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BAYH DEFENDS OBAMA ON CBS: Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh from Indiana and Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota defended their candidates’ stances on Russia and the conflict in Georgia on Face The Nation on Sunday (CBS News). .jpg)
Pawlenty emphasized presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s experience and pointed to a statement McCain said during a forum with Pastor Rick Warren at Saddleback Church in California that he would deploy military forces when the national security interests of the U.S. are challenged. "I think he’s acknowledged that military action in this particular situation is unlikely, but as commander in chief, he wants to make sure all options remain available to him, and that’s understandable," Pawlenty said. "And one of the questions this crisis raises is who do you want sitting across the table from Vladimir Putin and people like him, John McCain or Senator Obama? And I think the answer is Senator McCain, and that’s for obvious reasons, with his experience in national security, military affairs, his clarity, his strength, and his judgment in these matters. "As you saw with the surge and as you see even before this crisis broke out, he said last year we’ve got a problem, we should be thinking about having Russia be disinvited from the G-8," Pawlenty added. But Bayh countered by saying that McCain went too far in his statements about the crisis, and defended the judgment of his party’s candidate, presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama. "We aren’t all Georgians now," Bayh said, referring to a comment McCain made earlier in the week. "If we were Georgians and the Russians were invading our country and killing our people, we’d be in a state of war. And clearly, that’s not what we want. And John, sometimes, he’s a good person, but he’s a little bit given to this kind of bellicose rhetoric, which has a tendency to inflame conflicts rather than to diffuse them, and that’s what you want in a president. "I think Barack Obama has consistently demonstrated superior judgment to Senator McCain on a whole host of national security issues," Bayh added. "Whether to go into Iraq or not: Barack Obama was correct. How to get out of Iraq: The Iraqis embrace Barack Obama’s position - even George Bush is coming around. "He was right about Afghanistan; finally, John McCain is coming around on that. He was right about engaging Iran; George Bush has come around on that. And he was right about Georgia. Months ago, he was calling for this conflict to be diffused. Instead, the president and John McCain are so obsessed with Iraq, we dropped the ball. If we’d listened to Senator Obama and his judgment, perhaps we wouldn’t be here today."
CNN POLL OF POLLS HAS OBAMA UP 6%: CNN’s composite of five independent polls has Barack Obama leading John McCain 47-41 percent.
VEEP PARADE ON SUNDAY TV: The Sunday morning news shows were deluged with a cavalcade of would-be running mates, in what were either tryouts or head feints or maybe just plain old partisan surrogates talking up their candidates. But Senator Joseph Biden –- as the man who was not there, but rather acting the statesman in Georgia –- attracted a great deal of favorable commentary from the Sunday morning Greek chorus of pundits (Cooper, New York Times). On ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,’’ Mr. Stephanopoulos took note of the emerging consensus on his round table of panelists that Mr. Biden was a favored candidate, joking that it meant he was almost certain not to get the nod. Other contenders did show up in person on the Sunday shows. Gov. Tim Kaine called his prospects to become Senator Obama’s running mate “unlikely” on NBC’s “Meet the Press.’’ And on CBS’s “Face the Nation,’’ Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana suggested that Senator John McCain’s rhetoric last week on the Georgian crisis – in which he said “We are all Georgians” – had gone too far. “We are not all Georgians now,’’ Mr. Bayh said. “If we were Georgians and the Russians were invading our country and killing our people, we’d be in a state of war. And clearly, that’s not what we want. And John sometimes, he’s a good person, but he’s a little bit given to this kind of bellicose rhetoric, which has a tendency to inflame conflicts rather than to diffuse them, and that’s what you want in a president.’’ The Republican prospects were out in force on the Sunday shows as well, praising Mr. McCain’s response to the Georgian crisis and his long-held hard line on Russia and fending off speculation about their futures. Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota grew defensive on CBS when Senator Bayh said that he had opposed the so-called “surge” in Iraq, which Mr. McCain has made central to his campaign. “I did not oppose the surge,’’ Mr. Pawlenty said. “I said I was skeptical of it because I thought it was too late. Like Senator McCain, I wanted it to start earlier.” Tom Ridge, the former Pennsylvania governor and Homeland Security secretary, was asked on Fox News Sunday about an interview Mr. McCain gave last week to The Weekly Standard in which he praised Mr. Ridge and suggested that he might be open to a running mate who, like Mr. Ridge, supports abortion rights. The trial balloon was met with dismay and anger by several cultural conservatives. “Well, we’ve had no discussions on this very important issue,’’ Mr. Ridge said of his talks with Mr. McCain. “As I said before, he understands the majority of the Republican Party disagrees with me on this issue. We’ve had no conversations. And the last time I checked, the vice president is not an independent voice. He echoes the position of the president of the United States.’’ On ABC, Mitt Romney praised Mr. McCain’s experience, and declined to respond to Mike Huckabee’s suggestion in recent days that Mr. McCain might alienate social conservatives if he were to tap Mr. Romney as a running mate.
LUGAR TALKS OF OBAMA, GEORGIA: U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, appearing on CNN’s Late Edition, talked of Barack Obama and the Russian invasion of Georgia on Sunday. Wolf Blitzer noted that Obama had used Lugar in his TV ads. Lugar responded, "I have shared with Barack Obama my experiences with Sam Nunn during the last 16 years in Russia. I hope they have been helpful to him and to others. I have shared the fact that during that period, since we saw Boris Yeltsin in a bad mood, Russia has moved beyond that to Vladimir Putin, who has in fact created a state that is rich. It has oil resources, it has ambitions, and in this particular crisis was looking for an opportunity to make a statement following what it feels were slights of NATO membership for Georgia and Ukraine, or Kosovo." So who is more responsible for this crisis right now? Georgia, the government of Georgia, or the government of Russia? Lugar said, "The government of Russia is more responsible, because they have taken ruthless, brutal action. The facts are, however, that our State Department advised in the personages of two or three people for Mr. Saakashvili not to attack, because the Russians were armed. They were ready. They were in the tunnel." So they were looking for a provocation, is that what you’re saying? "They were looking for an opportunity at far range, understanding that we are preoccupied and stretched elsewhere, that we do have problems with our allies. It was an opportune moment to make a statement, to make it boldly and brutally, and with the full idea that it would create difficulties not only for Georgia, but for us," Lugar said.
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Indiana Governor
DANIELS SETS UP TEXT MESSAGING NETWORK: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is leading the way in using new technology and the youth movement to propel his presidential campaign. Heck, he’s even going to let his supporters know who his vice presidential pick is first, via text message (Kelly, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette). But Indiana’s gubernatorial candidates aren’t doing too badly themselves, with GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels launching his own social networking site and Democrat Jill Long Thompson putting together a staff largely younger than 30. “Sen. Obama has blazed a new path, and we are all working to emulate that as much as possible,” said Jeff Harris, spokesman for the Long Thompson campaign. “As younger Hoosiers are getting interested in presidential politics, we want them to check out the governor’s race, too.” So what is each campaign doing to get younger voters involved and take advantage of new media and technology? Campaign Web sites and e-mail communication are a given nowadays. But Daniels also sends text alerts to his supporters when he unveils proposals or has breaking news to announce. And one recent TV ad even included a tagline urging Hoosiers to sign up for text messages from the governor. But Daniels’ biggest accomplishment is the launch last week of “Our Comeback,” his own personal online community. You can sign up at www.mymanmitch.com. So instead of having pages on international social network sites like Facebook and MySpace, Daniels has created his own social networking site. Though the news release called it a “groundbreaking endeavor by a U.S. political campaign,” Obama has had his own online community since 2007. “We have always focused on the younger generations, and this is just another way to energize that group to get involved in the campaign and help communicate with their friends,” said Cam Savage, spokesman for the Daniels campaign.
THOMPSON WORKING ON IT: Long Thompson’s online director Samantha McDonald said texting is coming soon, and she updates social networking pages on MySpace, Facebook and Smaller Indiana on a regular basis (Fort Wayne Journal Gazette). “These sites are a great tool in the field,” she said. “If someone adds Jill as a supporter, her picture and her name show up and then their friends can look at it and click on the page with a bio and policy positions.”
State
INDIANA FACING DOCTOR SHORTAGE: Some parts of Indiana may already be experiencing a shortage in doctors that is expected to hit the rest of the nation in coming years (Indianapolis Star). Rural and inner-city areas tend to attract fewer doctors and could be hardest hit, said Heidi Dunniway, president of the Indianapolis Medical Society. In some rural Indiana counties, there are no doctors specialized in delivering babies, she told The Times of Munster. "Lacking anyone doing obstetrics, women are having to drive to a different county to deliver their babies," she said. Some analysts say the problem will get worse in future years. An Indiana University School of Medicine task force said in a 2006 report that Indiana could face a shortage of 1,975 doctors by 2015 unless more physicians are educated.
TOLL ROAD WORKERS REJECT CONTRACT: indiana Toll Road collectors have voted Thursday night to reject a contract offer from the private operator that runs the roadway (Associated Press). Members of four locals of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters voted against the contract. Vote totals were not released. "The only thing I can tell you at this time is that the offer from the Toll Road was rejected by the membership," said Bob Warnock III, president of Local 364 in South Bend.
HOME HEATING AID MAY RUN LOW: While it’s still warm, there’s talk among the area’s helping agencies that there won’t be enough aid to help needy folks with winter utilities this season (South Bend Tribune). Charities report rising numbers of needy people who are seeking help with everything from food to rent. No mystery to that. Gasoline and food prices, layoffs and foreclosure rates are all up. How will this affect the public’s generosity to charities that help? "We need to talk about a communitywide solution," says Judy Fox, an attorney with the University of Notre Dame’s Legal Aid Clinic who’s advocated for utility issues and, recently, has delved into the foreclosure crisis. "We can’t wait until January, or we’re really going to be in bad shape." It means one thing for those who think they might lose their utilities this winter because they can’t afford them: Make a plan — now — to avoid a shutoff. Talk with the utility company about a payment plan. Find a way to earn some extra cash. Cut that costly cable service. You won’t be the only one racing around for help. "People need to be more organized than ever; they need to plan ahead," says Dawn Chapla, director of labor and community services for the United Way of St. Joseph County. "The system is tighter than it’s ever been." "You’re going to see agencies asking people to be more accountable than they have in the past," she says. "We’re not trying to blame the people in need for being in need. We’re trying to work in partnership."
Counties
PUTNAM COUNTY SHERIFF RESIGNS DURING FED INVESTIGATION: Putnam County Sheriff Mark Frisbie turned in his resignation Friday evening (Banner Graphic). Marty Watts, Putnam County clerk and head of the election board told the Banner Graphic that Frisbie handed in the resignation. Effective immediately, Frisbie has resigned from his elected post of sheriff of Putnam County. The resignation was handed in to the clerk’s office in a sealed envelope. Meanwhile, Republican party chairman Larry Sutton said that there will be a caucus to elect an interim sheriff. He said the party has 30 days for all 29 precinct committeepersons to meet, and they will decide who will serve the remainder of Frisbie’s term. Frisbie was re-elected in 2006 for a second term. His current term will end in 2010. Sutton said that any interested candidate needs to notify him of their intent to serve. A majority of those committeepersons present will elect the interim sheriff. He also commented candidates may pick up CEB-5 forms in the voter registration office. These can be obtained up to 72 hours prior to the caucus. At this time Sutton has not had the opportunity to notify the precinct committeepersons, so a caucus date has not been set. This resignation comes after a federal investigation alleging the misuse of Sheriff’s Department funds.
HENDRICKS COUNTY PLOTS JAIL EXPANSION: Hendricks County’s population is growing (Flyer Group). One only needs to look at the judicial center here to realize that. The courthouse is bursting at the seams with five Superior Courts, a Circuit Court, probation offices for both, offices for the county clerk and prosecuting attorney, and the child support division. There’s also a continual lack of parking on the square. As this is a long-simmering issue, the county commissioners contracted Banning Engineering in February to conduct a feasibility study on the judicial center. The firm presented phase one of the study to a joint meeting of the commissioners and county council Thursday at the Hendricks County Government Center. While the county’s population growth may slow compared to the past decade, Banning and Arc Design, who also worked on the study, estimate an additional 14,000 gross square feet will be needed for the courts system in the next five years. That’s in addition to the nearly 43,000 square feet already being used in three floors of the courthouse. By 2030, which is as far as the study projects, space needs are expected to balloon to 106,000 gross square feet.
ST. JOSEPH COUNTY MUST CUT 8%: County officials will draft a 2009 budget with the assumption that existing funds will be reduced and no new revenue will be available (South Bend Tribune). The County Council and county Board of Commissioners met jointly Friday to kick off the planning sessions for the 2009 budget. Department-by-department meetings will begin Monday morning, with the Frederick Juvenile Justice Center the first budget up for review. Letters went to department heads a few weeks ago instructing them to cut 8 percent from their current budgets. The letters also asked for other revenue sources the department has, a description of its statutory responsibilities and other information. The cuts are necessary because the county is expecting to lose millions of dollars as a result of tax caps included in House Enrolled Act 1001. The new state law will limit the amount of property taxes the county can collect.Commissioner Mark Dobson said the county is "operating under a worst-case scenario." The county has a general fund budget of $66.8 million this year, according to Auditor Peter Mullen. An 8 percent cut would reduce the budget by roughly $5.3 million. The lost revenue could total $6 million, Mullen said.
FLOYD COUNTY KEEPS EMPLOYEE HEALTH CARE COSTS LOW: Don’t expect medical insurance costs to rise for Floyd County employees in the near future (News and Tribune). Both County Council President Larry McAllister and Steve Bush, president of the County Commissioners, say they oppose raising deductibles or passing premium increases on to employees, a move that could save the county more than $100,000 a year, according to Rick Zoeller with Neace Lukens, the county’s agent. Zoeller made a presentation at the last commissioners meeting and said by raising the deductible by $150, the county could save more than $100,000 a year. If the deductible increases by $250, the savings to the county would be around $190,000. Currently, county employees pay $9.76 a month for health insurance. There is a $500 deductible and a $15 co-pay for doctor office visits. A family plan cost $292.78 a month. It’s been 12 years since county employees have seen an increase in their health insurance costs.
JUDGE REFUSES TO WORK IN MOLDY COURTHOUSE: A judge says he will no longer conduct Superior Court and Juvenile Court operations at the Grant County Courthouse because of a mold problem that is aggravating his health problems (Muncie Star Press). Judge Randall Johnson said in a letter to county officials that repairs need to be made to the courthouse to address the mold problem. He said doctors have found high levels of several molds in his blood, and that many were the same kind found in the courthouse during a Department of Labor study in March. The county council voted last week to accept a 60-month line of credit from a bank to pay for $1.8 million in repairs. Johnson said the process has been long and frustrating. “I don’t have any plans to close my court, but that doesn’t mean I’m not concerned about the health of my staff and the public,” Spitzer said.
Cities
ANDERSON OFFICIAL FIRED AFTER SIDEWALK SCANDAL: The city’s assistant street commissioner was fired after neighbors complained the sidewalk in front of his home was replaced while the rest of the block was ignored (Associated Press). Darryl Rensel was fired last week following an investigation by the Anderson Board of Public Works, board Chairman Greg Graham told The Herald Bulletin for a story Saturday. Graham would not comment on the what the investigation found. Street Department workers replaced the sidewalk in front of Rensel’s Fletcher Street property in late July. While the sidewalk was replaced on that block, nowhere else on the street was work done. Rensel said he had asked for the site to be looked at.
FANS TOUR NEW STADIUM: Tens of thousands of fans decked out in blue (Indianapolis Star). Parking lot attendants waving orange flags. Street vendors. Ticket hawkers. If you were anywhere near Downtown Indianapolis on Saturday, you easily could have mistaken the surroundings for game day. Instead, about 70,000 fans descended on Lucas Oil Stadium for free public tours of the new $720 million home to the Indianapolis Colts. The stadium officially opened to the public at 10 a.m. after a large red ribbon was cut by local dignitaries in front of the facility’s north entrance. Throughout the day, thousands of fans crammed inside to take part in five two-hour, self-guided tours of the stadium. By most accounts, those who turned out were stunned by the size and quality of a stadium with so many more modern amenities than the RCA Dome.
STADIUM TAXES ON TRACK: Collections of some of the taxes needed to pay off the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium are lagging this year, a reflection of the souring economy (Indianapolis Star). Chief among those is Marion County’s food and beverage tax, which for the first six months of this year has dropped by more than 3 percent compared to the same period in 2007. Despite the trend, state officials say they aren’t too worried. They point out that more than $100 million in taxes have been collected so far to fund the $720-million facility as well as the adjacent expansion of the Indiana Convention Center. That figure is about 10 percent higher than the state forecast when collections of the new taxes began in 2005. Officials also say they need to see growth of just 1 percent a year to pay off the project during the next 30 years.
MICHIGAN CITY TAKES OVER BOULEVARD: An agreement has been reached between Michigan City and the state of Indiana to turn over Michigan Boulevard to the city, Mayor Chuck Oberlie said (Michigan City News Disptach). The median of The Boulevard, as it is commonly known, will be reconstructed to give the thoroughfare a more inviting look, Oberlie said. Plans call for that work to be under contract by the fourth quarter of 2009, with construction to begin sometime after that. Oberlie said that on Thursday two City Council members agreed to put the resolution on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting. They are Richard Murphy, D-1st, and Willie Milsap, D-5th, who represent two of the three wards that encompass Michigan Boulevard. A city takeover of Michigan Boulevard has been in the works for years. Residents and business owners have said they want to improve the visual impact of the street to make it "a true boulevard."
PORTAGE DEMS OPEN MALL OFFICE: As Porter County Democrats gathered Saturday morning to celebrate the opening of a new headquarters in the Portage Mall, there was guarded hope their local candidates will benefit from the party’s momentum at the national level (Times of Northwest Indiana). Porter County Democratic Party Chairman Jeff Chidester said nothing will happen without hard work, but he is encouraging voters to cast straight Democratic tickets for change. "I’ve got good candidates from top to bottom," he said. "It’s a good, solid ticket."
MUNCIE DEMOCRATS INFIGHTING: Threatening telephone calls, cold shoulders, nasty letters and destruction of property (Muncie Star Press). As usual, the Delaware County Democratic Party is splitting up during an election year. Thomas Cannon Jr., the Democratic nominee for Delaware Circuit Court 5, was unable to attend a golf outing sponsored by the local Democratic Party earlier this year because of a prior commitment. He made a personal donation to sponsor a hole and had a few political signs delivered to the golf course. "I have received an eyewitness account that my sign that had been placed in the vicinity of one of the tee stations close to the clubhouse was taken out of the ground, destroyed and thrown in the trash can by our party’s appointed fall campaign liaison," Cannon wrote in a letter on June 20 to Margie Landers, Democratic County Chairwoman. Cannon was responding to a letter from Landers warning that he would be denied access to "all party resources, including the resources of affiliated clubs such as Women’s Democrat and Rooster Booster," if he failed to pay an assessment imposed on all nominees by the party. Explaining why he wouldn’t pay the assessment, Cannon wrote: "My reluctance to entrust my election to the efforts of the Central Committee should not come as a surprise, since the party’s Vice Chairman (Allie Craycraft Jr.) was allowed to vigorously campaign against me during the primary. "Additionally, during a June 5 phone conversation with the party’s fall campaign liaison, I informed him of my intent to control my own campaign. He responded with a threat of retaliation and defeat in the future should I prevail in the November election."
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