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By BRIAN A. HOWEY
INDIANAPOLIS - Barack Obama and Evan Bayh are expected to take the stage at Concord High School’s McCuen Gym between 9:30 and 10 a.m. Wednesday, 2nd CD Democratic Chairman Butch Morgan told Howey Politics Indiana Tuesday morning. But no one is predicting this is a vice presidential rollout, though Democratic stalwarts from around the state have been advised to make this scene.
The rumor mill was cranking full speed over the past 24 hours. They included that the pair might motor to events in LaPorte County as well as Indianapolis. Democratic sources last weekend mentioned police motorcade plans that included LaPorte. The Obama campaign has been mum on a starting time. A key telltale is that a veep rollout wouldn’t occur prior to 10 a.m. due to West Coast viewership. But Obama has no other events scheduled for Wednesday and wheels up for the national press corps is listed at 3:30 p.m.
The Elkhart Truth reported today that more than a 1,000 people lined up for tickets beginning at 6 a.m. The Indianapolis Star had an interview with Bayh confidant Joe Hogsett, who attempted to tamp down expectations. He said that Wednesday’s visit "needs to be interpreted for what it precisely is on its face." Obama is expected to continue to address energy issues in a county where 1,4000 Monaco jobs were lost due to skyrocketing gas prices and the jobless rate has escalated. Obama kicked off his energy issues with a speech in Lansing, Mich., as well as a TV ad aimed at John McCain.
In an article at Salon.com , Walter Shapiro writes about Obama’s timing in announcing his running mate, noting that neither he nor McCain appears likely to make such an announcement until after the Olympics. Meanwhile, "the strong suggestion from inside the Obama camp is that he will not make a move until the Olympics start winding down with the table tennis finals and the tae kwon do medal ceremony."
Bayh and Obama did team up on a letter to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates which was released on Monday. The two pressed Gates to extend military treatment for the "signature injury" of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars: traumatic brain injury. "We are concerned that at a time when TBI is recognized as the signature wound of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of the most widely accepted and critical rehabilitative treatments for this injury, known as cognitive rehabilitation therapy, is excluded by the military’s TRICARE health insurance program," the senators wrote to Gates. "Given the prevalence of TBI among returning service personnel, it is difficult to comprehend why the military’s managed healthcare plan does not cover the very therapies that give our soldiers the best opportunities to recover and live full and productive lives."
Finally, Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy says he will likely support Obama. He told Kenny Mayne in ESPN Magazine, "I was an Obama guy in the primaries. I remember hearing Dr. King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech when I was 7, but I never thought I’d see an African-American with an opportunity to win the presidency. So this has been stunning to me. I haven’t made up my mind, but I’m definitely leaning toward Obama."
Photo: Bayh and Obama talk during a war zone flight to Iraq in 2006. (Bayh Senate Photo)
Tags: Barack Obama, Evan Bayh, John McCain, Robert Gates, Walter Shapiro
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This entry was written by and posted on August 5, 2008 at 10:51 am and filed under HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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