May 12, 2008

Post-primary ponderings

They’re gone.

The candidates, their spouses, their children, their strategists, their advance people, their Secret Service agents, their celebrities, their tv ads, their phone calls, their emails.

Will we miss them? Will they miss us? Will they remember us? Will they remember where Indiana is?

Hoosiers got a taste, and only a taste, of what New Hampshire, Iowa and other early-primary states have gone through. Ours was toned down by the number of candidates, as those very early primaries had perhaps as many as eight Democrats running and at least a half-dozen Republicans traversing the state, making appearances, sending emails, making phone calls ... and on and on.

Hillary’s campaign sent more emails out to the media than the Indiana Pacers have subpoenas. My favorite one that I actually read (which was a distinct minority) was a “news flash” that Hillary had picked up the endorsement of Miss Indiana, surely a highly influential backer in the political realm.

There were also an unexpected number of phone calls from “concerned citizens” from out of state to newspaper editors (at least this one) who wanted to draw our attention to videos posted on the Internet that highlighted Barack Obama’s shortcomings.

The mail was the favorite mode for the anti-Clintonites, of which there were a fair number as well. One was a lengthy letter to the editor from a man in New York who was obviously not a supporter. Another man from Chicago sent a bulky Priority Mail package full of copies of newspaper clippings and notes (“evidence” as he put it), encouraging us to do an investigative expose on the Clintons’ alleged shady business dealings through the years. If he mailed that same packet to every newspaper in Indiana, which we only assume, that was a pretty hefty mailing bill with, I’m sure, absolutely zero results.

Were Hoosiers excited about Indiana’s primary being in the spotlight? Generally speaking, that’s probably a “yes.” But not all.

“What’s the difference?” I heard one voter say. “The superdelegates are going to make the call anyway.” Howard Dean might want to make note of that.

The turnout in Wells County wasn’t as high as anticipated. It appears we trailed our neighbors in the percentage of registered voters taking part. While it was a big increase over recent primary elections, it was no where near the numbers that took part in 1968, which was the last time Hoosiers had a significant role in the presidential primary outcomes.

Wells County did make its mark across the state as one of the first three counties to submit their official results. The tabulating was completed in the courthouse less than an hour after the polls had closed. Congrats to Beth Davis and her team.

Whether any of the candidates will remember their foray into Hoosierdom, here’s how I’ll remember it:

When I saw the news clipping of one of Hillary’s stump speeches, when she raised that left hand high while holding the microphone with her right (she seemed stuck in that pose no matter what day or what venue), and she loudly declared “I will not forget the people of Indiana!” ... I had an eerily similar feeling as the day I first saw her husband point and shake his finger at the American people and declare “I did not (pause) have (pause) sexual relations (pause) with that woman.”

And we all know how that turned out.

by MARK MILLER

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