Is there something going on in Indiana that I don't know about?

[aaaaaa5a]

In 2008 Barack Obama won in Indiana by the smallest of margins.

Indiana is a very conservative state. George Bush carried the state by more than 20% points in 2004. It is considered a colossal achievement for any Democrat to carry the state in a Presidential election. The last Democrat to win in Indiana (prior to Obama) was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.


It has been conventional wisdom that Indiana will not be in play in 2012. Because of very strict vender/phone calling laws, polling in the state is difficult and rare. Most pundits have gone along with the idea that Indiana will return to the GOP column next year.

So why did Obama sit down and do a "one on one" interview with a local Indianapolis TV news anchor at the White-House last week? It looked like the President was doing serious outreach campaigning in a 'very local" manner towards residents of Indiana.

This went completely unnoticed in the National media. (But not to me!) Unless the White House has numbers different from conventional wisdom, the interview made no sense. I could see doing local interviews for news stations in Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio etc. But why Indiana?



Here is the link.

http://www.wishtv.com/dpp/news/politics/obama-gridlock-frustrates-me-too





Obama invited a local TV news-anchor to fly to the Whitehouse for interview!
Clearly, they know something about Indiana, that the rest of us do not.

[loudsue]

1. Maybe Howard Dean's 50-State strategy wasn't such a bad idea after all to the establishment dems?

Gawd I miss Howard Dean!!!

[TheDebbieDee]

2. I think the President does interviews with local TV anchors

without regard to how well/badly he is polling as a matter of routine.

Less than 8 weeks ago, President Obama did interviews with a local anchor from Kansas City and I think it was because it was that station's turn...........

But, I could be wrong!

[aaaaaa5a]

4. Wasn't that local TV interview related to him going to Kansas for his big speech?

I know most people regard Kansas City as being a part of Missouri, but I have spent time in KC, and a good part of the city's metropolitan statistical area is actually in Kansas.


Are there any reports of him doing an interview recently with stations in Alabama or Wyoming? Places that will be a non-factor in 2012?

Maybe the White-house is "just that open" with regard to all local TV anchors regardless of political importance. But the Indiana interview just "seemed" different.


Perhaps they were just testing the waters to determine what states to make a "serious" play for in 2012.

[TheDebbieDee]

6. I didn't actually see the interviews that President O did with the local anchor,

I just saw a few promos of the KMBC anchor (Laura Moritz, I think) hyping the interviews with the President for the upcoming week.

But I don't think that the Osawatomi address had been announced yet. In fact, since 9/11, I don't think they announce most of the President's appearances to the public until just a handful of days before it happens.

[LiberalFighter]

3. Pundits are not experts

If they have a chance at winning Indiana they need to have the groundwork laid out. Even if it is a slim chance. Even conditions now could work for Obama if worked right. Maybe if they keep Bayh out of the public eye he would stand a better chance.

[limpyhobbler]

5. Indiana isn't lost

It would be way to early to start giving up in any state, particularly Indiana. Assuming Romney or Gingrich is the nominee, the other side might to have a lower voter turnout issue. If we've got high turnout Indiana is winnable. Not sure what those pundits on the teevee are jabbering on about. They probably saw a poll or two that looked like Indiana was lost, but those can always change, and it depends who they polled in the poll.

[Chipper Chat]

7. Depends on the GOP nominee.

Romney is HATED here. He bought up factories in our 'rust belt' and then moved them overseas them causing thousands of Hoosiers to lose their jobs.
Gingrich is about as popular here as poison ivy although Mike Pence just loves him.
Ironically, in 2008, Sarah Palin was popular but McCain was not. Ergo: dem victory.
The only gopper that might win here would be Huntsman or MItch Daniels.
Obama still has a huge following. Indiana folk are a conservative lot and his centrist policies are not viewed as irritating. And we are NOT racists (even tho the KKK was born here).

[grantcart]

8. what are Daniels numbers looking like now?

[Chipper Chat]

11. You, of all people, should know

(if there were any numbers)

[aaaaaa5a]

10. There is a brutal TV commercial against Romney

that was made by Ted Kennedy, highlighting people from a local Indiana plant who lost their jobs when Romney's company closed it down and fired everyone.

This could be the best add against Romney should he be the nominee. And I suppose it would be especially effective in Indiana.

[Chipper Chat]

12. Rachel brought this up on her program last week also.

n/t

[DemDave777]

9. Maybe they think an S storm is coming?

2008 Voter Fraud Investigation Heats Up in Indiana

The prospect that theirs are two of an estimated 150 signatures that may have been forged on the petitions has raised the question of whether President Obama actually reached the legitimate number of signatures needed to be placed on the ballot in Indiana. Under state law, presidential candidates need to file 500 signatures from each of the state's nine congressional districts. Indiana election officials say that in St. Joseph County, the Obama campaign qualified with 534 signatures; Clinton's camp had 704. The certified signatures were never challenged.

"I had always thought that, now-President Obama, had earned his victory in Indiana," said the state's Republican chairman, Eric Holcomb. "But then I quickly learned that he had cheated his way on to the ballot in the primary."

The allegations that election fraud touched a race for the highest office in the land are at the center of an investigation by St. Joseph County Attorney Michael Dvorak. He would not comment, but sources say the probe is gaining steam as prosecutors delve into the petitions that sailed through the St. Joseph County Voter Registration Board, located in South Bend. There have been reports that as many as seven people may have been involved in an alleged conspiracy to fake the petitions.

"I was very surprised," said the newly elected Democratic chairman of St. Joseph County, State Sen. John Broden. "This is a bipartisan issue that we need to take a look at ... so I hope that this is something, that we as both parties, try to look at what exactly happened, and most importantly, how do we prevent it from happening again."

http://nation.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/07/2008-voter-fraud-investigation-heats-indiana

[Chipper Chat]

13. Mehgan Kelly will be on this like flies on foxpoop.

It will be her VinceFoster.