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KOKOMO, Ind. -- Last month, in this once-sturdy auto town of 60,000, two white women sounded off at a union hall when talk turned to politics. "I feel like a white female or a white male has fewer opportunities than the black man or the black woman because of all the special treatment and special programs they have gotten," said Marla Hightower. "If Obama is elected, what's going to happen?" "That is just stupid," Ginny McMillin, the head of her local, shot back. "People are saying 'we don't want a black man.' Shame on America for thinking that!" The exchange...

LAKE COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - An investigation into voter registration fraud is under way in Lake County. Thousands of applications are in serious doubt. The activist group ACORN turned in 5,000 new registrations. But the Lake County Election Board said they've already discounted at least 2100 of them. Many had the exact same handwriting and signatures on them. One listed a person by the name of Jimmy Johns. But that turned out to be a restaurant. An attorney for ACORN said the group believes the allegations are an effort to discourage ACORN from doing their work, and to suppress votes.

A new Obama ad that will air statewide in Indiana features Barney Smith. Smith claims to be a lifelong Republican who supports Obama, in part, because he was laid off by Thomson in Marion. He blames GOP policies for his job loss. Smith is best known now for delivering a memorable line during a short speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. “We need a President who puts Barney Smith before Smith Barney,” he said, prompting cheers. As you might expect, the line is in the new commercial. It has more meaning now than when he first delivered it.

Just 26 days until the presidential election; allegations of voter registration fraud in at least 12 states, including Michigan. ACORN is known for helping lower income families get homes and aiding minorities. Now the organization is being accused of falsely registering voters. In Nevada, the Secretary of State said members from the Dallas Cowboys were falsely registered; reports say it happened in Michigan too. The probe into voter registration fraud started Tuesday in Nevada as state agents searched the office of ACORN. Traditionally the organization registers those who are economically disadvantaged and minorities. For this year’s presidential election in Michigan...

ACORN Submits 2,000 to 5,000 Fake Registration Forms in Indiana? ACORN Watch: More than 2,000 voter registration forms filed in northern Indiana's Lake County by a liberal activist group this week have turned out to be bogus, election officials said Thursday. The group — the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN — already faces allegations of filing fraudulent voter registrations in Nevada and faces investigations in other states. And in Lake County, home to the long-depressed steel town of Gary, the bipartisan Elections Board has stopped processing a stack of about 5,000 applications delivered just before the...

ACORN is making headlines again for filing voter registrations for the dead, the underage and some showing fictitious signatures in Indiana. Suggestions of a criminal investigation are coming out for ACORN groups getting the vote out for Obama. ACORN otherwise known as Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now has been in the news in multiple cities across America lately for filing voter registrations for people that were dead, underage and in some cases duplicate filings. The latest report from The Times, NWI.com, is from Lake County Indiana. Lake County elections officials have confirmed that a "large portion" of 5,000...

If Barack Obama wins this election, there will be absolutely no dobt whatsoever that one of the things that will help push him over the top is massive Democrat vote fraud. It'll make the Democrats that stole the 1960 JFK/Nixon election for Kennedy look like Pikers. One example of this massive vote fraud is in the amazing fact that there are now more registered voters in Indianapolis than are actually eligible to vote. News at 11? How about no news at all. Oh, sure, there have been stories in the media in Indiana covering the vote fraud issue. But almost...

Breaking... Indiana county finds it has 105% of population registered to vote after ACORN voter drive... Folks, ACORN has poisoned this election.

John McCain has pulled to a solid seven-point lead over Barack Obama in Indiana. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds McCain leading 50% to 43%. Last month, McCain had just a two-percentage-point lead in Indiana, which has been one of the most reliably Republican states in the nation.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008 Email a Friend Email to a Friend John McCain has pulled to a solid seven-point lead over Barack Obama in Indiana. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds McCain leading 50% to 43%. Last month, McCain had just a two-percentage-point lead in Indiana, which has been one of the most reliably Republican states in the nation. Parts of northwestern Indiana, however, are effectively suburbs of Chicago, Obama’s home base. During the Indiana Primary, strong turnout in this region almost enabled Obama to pull off an upset victory. (Want a daily e-mail update? If...

Does ACORN have an office in Indianapolis? You know they do. According to STATSIndiana, In 2007, Indianapolis/Marion County had an estimated population of 876,804. Of that number 232,607 were below 18 years of age, for a total of 644,197 people in Marion County/Indianapolis 18 or over and thus eligible to vote. (Indiana allows felons to vote as long as they are not incarcerated). So we have 644,197 people eligible to be registered in Marion County/Indianapolis, and 677,401 people registered. Congratulations go to Indianapolis for having 105% of its residents registered!

New Polls Show Tight McCain-Obama Race in Indiana By the Associated Press 10/7/2008 Two new polls show a tight race in Indiana between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain just weeks before the Nov. 4 election. A WISH-TV Indiana poll found Obama and McCain each supported by 46 percent of likely voters, with 5 percent undecided and 3 percent saying they favored another candidate.

Jane Pauley, one-time co-host of NBC's Today and Dateline NBC programs, is actively campaigning for Barack Obama. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote of one such appearance in Portage, Indiana that attracted only eight people. That event also featured Steve Skvara, the retired steelworker who in August of last year tearfully asked Democratic presidential candidates at a debate, "What's wrong with America? And what will you do to change it?" It's only fair that I follow up by reporting that Pauley's current efforts are being met with much more enthusiasm. Maybe it's because she's now campaigning at Democratic headquarters...

CROWN POINT | Lake County Republican Chairman John Curley wants a federal investigation into hundreds of voter registrations bearing fictitious signatures or the names of dead and underage people. "Fraudulent applications are the workings of ACORN groups operating from Milwaukee and Chicago who are getting out the vote for Obama. I'm Republican, but I want everyone who should vote to vote. But I want a clean election," Curley said at a Wednesday news conference. Lake County elections officials acknowledged they have found problems and had to reject a large portion of the 5,000 registration forms turned in recently by the...

CROWN POINT | Lake County Republican Chairman John Curley wants a federal investigation into hundreds of voter registrations bearing fictitious signatures or the names of dead and underage people. "Fraudulent applications are the workings of ACORN groups operating from Milwaukee and Chicago who are getting out the vote for Obama. I'm Republican, but I want everyone who should vote to vote. But I want a clean election," Curley said at a Wednesday news conference. Lake County elections officials acknowledged they have found problems and had to reject a large portion of the 5,000 registration forms turned in recently by the...

In an election for President of the United States held in Indiana today, 09/30/08, Republican John McCain edges Democrat Barack Obama 48% to 45%, according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll released six weeks ago, McCain is down 2 points; Obama is up 1. Among men, McCain leads by 9; among women, Obama leads by 2 — an 11-point gender gap. Among voters younger than Barack Obama, McCain and Obama tie. Among voters older than John McCain, McCain leads by 8. Among those who are in-between the...

Here's the latest poll of Indiana showing a tight race, courtesy of CNN: CNN / Time 890 RV -- MoE +/- 3.5% Sept. 14-16 Without 3rd Party Candidates McCain 51 Obama 45 With 3rd Party Candidates McCain 48 Obama 43 Nader 4 Barr 2 McKinney 1 In Indiana, the survey puts McCain up by 6 points, 51-45 percent. The lead is within the poll's sampling error. Indiana has not favored a Democrat in a presidential election since 1964, but the Obama campaign is putting a lot of time, effort and money into trying to be the first since then.

There's no doubt the upcoming election is having a big impact on people. But places? A local farm market owner is losing business because of a political sign put up by his brother. Sweet corn is their specialty. But lately Bullard's Farm Market is getting some not-so-sweet attention. "Over the Labor Day weekend my brother painted a barn," explained Bullard's Farm Market owner Kevin Bullard. An Obama Barn that is. It's part of a grassroots campaign called "Barns for Obama." Supporters paint an "O" on their barns to show their support.

Obama made his first direct criticism of Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Saturday, saying she pretends to oppose spending earmarks when she actually has embraced them. Speaking to 800 people at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Ind., the Democratic presidential nominee ridiculed McCain and his running mate, the Alaska governor, for describing themselves as agents of change at last week's GOP convention. "Don't be fooled," Obama told the crowd surrounding him in a large barn. "John McCain's party, with the help of John McCain, has been in charge" for nearly eight years. McCain has vowed to wipe...

Barack Obama gets back on the campaign trail with his middle class message today after taking some time out for fundraising. He'll appear at a rally at the Walbash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Indiana. Last night, rocker Bon Jovi hosted a fund-raiser at his New Jersey mansion for about 100 Obama supporters. Earlier, in Pennsylvania, Obama seized on the new jobs report as part of his strategy to tie Republican John McCain to President Bush's economic policies. Obama said the recently concluded GOP convention focused on its nominee's biography and "didn't say a thing about what is going on...

The Obama audacity watch continued Saturday morning as the junior senator from Illinois Freudian-slipped in front of a crowd in Terre Haute, Indiana, telling them he's already president:

(Political Animal) OBAMA ON THE OFFENSIVE.... It looks like Barack Obama's intent on starting the stretch run on an aggressive note. He added a few sections to his stump speech today that I hadn't heard before. First, he took on John McCain's latest effort to present himself as an agent of change. "[S]uddenly he's the change agent," Obama said. "He says, 'I'm going to tell those lobbyists that their days of running Washington are over.' Who's he going to tell? Is he going to tell his campaign chairman, who's one of the biggest corporate lobbyists in Washington? Is he gonna...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Two days after McCain formally accepted the nomination of his party, rival Obama accused his opponent of falsely portraying himself as a change agent despite championing the party agenda of the ruling GOP for the last eight years and tapping for the vice presidency Gov. Sarah Palin, who Obama says has taken earmarks “when it’s convenient." “Don’t be fooled,” a particularly punchy Obama told a crowd this morning at a town hall meeting in Terre Haute, Ind. “These are the folks who have been in charge. John McCain’s party, with the help of John McCain, has...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Barack Obama took his first direct swipe at Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin on Saturday, criticizing her for supporting congressional earmarks before opposing them. “I know the governor of Alaska has been, you know, saying she is change,” Obama said at a town hall meeting here. “And that is great. She is a skillful politician. But when you [have] been taking all these earmarks when it is convenient and then suddenly you are the champion anti-earmark person. “That is not change, come on,” Obama continued. “I mean, words mean something. You can’t just make stuff...

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) Barack Obama is offering his first direct criticism of Sarah Palin (PAY'-lin) and it's on the subject of earmarks.

Father, son met governor during Iditarod in February. By ERIN BLASKO Tribune Staff Writer SOUTH BEND — When John McCain announced last week he had chosen Sarah Palin as his running mate, many Americans had never heard of the Alaska governor. Not Carson Cocquyt, though. According to Carson's father, John Cocquyt, of South Bend, the 8-year-old could pick the Republican governor out of a lineup. "He's a McCain guy, and he sees Palin and he says, 'I know her!' " John said of his son's reaction upon seeing Palin and McCain together on television recently.

Indiana is one of the most reliably Republican states in the nation, but it also neighbors Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois. Hoosiers still prefer Republican John McCain... The first Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of voters in the state shows McCain attracting 46% of the vote while Obama earns 42%. When “leaners” are included, it's McCain by six, 49% to 43%. Leaners are survey participants who initially indicate no preference for either major candidate but indicate that they are leaning towards either McCain or Obama. McCain is viewed favorably by 65% of Indiana voters, Obama by 52%.

Obama camp counting on new voters Volunteers urged to obtain as many registrations as possible. VOTE 2008 ED RONCO Tribune Staff Writer SOUTH BEND — In the coming weeks, volunteers for Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign will be everywhere. Beauty shops. Barber shops. Bus stops. Churches. All for the sake of getting you to vote.

NashvillePost.com has learned that senior campaign officials from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign are being dispatched from various locations around the country and are converging in Indianapolis for a “major event” to take place on Saturday. Saturday is the same day that Obama is expected to make his first public appearance with his yet to be announced vice presidential running mate. Indiana is the home state of Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, widely considered to be on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders. Sources in Denver, the site of next week's Democratic National Convention, say that individuals responsible for...

On Eve of Obama Selection of Running Mate, McCain Takes Lead in Indiana Race for White House: In an election for President of the United States held today in Indiana, Republican John McCain defeats Democrat Barack Obama by 6 points, 50% to 44%, according to this latest SurveyUSA tracking poll conducted exclusively for WCPO-TV Cincinnati and WHAS-TV Louisville. Compared to an identical poll released eight weeks ago, Obama is down 3 points; McCain is up 3. Among those who regularly attend religious services, McCain leads by 28 points, up from 16 points eight weeks ago. Among those who occasionally attend,...

On Eve of Obama Selection of Running Mate, McCain Takes Lead in Indiana Race for White House: In an election for President of the United States held today in Indiana, Republican John McCain defeats Democrat Barack Obama by 6 points, 50% to 44%, according to this latest SurveyUSA tracking poll conducted exclusively for WCPO-TV Cincinnati and WHAS-TV Louisville. Compared to an identical poll released eight weeks ago, Obama is down 3 points; McCain is up 3. Among those who regularly attend religious services, McCain leads by 28 points, up from 16 points eight weeks ago. Among those who occasionally attend,...

Why should Obama choose Evan Bayh for VP? The name Birch Evans Bayh III makes Barack Hussein Obama sound almost normal. Bayh is to married a former Miss Southern California beauty queen. Obama is married to a woman who wants to be queen. Bayh doesn't use drugs so Barack's stash will be safe. Bayh was born with a tiny silver spoon in his mouth. Obama had a tiny silver spoon on his neckchain. They both have secret pasts. Obama's past is secret because he shredded the records. Bayh's is secret because nobody cares.

AIDE'S MISTAKE REVEALS OBAMA'S VP PICK EARLY (PULLED FROM CNN) It's Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana. Original link is dead. This is a screenshot courtesy of roses of sharon.

The new Barack Obama campaign office on Indianapolis Boulevard in south Hammond is modest. It looks like an insurance office, and the plain lobby houses a television that looks older than at least one of Obama's campaign organizers. To voters, the fanciness of the campaign offices may not matter as much as the number of them. The Obama campaign has opened 19 offices across Indiana -- including four in the region -- and plans to add another 10 or more before the Nov. 4 general elections, according to State Communications Director Jonathan Swain. The presumed Democratic presidential nominee also has...

MIDDLEBURY, Ind. — Pilgrim International officials have laid off 160 of their employees and temporarily ceased all operations, according to partner Dave Hoefer Sr. “We are in the process of negotiations with the bank. Right now we’re not running any production,” he said. According to Hoefer, officials at the Middlebury-based recreation vehicle manufacturer won’t know anything more of their situation until sometime next week. “The sad thing is the people, the families, everything affected. But we have to look at it all,” he said. “I am distressed to learn of the job losses in the last two days for employees...

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- U.S. Senator John McCain's presidential campaign today announced the leadership of Indiana Veterans for McCain, a statewide grassroots organization that will work to bolster John McCain's support within Indiana's veterans' community. With 150 members representing all service branches, the group's membership spans generations, including veterans from World War II to the combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. "John McCain's distinguished service in the United States Navy is a matter of record and there is no doubting his sacrifice for America as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. His history of putting his country first, from Hanoi to...

According to the Indy Star, Barack Obama has not asked Sen. Evan Bayh to be his running mate. At least not yet. The Star is reporting that the length of Obama's visit to Indiana -- he arrives around 6:30 p.m. this evening and does not leave until 3:30 p.m. Wednesday -- has fueled rumors that Bayh will be Obama's choice. Add to the fact that his wife, twin sons and father, the former Sen. Birch Bayh, will be joining him on this trip, and Bayh watch is on every political radar screen. The first rule of picking a vice-presidential running...

Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign released its latest television ad today entitled "Celeb." The ad takes a swipe at the perception that Sen. Barack Obama is "the biggest celebrity in the world" because of his much covered Middle-East/European tour last week. The ad opens with a huge crowd screaming "O-Bama! O-Bama!" then flashes images of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Obama -- not together and by the way not very subliminal lining him up with the Britney and Paris celebrity train wrecks) -- hitting the screen with the announcer proclaiming that "Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world."...

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – It was a cross between "The Dating Game" and "24" as Sen. Barack Obama was flanked by two potential running mates Wednesday while criticizing President George W. Bush's efforts to confront emerging forms of potential terrorism. As experts talked about dirty bombs, anthrax and attacks on the nation's computer infrastructure, many eyes were trained on Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana and former Sen. Sam Nunn of Georgia. Both have been listed as potential Obama running mates and both live in key red states that Obama's campaign has targeted for the general election. Although Obama has expressed...

...Also standing along Obama's route to the summit were organized supporters of Obama's Republican rival, John McCain. Students for John McCain at Purdue University displayed campaign signs in front of Purdue Memorial Mall. Ross McMullin said the group is rallying for McCain because they said he has the experience needed to lead the country, especially in national security issues. ... The group said, even on a day centered around Obama, they see support for McCain, including the honks they received from passersby.

In an election today in Indiana, Barack Obama takes 48% of the vote, John McCain 47% of the vote -- a statistical tie -- according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Obama's 1-point lead is within the survey's 4 percentage point margin of sampling error,

In an election today in Indiana, Barack Obama takes 48% of the vote, John McCain 47% of the vote -- a statistical tie -- according to this latest SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WHAS-TV Louisville and WCPO-TV Cincinnati. Obama's 1-point lead is within the survey's 4 percentage point margin of sampling error, and these results should be reported as a tie. Among men, McCain leads by 5; among women, Obama leads by 7 -- a 12-point gender gap. Among voters age 18 to 49, Obama leads by 5; among voters 50+, McCain leads by 3. Obama leads by 22 points...

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Prayer is news at this year’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis. A chaplains’ luncheon and a Missional Network discussion also may yield a few lines of ink. This year’s prayer emphasis at the Southern Baptist Convention has been boosted by the efforts of Indianapolis-area pastors who have caught a vision of what can happen when people spend more time praying. At last year’s meeting of the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana, a first-of-its-kind prayer room featured videos, maps and other visual aids along with Bible verses, specific requests and journals to facilitate prayer. The room was...

Commentary by Daniel T. Zanoza, Executive Director, RFFM.org Houston, we have a problem! Or perhaps I should say, Republicans have a problem. Even though GOP crybabies--including Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity--now seem to be rallying around the candidacy of Sen. John McCain, the message has yet to filter down to the Party's base. Though McCain is the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, in Pennsylvania Rep. Ron Paul finished second with over 15% of the Republican votes cast. Gov. Mike Huckabee snatched up nearly 12% of those who voted on the GOP's side of the ballot. Both men tallied a...

Whether or not the Democratic primary marathon between two path-breaking candidates has been good for the party or the country, it has clearly been good for people like me: political scientists who study voting behavior. We've been given a data gold mine, the results of an experiment that no one intended to conduct. Sen. Barack Obama is the all but certain Democratic nominee, but voting patterns in Indiana and North Carolina show that resistance to a black candidate among some white Democrats remains a serious threat to his chances in November: · As in other recent primaries, Sen. Hillary Rodham...

Well, Barack Obama should be one happy guy. His big victory in North Carolina has pretty much locked up the Democratic presidential nomination. Now it is virtually impossible for Hillary Clinton to defeat him in the popular vote or in the elected delegate category. Thus, Obama has the nomination won unless another Rev. Wright crawls into the picture. Spinners who talk about re-votes in Florida and Michigan are dreaming; that will not happen. The Obama campaign would be foolish to participate. They played by the Democratic Party's rules and won. They're not going to sanction do-overs. Also, as Al Sharpton...

Religious voters in Indiana and North Carolina held to familiar patterns in Democratic primary balloting Tuesday, with the controversy over Sen. Barack Obama's relationship with his former pastor deepening the divide. In network exit polling, about the same number of voters in each state said they considered the situation with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. "very important" to their vote as those who said it was "not at all important." And most who gave the issue a heavy weight voted for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), while those who said it was not a factor went for Obama, the...

There is debatable evidence that right-wing radio and TV commentator Rush Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" resulted in Sen. Hillary Clinton's narrow victory in Indiana's Democratic primary on Tuesday.Operation Chaos is Limbaugh's effort to encourage Republican voters to reregister as Democrats or cross over in primaries that permit it, like Indiana's. A vote for Clinton, in Limbaugh's master plan, assures an extended Democratic primary, weakening the eventual nominee.Of course, the egocentric bloviator is taking full credit for Clinton's win by only 14,000 votes in the Hoosier State. Limbaugh has a knack for taking credit for everything he promotes.Imagine if the Democrats were...

Even as Barack Obama's campaign celebrated Tuesday's primary results, aides charged yesterday that they would have had an even stronger showing were it not for meddling by an unlikely booster of Hillary Rodham Clinton: the popular conservative radio host and longtime Clinton family nemesis Rush Limbaugh. The impact of Limbaugh's "Operation Chaos" emerged as an intriguing point of debate, particularly in Indiana, where registered voters could participate in either party's primary, and where Clinton won by a mere 14,000 votes. As he had before several recent primaries, Limbaugh encouraged listeners to vote for Clinton to "bloody up Obama politically" and...

It was midnight and the nation was still awaiting results from the Indiana primary, one of the biggest remaining prizes of the epic Democratic presidential battle between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. But as the clock ticked, the questions and accusations grew louder: What was wrong in Lake County? Was this more politics as usual in a county often suspected of harboring Chicago-style corruption? A day after Clinton eked out a narrow victory in the primary, no one raised allegations of illegal activity. But some say old-school politics were certainly at play in the state's second-largest county, at the...