Daniels Backs Costas For Attorney General

Gov. Mitch Daniels endorsed Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas for the Attorney General nomination at next month's Indiana Republican state convention over Chief Deputy Attorney General Greg Zoeller. In a letter to state committee members, Daniels emphasized the importance of geographic balance in explaining his support for Costas:

We also have two outstanding men running for Attorney General. I have known both Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas and Greg Zoeller for years. I like and admire them both very much. I have heard from a large number of party and civic leaders making the point that three-quarters of our 2008 ticket should not come from one geographical area, and I find I must agree. Fairness, balance, and political common sense all argue for supporting Mayor Jon Costas. I ask you to join me in doing so.

Zoeller is actually from Southern Indiana but has resided in Indianapolis for several years. According to the Howey Political Report, Daniels has also endorsed Greater Clark Schools Supt. Tony Bennett for superintendent of public instruction. Suellen Reed decided against seeking a fifth term for the post.

NIFS Sex Sting Target Fights Back

A local doctor who was ensnared in a sex sting conducted by an off duty police officer at the National Institute for Fitness and Sports (NIFS) is suing the City of Indianapolis, the police officer and NIFS in U.S. federal district court for the Southern District of Indiana for false arrest, invasion of privacy and violating his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seaches and seizures (Cause No. 1:08-CV-0002-DFH-JMS). The suit stems from the physician's arrest on January 9, 2006 at NIFS, where he was a member, by an Indianapolis police officer, Joshua Shaugnessy. Shaughnessy arrested the physician for public indecency. The physician pleaded not guilty to the offense, and Marion Superior Court Judge Barbara Collins directed a verdict in favor of the physician after concluding the state's evidence against the physician was insufficient to support a finding of guilt.

According to the suit, NIFS employed the services of Shaughnessy as an undercover security officer to combat alleged sexual activity which was taking place in the men's shower rooms and other areas within NIFS with the cooperation of the Indianapolis police department. The suit claims that a manager at NIFS, Jerry Taylor, profiled certain NIFS patrons as suspicious (i.e, they were suspected of being gay) and had Shaughnessy focus his undercover efforts on these suspicious patrons. To nab the suspects, the suit alleges that Shaughnessy essentially engaged in voyeurism. "Joshua Shaugnessy's investigative techniques while working at the NIFS facility included peering into shower stalls while men showered, without the advance knowledge or consent of the men showing," the suit reads. It alleges that Shaughnessy "had neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion to believe that the occupants of the shower stalls were associated with criminal activity." Numerous male patrons of NIFS were arrested by Shaughnessy for public indecency using this technique but were later acquitted of the crime.

In the physician's case, Shaughnessy claimed to have observed him "exposing his genitals and touching his genitals in a shower stall inside the shower room of the NIFS facility on January 9, 2006." The physician complains that Shaughnessy "looked repeatedly into a shower stall he occupied" without his advance knowledge or consent. After he finished his shower, Shaughnessy placed the physician in physical custody, handcuffed him and placed him in an area of the facility where he could be observed by other patrons. The physician's suit complains that Indianapolis police on two separate occasions arrested him and took him into physical custody for the prosecution of this single charge of public indecency. The physician complains that he has suffered financial harm, mental distress and damage to his reputation and career.

When I first read about these arrests at NIFS as a result of this sex sting, I assumed the arrestees were engaging in inappropriate acts in view of other patrons. As it turns out, the arrestees were actually in individual shower stalls. If the complaint describes his investigative technique accurately, he had to snoop on patrons while they were alone in a shower stall to observe their actions. Is it possible to take a shower without exposing your genitals or touching them? I'm curious what the undercover police officer would have done if he had been met by a blow to the face while peering into the shower stall of one of these patrons. Would it have been assault on a police officer or self defense?

Obama Aide Resigns After Reports of Meetings With Hamas

A top Middle Eastern advisor to Sen. Barack Obama, Rob Malley, resigned from the campaign after the Times of London disclosed that he had been meeting with the Hamas terrorist group. Sen. Obama criticized former President Jimmy Carter for his recent meeting with Hamas leaders. Obama said of Carter's decision to meet with Hamas:

"That's why I have a fundamental difference with President Carter and disagree with his decision to meet with Hamas," Obama said. "We must not negotiate with a terrorist group intent on Israel's destruction. We should only sit down with Hamas if they renounce terrorism, recognize Israel's right to exist and abide by past agreements."

Sen. John McCain angered Obama recently when he noted that Hamas leaders have expressed support for Obama's campaign. Obama called McCain's comment "smear" politics and poked fun at his age, saying McCain has "lost his bearings." The only candidate who appears confused as of late, though, is Obama. Speaking to a group in Oregon this week, Obama stated that the United States is made of more than 50 states. What? Here's the quote:

"It is wonderful to be back in Oregon," Obama said. "Over the last 15 months, we’ve traveled to every corner of the United States. I’ve now been in 57 states? I think one left to go. Alaska and Hawaii, I was not allowed to go to even though I really wanted to visit, but my staff would not justify it."

He never missed a beat after making the glaring error. If you still don't believe me, check out the video here. Can you imagine the reaction if Bush or McCain had made such a glaring error? The media and pundits would have been poking fun at them for weeks. In Obama's case, it slides right past them.

Zoeller Enters GOP Race For Attorney General

Attorney General Steve Carter's chief deputy, Greg Zoeller, is officially throwing his hat into the ring to take Carter's place by filing a declaration of candidacy with the Indiana Republican State Committee. He had announced last month his intention to seek the nomination. Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas is the only other declared candidate in the race. The Attorney General nominee will be chosen by delegates to the state convention on June 2. As a delegate myself, I received a post card from Zoeller this past week seeking my support. I haven't received anything from Costas' campaign yet. For more information on Costas' candidacy, you can listen to an interview here he gave to Hoosier Access Radio.

Election Is Over; Tax Bills To Follow

The state has finally approved tax rates for last year's taxes based on the reassessment of real property in Marion County according to the Star's Tim Evans. The good news is that tax bills for many will be falling because the reassessment added $4.5 billion to the county's total assessed valuation from what you were originally billed last year. The bad news is that you will be making a third payment this year to offset the difference between the amount you paid based on the old rates and assessments and the new rates and assessments, along with two additional payments for this year's taxes. Bills to cover the third payment are expected to go out in June, while this year's tax bills won't be mailed until August.

Wagner Levels Defamation Charges Against Brian Howey And Ryan Nees

Jen Wagner is serving Brian Howey and Ryan Nees of the Howey Political Report with notice that she believes a column penned by the teen-aged Nees in the Howey Political Report making references to certain alleged actions on her part as spokesperson for Jim Schellinger's gubernatorial campaign is defamatory. Wagner is upset at a passage in Nees' column about an e-mail Nees implies that she may have sent out under Rober Kellar's name on behalf of the Schellinger campaign to discredit Jill Long Thompson, which she says is untrue. Explaining her position, Wagner writes:

Not only is his assertion not based in reality, but it is potentially damaging to my reputation, and he offered it as fact with no attribution or basis. No such e-mail was ever sent by me or Robert. (I just checked, and the press release addressing the House Banking Scandal was sent on March 27 by Candace Martin. The last e-mail sent by Robert Kellar from the campaign was on Feb. 29. I would be more than happy to provide those records for your review.) Also, for your information, I advocated very strongly against the use of the House Banking Scandal in the campaign. You or Ryan could and should have contacted me prior to publishing the article, and I'd have been happy to set the record straight. Unfortunately, you both chose not to do so, and I am contacting you as the publisher of Ryan's material.

Wagner says she is not planning legal action against Howey and Nees at this time, but she is demanding the column be removed from his website and a correction or retraction be made in next week's publication. "As you well know, I am perfectly willing to endure the hyperbolic slings and arrows that come with working in politics," Wagner writes. "I am not, however, willing to endure this kind of grossly negligent disregard for the truth."

I don't know all the facts behind this, but I certainly respect Wagner's position if she believes the column represents she took certain actions in which she had no part. As you know, I've been in that exact same position in the past. I don't believe Brian would deliberately set out to maliciously defame Wagner, although he and Wagner have certainly had their differences after Wagner made some less than flattering comments about his grammar skills. He once dubbed her the "nastiest woman in Indiana politics." Having been on the receiving end of some of her personal attacks (e.g., suggesting I'm mentally unstable, a certifiable nut, cracking up, etc.), I understand Howey's point of view. Nees, although fresh out of high school, is an impressive young lad with great writing skills. I'm sure he will correct any mistakes, if any, he made in his initial reporting.

UPDATE: Ryan Nees has acknowledged he made a mistake in his column concerning the e-mail in question. "Jennifer is correct that the press release was e-mailed from Candace Martin, not Robert Kellar," Nees said. "This has now been corrected. I regret the error. "

UPDATE II: Wagner is not satisfied with Nees' correction as you can see from the comment she posted below. She writes, "Unfortunately, you didn't correct the overarching issue -- that I didn't send that press release." "The nature of your tightly written correction still implies that I somehow had clandestine access to Jim's e-mail blast system and was sending things using other people's names." "That was the crux of my original complaint, and you have yet to address it." "Your allegation remains false, and I would appreciate a further retraction."

Obama Making Fun Of McCain's Age

Throughout his political career, Sen. Barack Obama has run dirty campaigns against his opponents. When he first ran for the state senate in Illinois, he got his primary opponent disqualified so he could run unopposed. In Chicago politics, the general election is a formality. When he ran for the U.S. Senate, he forced open sealed divorce records of his Democratic primary opponent and his Republican general election opponent. Revelations therein wrecked both opponents' campaigns, paving the way for an easy victory for Obama. Yet to be nominated by the Democratic Party, Obama is already subtly raising questions about Sen. John McCain's age. As the Redstate blog notes, Obama told a reporter this week that Sen. McCain is "losing his bearings", a less than subtle attack on his age as he criticized McCain for what he termed "smear politics." The McCain campaign was quick to respond. Senior advisor Mark Salter said:

First, let us be clear about the nature of Senator Obama's attack today: He used the words 'losing his bearings' intentionally, a not particularly clever way of raising John McCain's age as an issue. This is typical of the Obama style of campaigning.

We have all become familiar with Senator Obama's new brand of politics. First, you demand civility from your opponent, then you attack him, distort his record and send out surrogates to question his integrity. It is called hypocrisy, and it is the oldest kind of politics there is.

Redstate blog points out that Obama has often gotten away with making sexist references about Sen. Hillary Clinton. Quoting from ABC's Jake Tapper, Redstate offers these examples:

Jake Tapper first noted this when Obama said that Hillary was "taking out the claws." At the same time he noted that Obama would use "[l]anguage such as 'when she's feeling down' 'periodically' she 'launches attacks.'" Tapper noted that a number of female reporters and bloggers picked up on this. Later Obama complained that Hillary was "throwing the China" at him. Again, Tapper heard the dog whistle. Tapper noted that this "feeds into the 'harridan' caricature of Clinton."

You can bet if a Republican opponent used those words to describe a female candidate like Clinton, the media would be all over them demanding an apology. Democrats and womens' groups blasted Former Gov. Mitt Romney, for example, when he criticized his female opponent for behaving in a way that he said was "unbecoming."

Now, I'm not going to pretend to be surprised or pretend these sorts of exchanges don't happen in political campaigns all the time. It's just that Obama has been presented with this aura of being above the politics of personal destruction when he in fact has a track record of hitting his opponents below the belt as much as the next politician. He should be the last to complain when people keep raising questions about his past judgment, which they most certainly will in this campaign.

When A Win Becomes A Loss

Last month, as attention first turned to the Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Indiana primaries after Clinton beat Obama in Texas and Ohio, Barack Obama declared the Indiana primary as the "tie-breaker" in the Democratic presidential race. There was plenty of reason for the Obama people to believe they were going to win Indiana. As one reporter described it at the time:

But there is a big difference from Ohio and Pennsylvania. Indiana borders Obama's home state and stronghold, Illinois. Many of the residents in Indiana's north-west corner work in Chicago. They watch Chicago television and know Obama well. The area has a big predominantly African-American population, which is likely to vote for Obama, and the smaller remnants of Poles, Latvians and other early immigrant groups, who are likely to go for Clinton. Even in the conservative southern part of the state, residents are exposed daily to the Chicago media, which is generally favourable to Obama.

By the end of last month, Obama changed his tune and decided Indiana wasn't a tie-breaker any more after most polls showed Clinton with a steady lead in the Hoosier state. In the end, Clinton won the state 51%-49%. The edge Obama was reported to have in Northwest Indiana didn't prove to be all that it was cracked up to be. But as it has been throughout this campaign, Obama dictates to the media how everything should be perceived and the media follows suit. Hence, Clinton's win in Indiana wasn't big enough to be considered a victory because Obama said so. The Star's Matt Tully bucks the pack reporting mentality somewhat in his column today and puts the win in perspective, albeit to defend Evan Bayh:

The reaction has been muted because the win generally is seen as not convincing enough. Bayh, however, argued that the political world should remember Clinton came to Indiana as the underdog.

"We were frankly kind of concerned when she took her first poll eight weeks ago she was behind by eight points," he said. "She was actually able to move the numbers 10 points in her direction. That's a pretty good day's work." It's also an indication that Evan Bayh is a pretty good guy to have by your side if you're running for president in Indiana.

Naturally, many Democratic leaders and media pundits are trying to call the game before it's over because they know how bad of a drubbing Obama could possibly take in upcoming primaries in West Virginia and Kentucky. I understand the mathematics of the delegate situation, but the fact remains it is extremely close from a historical perspective. Clinton has more reason to take her fight to the convention than Sen. Ted Kennedy did in his unsuccessful race against President Jimmy Carter in 1980. Clinton's situation is similar to Ronald Reagan's in 1976. The Ford people didn't like the battle to the end, but it ultimately made Gerald Ford a much stronger candidate after the contested convention win. Yes, he still lost, but he made the first presidential race after the Watergate scandal extremely close and despite the fact that he pardoned the man at the center of the scandal.

John McCain's Military Records Released

The Associated Press recently obtained the military records of Sen. John McCain. There's not a lot of discussion in the media about what's in those records. Let's take a look:

• A Silver Star Medal-- for resisting "extreme mental and physical cruelties" inflicted upon him by his captors from late October to early December 1967, the early months of his captivity, according to the citation. McCain was repeatedly tortured during his more than five years of captivity "in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes."
• Navy Commendation Medal--His captors held him in solitary confinement and tortured him. They offered him early release for his cooperation. He declined, urging instead the release of others who had been held in captivity no longer than him. "His selfless action served as an example to others and his forthright refusal, by giving emphasis to the insidious nature of such releases, may have prevented a possibly chaotic deterioration in prisoner discipline," the citation says.
• He received 17 awards and decorations in total. In addition to the Silver Star Medal, he received the Legion of Merit with a combat "V" and one gold star, a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Bronze Star Medal with a combat "V" and two gold stars. The citations refer to his "accurate ordnance delivery" and his "aggressive and skillful airmanship." He earned his Bronze Star the day before he was shot down, for participating in a mission over an airfield in Phuc Yen, 11 miles north of Hanoi.
• The Distinghished Flying Cross--"Although his aircraft was severely damaged, he continued his bomb delivery pass and released his bombs on the target. When the aircraft would not recover from the dive, Commander McCain was forced to eject over the target."
• As a congressional liaison for the Navy, he received the Legion of Merit--He was praised for providing Navy leaders "with sage advice and sound judgment for enacting critical legislation during a period of severe fiscal constraint."
• McCain attended the U.S. Naval Academy from 1954 to 1958, and was commissioned as an ensign in June of that year.
• McCain retired in 1981 with the rank of Captain.

Nothing here to look at. Let's talk about Obama's work as a "community organizer" in Chicago and his book, "Dreams of My Father". He's about the future and change. McCain is about the past. Or so we're told.