Perhaps the biggest turning point in conservative Hoosiers' views toward Sen. Richard Lugar was what was perceived as his passive endorsement of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign. Obama repeatedly referenced Lugar in campaign speeches and used photos of the two together in his campaign commercials to tout his foreign policy credibility and bipartisanship without objection from Lugar. The Washington Post takes a look at the difficult primary race Lugar faces against Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock in an article titled, "
Too mild to be memorable." The Post reporter chose to close her story with a question about that photo:
When asked about the much-discussed charge that he “let” Obama use a photo of the two of them together in a 2008 ad in the state, he said facetiously, “Maybe I’m just not alert enough to the possibilities and should have threatened a lawsuit.” More was accomplished, he said, when it was less scandalous to be seen standing next to someone from across the aisle. And if this campaign does turn out to mark the end of Lugar’s long career, no one will be able to say he didn’t stay true to himself in its final weeks.
Threatening a lawsuit was the furthest thing from his mind in 2008. Lugar, to put it mildly, was smitten by Obama, and his implicit support of Obama's 2008 presidential campaign reveals far more about his judgment and philosophy than his supporters would care to admit. Lest we forget that in 1968 then-Mayor Lugar made sure he positioned himself at what was suppose to be a presidential campaign visit to Indianapolis next to Sen. Robert Kennedy that turned into a memorial service as news of the tragic assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. first became known to be recorded for posterity. The opportunistic photo with Kennedy worked magic for Lugar's political career. The opportunistic photo with Obama hasn't worked out so well for him.
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