This is the first in a three-part series on the state of the race in Indiana.  Part I will focus on the presidential race.  Part II will be about the congressional races in Indiana.  Part III will focus on the importance of local races in Indiana and how they can impact the next decade of elections and the future of our Congressional delegation.

Cross posted from www.blueindiana.net and at www.dailykos.com.

The McCain camp gets a little more desperate every single day.  We've seen the comparisons to Britney and Paris, and those were simply absurd.  Yesterday, they went a few steps further uploaded an online ad that compares Obama to Moses.  It's even got the parting of the sea thing going on with Obama's presidential seal coming out of the water.

I'm starting to think John McCain will do anything to be president.  I won't be shocked if he ends up pulling the plug on his 96 year old mother to give us an "October Surprise" and win a little sympathy vote.

If there's anything that Hillary voters, Edwards voters, Obama voters and all other Democrats can agree on, it's that we need more and better Democrats in office throughout the nation.  This year, we have a huge chance to change the face of Indiana for the next decade.

In 2008, Barack Obama is going to make a real play for Indiana.  He's in the process of opening two dozen campaign offices.  He's running ad after ad.  He's leading John McCain in public polling.  Indiana Democrats stand to benefit from his organizing in the state.

Not much to say.  5.4 earthquake centered in south central Illinois.  I'm in Indianapolis, and it woke my shit up.  So give us your reports, fellow Midwesterners.  Did you feel it, and where are you at?

Cross-posted from Blue Indiana. Come join us!

The American Research Group (ARG) released a poll today taken April 2-3 that shows Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by a 53-44 margin.  The poll has a 4% margin of error.

The results nearly mirror a poll released earlier this week by polling firm Survey USA, which showed Clinton in the lead with a 52-43 margin.  It runs in contrast to a poll by Research 2000 which shows a much closer race, with Clinton ahead 49-46.

The ARG poll has Clinton as the favorite of Democratic voters, whereas Obama is preferred by the overwhelming majority of independents, who are eligible to vote in Indiana's Democratic primary.  There are no cross-tabs or regional breakdown available at this time.

Indiana
Likely Democratic Primary Voters Apr 2-3

Clinton 53%
Obama 44%
Someone else 1%
Undecided 2%

Indiana
Likely Democratic Primary Voters
Democrats (78%) Independents (22%)

Clinton 59% 31%
Obama 38% 64%
Someone else 1% -
Undecided 2% 5%

I expect to see a lot more of both senators in the near future.

I'm proud to share that one of my favorite bloggers, Thomas from Blue Indiana, filed a challenge to John McCain's ballot petitions yesterday.  In Indiana, a candidate for President must get 500 signatures from each congressional district, for a total of 4,500 signatures.

Apparantly, Sen. McCain was 9 signatures short from Indiana's 4th Congressional District.

Thomas puts this best:

Let's be clear here: This is one of the most Republican-friendly districts in one of the most Republican-friendly presidential states. John McCain has been endorsed by Governor Mitch Daniels, Attorney General Steve Carter, state GOP chair Murray Clark, and Secretary of State Todd Rokita.

And despite all of this high-level help, these guys managed to screw up one of the most basic steps that any candidate can take in the state.

...

This doesn't just make John McCain look silly -- and it does -- but this makes the entire Indiana Republican Party look silly. Silly, and clumsy, and inept, and generally incapable of running a national campaign, let alone the entire country.

Blue Indiana

With so much focus on the presidential contest, another important race takes place Tuesday in Maryland's 4th Congressional district featuring Netroots favorite and progressive activist Donna Edwards against corrupt, corporate Democrat named Al Wynn.

This is a rematch from 2006, when Wynn supporters physically assaulted Edwards supporters outside polling sites.

In recent days, Wynn sent out robocalls attacking Donna Edwards as a tax cheat. The Wynn campaign is very desperate and is making this very personal.  http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?do cID=news-000002668478

Al Wynn is everything you can ask for in a bad Democrat.  He voted for the Iraq War.  He's a champion of predatory lenders and credit card companies.  He's pro-big oil.  He supports No Child Left Behind.  He's spent so much time in Washington he's forgotten where he came from.

I ask you to give Donna some 11th hour love.  She'll need every dollar she can get to defeat Wynn, something she came within 3 points of doing in 2006.  Visit my ActBlue page and give what you can.

http://www.actblue.com/page/voxpopuli

A victory for Donna is a victory for progress in the Democratic Party.  Thank you!

This is a short commentary, but one of the 'quiz of the day' features on CQ politics was the question:

How many times have Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama disagreed on key Senate votes?

a) 25

b) 15

c) 7

d) 3

They've shared three years in the Senate.  Obama talks oft about bringing change to Washington.  But just how much does he differ compared to Hillary Clintion?

Answer below the fold.