wardrobe. How does this work? Do you just walk back into Saks with a month-old $2,500 leather jacket and turn it in? Does Saks then sell it as used? This kind of reminds me of the governor who went into a friendly auto dealership and took out an Oldsmobile for a test drive. He brought it back four years later.

However, it really was Cindy McCain who got my attention.

A millionaire from birth, she chose to wear three-carat diamond earrings worth $280,000 on convention night, with an Oscar de la Renta dress, a Chanel wristwatch and a four-strand pearl necklace, bringing her wardrobe price tag to more than $300,000. With 13 cars and eight homes, what do the McCains know about Joe the Plumber?

Which brings me to thought number three. For McCain and Palin to hang their final message to America's voters on Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe, an unlicensed plumber who fails to pay his taxes, is borderline ridiculous. Now they're expanding the repertoire to include Cindy the hairdresser, Fred the mechanic and Rudy the schoolteacher. They are like two cocky teenagers giving a "shout-out" in the high school assembly. Meanwhile, standing in the wings in their Gucci loafers are top aides Charlie, Rick and Steve the lobbyists.

With presidential race too close to call, 'every vote counts'
By Mary Beth Schneider and Bill Ruthhart
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com

Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Barack Obama are locked in a dead heat among Hoosier voters, according to a new Indianapolis Star-WTHR (Channel 13) poll.

More than ever, that means Indiana's 11 electoral votes will go to whichever candidate does the better job of making sure his supporters cast ballots by Tuesday.

The poll, by Selzer & Co. of Des Moines, Iowa, showed Obama backed by 45.9 percent of those polled, and McCain by 45.3 percent. Given the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, the race is a toss-up.

Before the Democratic Primary in Indiana, the polls showed Hillary Clinton with a 10 - 12% lead, and she ended up winning by just 2%, so while I'm trying to stay pragmatic about Indiana voting Democrat, I still find this very interesting. 

This photo?

Rebel

was taken in Martinsville, Indiana.  This might be the only Obama sign in Martinsville! 

from Jonathan Martin's blog at politico.com.

Show us a bird native to your habitat.

Lately, we've been seeing these American Goldfinches hanging out in our shrubbery.  The males are so striking in their brightness.  I can see why they're also called Wild Canaries. 

Goldfinch1

Hoosier voters know that, when it comes to presidential politics, Indiana is red, red, red.  Often, we joke about how the polls close at 6:00 p.m. on election night, and then at 6:05 the state turns red on the national map.  Because of this, Indiana is typically ignored during the presidential race.  So, I am so pleased to see that Barack Obama is running television ads here, has opened 6 campaign offices in Indiana and now plans to hold a national security summit at Purdue this Wednesday.

Bill Blomquist, a political science professor at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, said it seems clear that Obama is not merely trying to confuse the McCain campaign by devoting resources to what is typically a red state, but is instead trying to redraw the national electoral map.

I really appreciate this attitude that Indiana is NOT irrevocably red.  There is a lot of complacency among Hoosier voters because of this notion that their vote won't matter, but through efforts like these by Obama, I believe that complacency can be overcome.

Jim Bopp, a Republican National Committee member from Indiana, doesn't think McCain should devote many resources here, and can't understand why Obama is either.

"I don't understand the strategy," said Bopp, a Terre Haute attorney. "I just don't think Indiana ultimately will be competitive for Obama. A strategy where (Obama) would focus on Indiana is a bit wasteful and pointless."

Hmmmmm.  Maybe Obama is devoting resources here because he doesn't take voters for granted.

 So, people in Indiana are gambling less and it's reported as BAD news?

But Indiana casinos could have an advantage over Las Vegas, Hicks said. Places like Las Vegas are more destination vacations, unlike the local casinos that can be reached for an afternoon getaway.

In other words, gambling can become more habitual if you're doing it in your own back yard and not on vacation.  Sweet!

Another Fun Day at the Casino!

So, tons of news trucks are parked outside of the downtown Marriott, complicating the already messed up traffic situation in my little corner of downtown Indy.  All, to take a peek at THIS guy!   Yuck!

Does My Breath Stink?

And, for the record, I agree with Wesley Clark:  I don’t think riding in a fighter plane and getting shot down is a qualification to be president.  Obama/Clark 08?