FWIW, Harrison is my old high school and the gym isn't all that large.Clinton to visit; Obama planning
By Thomas B. Langhorne
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Hillary Rodham Clinton will bring her presidential campaign to Harrison High School on Thursday night.
Clinton's campaign announced Monday that the Democratic senator will stage a rally with Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., at 7 p.m. in the school's gym. Doors open to the public at 5:45 p.m.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., also has plans for Evansville.
Obama spokeswoman Gannet Tseggai said Monday the presidential campaign plans to open a headquarters here within 30 days.
"We look forward to opening offices to give our dedicated supporters a place in their community to get involved on the ground level of Barack Obama's grass-roots campaign for change," Tseggai said.
The Indiana Democratic presidential primary on May 6 has 72 pledged delegates and 13 unpledged superdelegates.
Evansville resident R.J. Champion, chief organizer of Evansville Tri-State for Obama, said he exchanged several telephone calls and e-mail messages Monday with Chicago officials of Obama's national campaign.
"They sent someone (to Evansville) from Chicago last week to look at office space," Champion said. "I have someone local looking for them, too."
Tseggai confirmed Obama campaign officials soon will travel to Evansville to huddle with the volunteers.
Mark Owen, chairman of the Vanderburgh County Democratic Party, said the party will do whatever it can to assist both presidential campaigns.
"They basically let us know what, if anything, they need, and our role is to be supportive," Owen said.
Owen said the Clinton campaign entourage of aides, supporters and volunteers, and traveling reporters covering the campaign, likely will leave Evansville after the rally.
Owen was party chairman in 1992 when then-candidate Bill Clinton appeared in Evansville during a post-convention bus tour of the Midwest.
"I've gone through this before," he said. "These national campaigns pretty much do their own thing."
Anticipating the Clinton-Obama contest will spur a large turnout for the May 6 primaries, the Vanderburgh County Election Board voted Monday to establish early voting stations at Oaklyn, North Park and Central libraries.
The voting stations will open 20 days before the primaries and close five days before the voting. They will operate Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. More access to early voting will be available in the Election Office in Room 214 of the Civic Center.
The Election Office will be open for early voting from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday through Friday beginning April 7 and ending at noon May 5. The office also will be open on the two Saturdays preceding the election from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.
The cynical side of me says that they're staging it there in order to get some 'crowd noise' and a rally atmosphere going that they couldn't get in a half empty municipal stadium.
And no, I won't be skipping work (I work 2nd shift) to go see her.
Obama would be a different story.