Deseret News | Obama campaigns for dramatic change in D.C.

Obama campaigns for dramatic change in D.C.

By John McCormick
Chicago Tribune

Published: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008 12:14 a.m. MDT

E-MAIL | PRINT | FONT + -

Page:
1
2
Next >

INDIANAPOLIS (MCT) — As Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana introduced the Democratic nominee Wednesday, he harked back to the last time he could recall a presidential candidate from his party campaigning for a general election in his state.

"When I was a 9-year-old boy, my parents took me ... to see Lyndon Johnson," said Bayh, whom Sen. Barack Obama considered for his running mate. "He was the last Democrat to carry the state of Indiana. I thought I'd bring my boys here today to see the next Democrat to carry the state of Indiana."

It is indeed an oddity for a Democratic presidential candidate — this time one from neighboring Illinois — to be in Indiana this close to Election Day. No Democrat has carried the state since Johnson did 44 years ago.

But recent polls show Obama, who is working hard to widen the traditional political playing field, competitive in Indiana, a state where he spent a considerable amount of time during the primary campaign.

The Hoosier state was Obama's first stop after a debate with Sen. John McCain, who campaigned in Pennsylvania and Ohio with his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Using the growing global financial crisis as his backdrop, Obama called for dramatic changes in the way the nation is governed during a soggy stop at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Story continues below

"That's why the decision you make in 27 days is so important," he said. "That's why this is no ordinary election — because this is no ordinary moment for America."

After spending five days in Republican-leaning states, Obama is expected to visit Ohio Thursday, starting a two-day swing through a key battleground, a state he has not visited in a month and one where he plans to hold his next debate preparation camp.

McCain's campaign, meanwhile, was distracted when for the second time in three days someone invoked Obama's middle name — Hussein — during a rally for the GOP ticket in an apparent attempt to raise doubts about his background and faith.

Before McCain and Palin arrived at an event in eastern Pennsylvania, Lehigh County GOP Chairman Bill Platt twice used Obama's middle name, according to the Associated Press. Neither candidate referred to Platt's remarks when they spoke, but their campaign quickly issued a statement saying it did not condone "this inappropriate rhetoric."

McCain himself has called the use of Obama's middle name both improper and inappropriate and once apologized after a supporter warming up a rally used it.

Referring to Hussein — a name Obama shares most famously with deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein — is widely viewed as an effort to link Obama to radical Islam even though he is a Christian.

Shouts of "socialist," "terrorist" and "liar" from supporters followed McCain's references to Obama at Lehigh University, the AP reported.