Several people lately, Republicans and Democrats alike, have mentioned how happy they are that the 9th District congressional race between perennial foes Baron Hill of Seymour and Mike Sodrel of New Albany hadn’t gone negative this year.

I, too, had noticed that the race this year, which also includes Libertarian Eric Schansberg for the second time, was staying on the high road.

But to some that changed last week, when the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee broadcast what in the eyes of some beholders could be seen as a negative ad. It resurrects the “Millionaire Mike” mon-iker from the 2006 campaign and wrongly accuses Sodrel of wanting to take away Social Security benefits. I’ve yet to figure out what’s wrong with being a millionaire; I also don’t expect to learn firsthand.

The commercial also takes Sodrel to task for a September statement that the U.S. economy “fundamentally is in good shape.” Sounds a little like GOP presidential hopeful John McCain shortly before suspending his campaign to deal with the financial markets bailout, eh?
Before that, the only television advertising had been from Hill, the incumbent. He’s aired several TV spots that talk about issues. Again, Republicans and Democrats alike have mentioned to me in recent days that they liked the ads because they were focused on the candidate airing them and issues and not filled with attacks on the opposition.

I’ve got to imagine those folks may not say the same about the DCCC ad.

Ryan Reger of Sodrel’s campaign staff said he’s been running radio ads for a couple weeks and should start running what he described as “positive ads” on TV this week.
Reger said the DCCC commercial is “blatantly false.”

“At no point has Sodrel ever supported cutting benefits for retirees or gambling Social Security on Wall Street,” Reger said. He said Hill should repudiate the ad.

Hill has made it clear that he had nothing to do with the commercial.

“I had no part in either crafting the ad or consulting about its contents,” Hill said in a statement. “I am very pleased that I have been able to run a positive campaign so far, evident by my three issue-oriented television ads.”

However, Hill also said the commercial is on target in terms of its criticism of Sodrel’s take on the economy.

“During this time of economic uncertainly and turmoil, I do believe the message of the ad is both important and timely,” Hill said. “Hoosiers have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis, faltering economy and subsequent job losses. As of August of this year, our great state had more than 200,000 unemployed workers, and we are consistently rated among the top 10 states with the highest home foreclosures. To say, or even suggest, that the fundamentals of our economy are strong is a complete affront to Hoosier families who are struggling day in and day out.”

I don’t know whether the campaigns have been cleaner this year because 9th District voters made it clear they were unhappy with the ever-nastier ads of the last two election cycles, but I doubt it.

More likely it’s a result of the Republican and Democratic congressional campaign groups and others that financed, produced and broadcast the most despicable ads are spending their money in other races deemed more winnable, or less safe, depending on who’s horse you’re riding.

Whatever the cause, I hope the DCCC commercial isn’t a sign of more mudslinging to come.
We don’t need it.

My impression is Hoosiers enjoyed the limelight that Democratic presidential primary race cast on Indiana.

What’s your take on that?

We’ll publish an editorial on Monday that resurrects an opinion piece I wrote earlier this year, contending that Indiana’s primary comes way too late in the presidential nomination process. It’s been 40 years since Hoosier voters mattered in that process.

But with New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton slugging it out with Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, our votes, opinions and voices finally mattered.

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Could we be in for a long night awaiting election results in Jackson County?

Maybe so.

With a number of Jackson County’s 33 precincts running out of Democratic paper ballots — and many voters preferring not to cast their ballots on the touchscreen I-Votronic system — means election board officials must count paper ballots and then enter them into the electronic system to yield vote totals.

Of course, the I-Votronic wasn’t an option for voters at Jackson 5 North at Seymour High School when it ran out of Democratic ballots. That’s because its touchscreen machine broke down with 55 votes on it about midday. The inspector there, Joe Robertson, said those 55 ballots will be electroncially transferred out and counted.

Why did the precincts run out of Democratic ballots? That’s probably a combination of at least three things: more people voted, perhaps most attributed to Indiana’s presidential primary actually meaning something for the first time since 1968; ballots had to be ordered before anyone ever dreamed that our primary could mean something and stir more people to vote; and it’s pretty clear that a number of Jackson County Republicans crossed over and took Democratic ballots, for whatever reason.

Anyway, we still have staff at the courthouse, waiting for the final results. As soon as we have them, we’ll post them online.

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Guess we shouldn’t expect to see New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in Seymour now that 9th District Rep. Baron Hill has endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

With Hill, a Seymour Democrat, is one of the state party’s so-called superdelegates, I’d been expecting both wannabe nominees would make a campaign stop hear to court his support.

But Hill ended speculation with who he’d support with his announcement today.

Now the speculation is likely under way, or perhaps continuing, over how the endorsement of Obama helps and hurts Hill in his re-election bid this year. He faces three opponents in Tuesday’s primary election.

If he wins Tuesday, as expected, he’ll face Republican Mike Sodrel, a former 9th District representative, for the fourth time this fall. Also in the race this fall will be Libertarian Eric Schansberg.

So, don’t for Clinton to visit Seymour in the coming few days.

But what about Obama?

Do you think he’ll make a campaign swing through Jackson County?

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It’s a buit amusing to see Indiana 9th District Rep. Baron Hill targeted on billboards by Greenpeace, the enviornmental activist organization.

Hill seemed to find some irony as well when questioned Tuesday morning about the signs, expected to go up later in the day around the district.

“Every day’s a new day, but I didn’t expect this,” Hill said in a phone conversation from Washington, D.C.

The irony and amusement come from the history of Hill with billboards during election years. He’s been targeted by signs in the past, made a poster child for everything liberal and evil by conservative groups and individuals, including Citizens for Truth.

Now Greenpeace, hardly a bastion of conservative policies, is lining up against the Seymour Democrat. It contends that Hill’s weak on fighting global warming.

Greenpeace surely can’t be suggesting that Hill’s likely opponent in the general election this fall, Republican Mike Sodrel, would be a better candidate for fighting Al Gore’s war. That leads one to question whether the billboard campaign might be to favor Hill’s Democratic opponents in the May 6 primary election, John R. Bottorff of Jasper, Gretchen Clearwater of Bloomington and Lendall B. Terry of Versailles.

But Edyta Sitko of Greenpeace’s Bloomington office was quick to stress that the organization doesn’t endorse any political candidates.

Hill isn’t the only congressman being targeted by the billboards. Sitko said about 25 congressmen — Democrats and Republicans — are part of the billboard campaign.

Irony. You have to love it.

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For the past few weeks, I’ve been receiving e-mails from the campaigns backing New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.

In recent days, those e-mails have come more frequently. They’ve also become more partisan toward their candidate and against their opponent.

This weekend, I’ve received e-mails from both camps highlighting Obama’s comments about “bitter” middle Americans. Each was accompanied by a video posted on YouTube.

I offer links for them here.

Obama in Terre Haute: http://in.barackobama.com/page/content/invideo

 Clinton in Indianapolis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeV2KzGGC38

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