From The Hotline Latest Edition for Friday, May 9,2008

INDIANA

You Can't Spell "Daniels" without A-d-s.

Fri. May 9, 2008


Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) was up with a pair of new TV ads 5/7, by Revolution Media Group. Full script "Done More":

VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS: "Mitch Daniels has done so much. He's done so much. He's done more things than any governor I can ever remember. He's balanced the budget, without raising taxes. I've seen the new creation of jobs across the state. Thousands of jobs. New and innovative jobs. He's gone across the world bringing business to Indiana. Our roads are improving, our bridges are being fixed. The best and highest investments in higher education. He's the first governor since Otis Bowen to really address property taxes. Mitch Daniels puts the tax-payers first. Indiana has held its own through some very tough times, they have been a beacon of light in a Midwestern sea of despair. We have 800 new caseworkers at the department of child services. Full-day kindergarten. He is starting to provide healthcare for Hoosiers that can not afford it. The change that Mitch has created has been dramatic. We're just amazed that Mitch has been able to do so much so fast. You may not agree with everything he's done, but you can't argue with the successes. What Mitch says he's gonna do, he does it; you can take that to the bank."

Full script "Change That Working" (no dialogue, just pounding drums and upbeat symphonic music):

SCREEN TEXT: "Just three years. A world of change. From Bankruptcy to Balanced Budgets. WITHOUT RAISING TAXES! Property taxes CUT. Property taxes CAPPED at 1%. The BIGGEST TAX CUT in state History. 'Record Breaking Job Creation'. #8 BEST state for Business. #3 BEST state in job attraction. #1 BEST state in capturing international Investment. Record Breaking Road Building - No New Taxes. Record Breaking Road Building - No New Debt. '800 new Child Protection Workers'. Child Deaths Decreased Dramatically. Affordable Health Insurance for Thousands of the Uninsured. Prescription Drug Costs SLASHED for Over 220,000 Hoosiers. A BMV That Works - Customer Satisfaction 97%. Increased Funding for Schools FOUR YEARS RUNNING. More Children are Being Immunized. More Children in Full Day Kindergarten. And we're just getting started. 'COURAGE' 'VISION' 'RESULTS'. Mitch Daniels. Learn more at MyManMitch.com" (Hotline sources, 5/9).

Legends Of The Fall Campaign

Indiana Legislative Insight's Feigenbaum writes: The two names for ex-Rep. Jill Long Thompson's (D) "running-mate that seem to be floating about the most appear to be those of two men" from SW IN: ex-state House Speaker John Gregg (D) and Evansville Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (D). "Gregg could bring the flash, rhetorical flair, small-town appeal, state legislative experience, and geographic balance." As a backer of architecht Jim Schellinger (D), "he could also serve as a uniter." Weinzapfel, "long viewed as a potential statewide candidate, is an Obama backer, can run from a base that supported him overwhelmingly last year, and also brings state legislative experience to the ticket."

"The lack of substantive and deep-rooted enthusiasm among Democrats for either candidate, the establishment antipathy for Long Thompson, and the almost even split of votes between them doesn't bode well for them in the Fall. Still, this will be a Mitch/No Mitch vote of sorts in which the specific Demo nominee will largely be irrelevant."

Daniels "has also spent the last few weeks running a series of superb TV spots." He "is doing a strong job of defining himself and his first term before cashpoor Democrats can jump in and redefine him (and they must still introduce their nominee first). Keep in mind that he ran a masterful TV campaign four years ago, and his early advertising this year is even exceeding those high standards. And we've never pulled the trigger on a governor seeking a second term since allowing successive terms 30 years ago" (5/9).