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HISTORIC NOMINATION FOR OBAMA: Barack Obama stepped triumphantly into history Wednesday night, the first black American to win a major party presidential nomination, as thousands of Democrats transformed their convention hall into a joyful, shouting celebration (Espo, Associated Press).
Former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton asked delegates to the party convention to make their verdict unanimous “in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory.” And they did, with a roar. Competing chants of “Obama” and “Yes we can” surged up from the convention floor as the outcome of a carefully scripted roll call of the states was announced. Obama made a brief, unscheduled appearance on stage at the end of the evening to thank the delegates.
BILL SAYS OBAMA READY TO LEAD: Former President Bill Clinton left no doubt about whether Barack Obama is prepared for the Oval Office on Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention. “Barack Obama is ready to be president of the United States,” Clinton said (Howey Politics Indiana). “Everything I learned in eight years as your president has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for the job.” It was the first time that Clinton had addressed the question of Obama’s readiness to lead the nation with no equivocation. His words came less than two hours after Hillary Clinton released her delegates and the DNC nominated Obama - the first minority candidate in an industrialized nation to gain a major party nomination - by acclamation. Clinton said that “clearly, the job of the next president is to restore the American dream and restore American leadership in the world.” Clinton added that Obama has “shown a clear grasp of foreign policy” after the Bush presidency of unilateralism and and squandered diplomacy. And of his “first presidential decision” - selecting Joe Biden as his running mate, Clinton said, “he hit it out of the park.” He said that the primaries had tested and tempered Obama. “The primaries began with an All-Star lineup and ended up with two remarkable Americans.” Clinton said, “Last night, Hillary told us in no uncertain terms that she will do everything she can to elect Barack Obama. That makes two of us.” At one point, as the delegates began chanting, “Yes we can, yes we can,” President Clinton said, “Yes he can, but first we have to elect him.” Clinton said that when he ran in 1992, “The Republicans said I was too young and inexperienced to be commander-in-chief. Sound familiar? It wasn’t true in 1992 because we were on the right side of history, and it won’t work in 2008 because Barack Obama is on the right side of history.” Clinton ended his speech by saying, “Join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Barack Obama the next president of the United States.”
HPI WEEKLY FRIDAY: Look for the weekly edition of Howey Politics Indiana at mid-day Friday with coverage of Barack Obama’s acceptance speech and John McCain’s vice presidential selection.
BIDEN SAYS OBAMA GETS IT: Joe Biden accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination Wednesday night and declared that the challenges America faces require “more than a good soldier” in the White House, hailing Barack Obama as a wise leader who can deliver the change the nation needs (Mears, Associated Press). In a single sentence, Obama’s new running mate complimented John McCain’s years of military service and slapped his claim on the White House. As Biden concluded his speech accepting the nomination, Obama stepped on stage and embraced his man to a convention roar. “I want everybody to now understand why I am so proud to have Joe Biden … and the whole Biden family,” Obama told the boisterous crowd. “I think he’s presented himself pretty well so far, what do you think?” More cheers. In his speech, Biden also sniped at Vice President Dick Cheney, saying that after he takes over the job, for Americans trying to do the right thing and honor the Constitution, “no longer will the eight most dreaded words in the English language be ‘The vice president’s office is on the phone.’” Biden said the bedrock American promise of a better tomorrow is in jeopardy “but John McCain doesn’t get it.” “I know it, you know it … Barack Obama gets it,” he said. “This is the time as Americans, together, we get back up,” he said. ” … These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. Barack Obama is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America’s time.”
INDIANA DELEGATION CLOSES RANKS: Indiana got its say in the end, and it was a blowout win for Barack Obama. After morning grumbling in the Indiana delegation about Sen. Hillary Clinton’s delegates being reluctant to switch their allegiance to Obama for the roll call vote, almost all did (Byrne, Post-Tribune). State representative and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Dennie Oxley of English announced 75 votes for Obama and six for Clinton on the floor of the convention. Indiana’s delegates initially believed they would not get a chance to take part in the roll call, which was a symbolic moment because of Obama’s large delegate lead, but one which the states relish for their moment in the spotlight. Rumors circulated that the Illinois delegation would yield to the New York delegation so Sen. Hillary Clinton could call for a voice vote, which would halt the state-by-state vote before it got to Indiana. But Illinois simply passed, putting the microphone in Oxley’s hand, with staunch Obama supporters Rudy Clay, the mayor of Gary, and Charlie Brown, the state representative from Gary, by his side. “This vote total for Barack Obama is remarkable,” said Rogers, who managed the Illinois senator’s campaign in Northwest Indiana. “It is a testament to a lot of hard work by our delegation, both Clinton and Obama delegates, to build unity within the party.”
JOE VOTES! Four of the 85 Indiana delegates to the Democratic National Convention were absent for the roll call vote on Barack Obama’s nomination this evening. The Indiana total was 75 for Obama, 6 for Hillary Clinton (Shella, WISH-TV). Joe Andrew, the former Democratic National Chairman who followed a dramatic May first superdelegate endorsement of Obama by failing to vote in the Indiana Primary, was not among the no-shows.
BAYH TAKES ON McCAIN: An animated U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh took on John McCain during a six-minute speech Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention (Howey Politics Indiana). “Do you remember when the president said, ‘Mission accomplished? Bring ‘em on?’” Bayh asked. “The terrorists did come on and our brave soldiers were killed because of their reckless incompetence.” Bayh said that U.S. soldiers were reduced to scrounging in Iraqi dumps looking for metal to up the armor on their vulnerable vehicles. “The time for change has come and Barack Obama is the change we need,” Bayh said. Indiana’s junior senator who backed Hillary Clinton in the primaries noted that McCain had voted with President Bush 90 percent of the time and that he has said the economy is fundamentally sound. “Tell that to families struggling in Indiana trying to make ends meet,” Bayh said. And Bayh added, “George Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider. But he divided our nation more profoundly than any time since the Vietnam War. We can’t afford four more years of that.” Bayh ended the speech by saying, “Come next January, we will live up to our creed: one nation, under God, with liberty and justice. Let’s go get the job done.”
STILWELL SAYS ‘EVAN WAS ON HIS A-GAME’: State Rep. Russ Stilwell made these observations for the Evansville Courier & Press: As we made our way to the Pepsi Center this afternoon, most of the discussion was about President Bill Clinton and what he would say. More about that later. The folks who drive the busses must be quick learners, or the convention staff made some changes. As I entered the hall with another delegate from Indiana it was like herding human cattle into a shoot designed for half of the herd. More and more human lines morphed into a stand still convention of television reporters, delegates, famous personalities and things I could not see! If you were watching CNN, we could have hurled a spray of water on the entire crew of Anderson Cooper, Wolf Blitzer and the others – only if we had been smart enough to bring water into the center. FYI, water is the ONLY food or beverage allowed in the convention. Seems like the $20 hotdogs have to be eaten upstairs. Senator Evan Bayh was a keynote speaker and the Indiana delegation was up to the challenge. We cheered his every remark, wondered what ‘could have been’ and nodded to those who sit next to us that we wished we had Evan on the ticket. After his remarks he spent the rest of the evening with our delegation, smiling, posing for pictures and doing a national news broadcast or two by our side. Evan Bayh was on his A-Game — friendly, personable and statesman like – the same Evan Bayh who wins the hearts and votes of Hoosiers every few years. Only as President Clinton can do, he dissected the last eight years of the Bush presidency and contrasted those years with his tenure in office; all the while laying out a profound platform of why Barrack Obama should be and is qualified to be our next president. Folks from the Indiana delegation cheered, waved flags, laughed and did the same as the entire hall of thousands – watched in amazement as Clinton made us feel as if he knew our feelings, our struggles and our hopes and dreams for our families and America!
CRAWFORD SEES RACE EVOLUTION: The dream of racial equality the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of 45 years ago today will take a huge step toward reality tonight when Sen. Barack Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president (Indianapolis Star). But the emotions that today’s historic events provoke in Indiana delegates such as lawmaker Bill Crawford and teacher Leona Glazebrooks are tempered, many said, by the knowledge that racism remains a hurdle Obama must clear if he’s to become the first black president. Wearing a button commemorating both King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963 and Obama’s nomination, Crawford recalled how, as a boy in Indianapolis, he was barred by his color from going to a local amusement park except for one day a year. And how, as a young man in the Navy in 1954, he was refused service on Thanksgiving Day at a Charleston, S.C., restaurant, even though he was in uniform. But, he said, that just shows how far the nation has come. “If you look at Obama’s Indiana primary and where he got votes from, he got more votes from white folks than he got from black folks. That’s a reality,” Crawford said. “Look at Carmel and Hamilton County. He beat Hillary (Rodham Clinton) in Carmel. So there’s a wider acceptance, and it’s going to evolve.”
BAYH ON ‘DAILY SHOW’ TONIGHT: U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., is slated to appear today on comedy news program “The Daily Show.” Host Jon Stewart will interview Bayh today on the Comedy Central show, according to a post on the show’s blog.
Presidential
McCAIN 3-STATE VEEP ROLLOUT FRIDAY: John McCain is planning to roll out his vice presidential nominee in three battleground states this weekend, with large-scale rallies planned for Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri, according to aides and advisers (The Politico). The GOP nominee-in-waiting will move to immediately change the campaign conversation from Barack Obama’s football stadium acceptance speech Thursday to the new Republican ticket, to be revealed at a noontime Friday rally in a Dayton, Ohio, basketball arena. McCain and his running mate will then travel by bus to Pennsylvania, where they’ll hold an outdoor event at a minor league baseball stadium in Washington County, just southwest of Pittsburgh. On Sunday, the duo will head to suburban St. Louis for another event to be held at a minor league baseball stadium, this one in O’Fallon, Mo.
McCAIN, OBAMA MISS TEXAS FILING DEADLINE: This could become one of the biggest snafus in modern presidential election history. Both Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama missed the state filing deadline in Texas, the nation’s second largest state, to have their names placed on the ballot. Texas state law requires each party to certify their general election candidate no later than 70 days before the general election (Advance Indiana), which was August 27, 2008. This same thing occurred in Indiana in 1988, but the Election Commission allowed the parties to certify their candidates anyway. A lawsuit was filed and went up to the 7th Circuit, which held that the plaintiff had not timely filed her suit, indicating that if she had filed it timely, she may have prevailed. See Fulani v Hogsett, 917 F 2d 1028 (1990). Libertarian Bob Barr is the only candidate who met the deadline in Texas. It is hard to imagine there won’t be a remedy fashioned in Texas, but the Democrats have no incentive to do so. Without Texas, McCain has no chance of winning in November.
Indiana Governor
THOMPSON MEETS WORKERS IN RICHMOND: About 100 former MasterBrand Cabinets Inc. employees convened Wednesday afternoon in Richmond with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jill Long Thompson, shouting concerns and posing questions about their newly unemployed conditions. The candidate met on the lawn of the local Steelworkers Union Hall on Waterfall Road with a portion of the 275 workers laid off Tuesday at the cabinet-making company in Richmond (Richmond Palladium-Item). Long Thompson, 58, is challenging Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels in the Nov. 4 general election. The hour-long assembly became noisy at times but remained civil as local residents, sometimes simultaneously, questioned the strength of local union representation and elected officials’ priorities. Many called out encouraging remarks to Long Thompson, who discussed her own working-class background and childhood in rural Whitley County, where her mother lost a factory job several years ago. “I know what it feels like to go bed at night … not knowing what’s going to happen the next day,” she told the crowd. In addition to the candidate’s appearance, representatives from Work One, a work force development organization with a chapter in Richmond, informed the crowd of insurance options, veterans’ benefits and continuing education workshops they may access locally. Still, most employees left the rally underwhelmed. “She didn’t tell me anything I don’t already know,” said Leon Metcalf of Connersville, adding that he’s dealt with layoffs before. “I’ve already been through it,” he said. “It’s just going to be the same thing. I’ve got to go out and search (for another job).”
Congress
BUYER, ACKERSON DEBATE TONIGHT ONLINE: A debate between the candidates for Indiana’s 4th District congressional seat will be held tonight at the Hendricks County 4-H Complex (Lafayette Journal & Courier). U.S. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Monticello, and Democratic challenger Nels Ackerson will debate at 7 p.m. The Hendricks County 4-H Complex is located at 1900 E. Main St. in Danville. This is the only debate scheduled so far between the two candidates, though several other invitations from groups in the district have been issued. Online tonight: The Journal & Courier will feature live coverage of the debate. To see live streaming video of the debate tonight, go to jconline.com.
Indiana General Assembly
CLAY BENDS BAUER’S EAR IN DENVER: Gary Mayor Rudy Clay turned on the charm on behalf of his beleaguered city Wednesday, but it’s not clear he’ll find any help in Denver (Byrne, Post-Tribune). Clay met in the morning with mayors from around the country. He also plans to corner key state legislators to bend their ears about Gary’s dark financial situation. “I’ll be talking to everyone I know, trying to find some help for Gary,” said Clay, who arrived in Denver late Tuesday. The city has a $13 million budget hole this year, and the mayor has cut employee salaries in a bid to keep Gary solvent through the end of the year. Next year looks bleak for Gary’s finances, too, with state-mandated property tax caps certain to cut much deeper into the city’s budget in a move that will lower property owners’ tax bills. But House Speaker Patrick Bauer, D-South Bend, said the General Assembly may not pass any further assistance to help bail Gary out. He noted that Gary’s problems this year are not due to state law, but rather to a lack of assessed value of property in the city, combined with low employment and other factors driving down tax collections. Bauer said the state needs to quickly convene the Distressed Unit Appeal Board, a body created in the tax cap legislation this spring as a way for financially troubled cities to seek relief from the most onerous parts of the law. “That’s the critical thing. We need to get that going immediately,” Bauer said, noting that some members of the board have not yet been chosen.
Economy
GUSTAV MAKES OIL PRICES JUMP: Oil prices rose above $119 a barrel Thursday on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav could strengthen on its way toward crude and natural gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and refineries in the Gulf area (Associate Press). In Evansville, some stations’ prices for a gallon of 87-octane unleaded went up at least a quarter to $3.79 per gallon. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it’s evacuating some 300 workers from offshore Gulf rigs, while BP PLC was also removing personnel from the region that’s home to about a quarter of U.S. crude production and much of its natural gas. One weather research firm predicted as much as 80 percent of the Gulf’s oil and gas production could be shut down as a precaution if Gustav enters the region as a major storm.
STEELWORKERS STRIKE ARCELORMITTAL: United Steelworkers’ members voted Wednesday to authorize their union to strike at ArcelorMittal if a new agreement is not reached by the time the contract expires Monday (Times of Northwest Indiana). The company and the union continued to negotiate Wednesday while the strike authorization votes were taken at the 14 locals representing 14,000 ArcelorMittal workers. About 9,000 of them work at the company’s region plants. About 300 members of USW Local 1011 unanimously voted early Wednesday to give the union the right to strike the steelmaker. Their union brothers followed the same pattern at the noon voting session held at United Steelworker Local 1010, where nearly 500 members approved strike authorization by a voice vote. “There were no ‘no’ votes,” said the local’s president, Tom Hargrove. “Everyone was positive about the course we are taking.”
BP PULLS HAMMOND PLAN: The BP refinery in Whiting has withdrawn its plans to build a portion of its $3.8 billion expansion in the city of Hammond (Times of Northwest Indiana). BP officials sent a letter to the city officially withdrawing the company’s request last week, BP spokesman Tom Keilman said Wednesday. “BP has exercised its option to withdraw its petitions for a conditional use and a developmental variance that are currently pending before the Hammond Board of Zoning Appeals,” Keilman said. “At this time, BP is currently reviewing its options for asphalt terminal operations and does not wish to have operations pending before the Hammond BZA while it does so.”
News Media
‘NEWSPAPERS DYING’ SAYS SPORTS COLUMNIST: In a bombshell announcement in the world of sports journalism, star columnist Jay Mariotti has abruptly resigned from the Chicago Sun-Times. Only after taping his last ESPN TV from the Sun-Times newsroom today did Mariotti open up. Mariotti told CBS 2’s Dorothy Tucker that he decided to quit after covering the Olympics in Beijing because newspapers are in serious trouble, and he did not want to go down with the ship. “It’s been a tremendous experience, but I’m going to be honest with you, the profession is dying,” Mariotti said, “I don’t think either paper [Sun-Times or Chicago Tribune] is going to survive. “To showcase your work … you need a stellar Web site and if a newspaper doesn’t have that, you can’t be stuck in the 20th century with your old newspaper.” Mariotti blamed the scandal-plagued past at the paper for its downfall. Former top execs Conrad Black and David Radler looted the company for millions of dollars, and both were sentenced to jail. The paper’s ad revenues have been plummeting and more layoffs are expected.
NOBLESVILLE NEWSPAPER FOLDS: The Noblesville Daily Times is shutting its doors, the Indianapolis Star reports. Here is some of the story from the Star: “The five-year-old newspaper serves Noblesville and Hamilton County. Publisher Michael Corbett said in a story on the newspaper’s Web site that the final edition of the paper will be published Saturday. “The closing affects the Daily Times’ 24 full-time employees. “It’s a tough economy, it’s a competitive market, and it’s a tough time for newspapers in general,’ Corbett is quoted in the Web site article. ‘All newspapers are wrestling with what the future’s going to be. And the industry is just in upheaval right now.’”
GUILD MAY ‘DEMONSTRATE’ IN STAR NEWSROOM: The Indianapolis Newspaper Guild is fighting back at Gannett Co., which laid off 23 employees at the Indianapolis Star Aug. 19, part of a nation-wide Gannett purge of at least 600 workers (Ruth Holladay). The Guild says five of seven staffers within the newsroom were discharged without regard to the Guild contract with Gannett. According to that contract, seniority is a protective clause in lay-offs. The Inkling, the official web site of the Guild Local 34070, has this statement: “The Indianapolis Newspaper Guild, TNG-CWA 34070, today notified the company that it is grieving the layoffs of the following persons: Mark Morrow, Mark Koenig, Greg Fisher, Kathleen Singleton and Jonathon LaRosa. It is our belief that seniority as described in Article VI, Section 1 was not followed in these layoffs. Morrow and Fisher had great seniority at the paper. Koenig, though newly full-time at the paper, had worked part-time at the paper previously. Singleton and LaRosa were not the most recent hires at the paper, though they may have been the most recent paraprofessionals hired at the paper. The Contract makes no distinction between departments or job titles when addressing seniority issues. — For the Guild, Abe Aamidor, president.” The Guild is also considering a demonstration in the newsroom.
State
BANKRUPTCIES SOAR: Bankruptcy filings in Indiana have soared 26.5 percent, the latest sign that the economy is slowing down and taking a toll on businesses and households (Indianapolis Star). The Hoosier state ranked second nationally for business filings per 1,000 residents, behind only Michigan, which has been hurt by a shift in auto manufacturing from large cars and trucks to more fuel-efficient vehicles. For individual filings in the 12 months that ended June 30, Indiana ranked eighth nationally per capita, behind first-place Tennessee. For bankruptcy filings of all types, Indiana ranked fifth nationally per capita, behind Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and Nevada. The Indiana numbers, although large, are slightly below the nationwide increase of 28.9 percent from July 2007 through June 2008.
Cities
SOUTH BEND FOOD PANTRY BARE: If the food pantry at Broadway Christian Parish doesn’t receive donations by today, it will have to immediately slash what it offers to needy people, says the Rev. Nancy Nichols (South Bend Tribune). “We’ve burned through all of the money in the account,” office manager Bob Albaugh says. “That’s because demand is through the roof.” You can drop off donations from 8:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays at the pantry, 1412 Carroll St., South Bend, IN 46613, or mail checks to that address. Or call (574) 289-0333.
Counties
VIGO APPROVES SATELLITE VOTING SITES: The Vigo County Election Board voted unanimously Wednesday to once again provide satellite voting facilities in the weeks leading up to the upcoming general election (Terre Haute Tribune-Star). The three-person board, consisting of a Republican, a Democrat and Vigo County Clerk Pat Mansard, approved a resolution providing in-person satellite voting at four locations in the Terre Haute area for four weeks beginning in early October.
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