Midday Roundup

There are a lot of stories floating around Indiana today, so here are a few to mull over.

• Blowhard Secretary of State Todd Rokita predicts upwards of 65% voter turnout across Indiana this year. Gee thanks for stating the obvious, but I'll bet its even higher than that. More important than turnout though is the shear number of newly registered voters since the 2006 general election-- 400,446. My bold prediction has these new voters swinging heavily to Obama making for the closest Presidential race Indiana has seen in years. What do you say to that Todd?
   
• Indiana Senate Dem's are willingly riding the Obama wave in hopes it will lead them to significant gains when the smoke clears.

  The Democratic leader of the Indiana Senate made a bold prediction Wednesday, asserting that Barack Obama's presidential coattails give the caucus "a good opportunity" to take control of the chamber.
  
  "I'm absolutely certain that we're going to gain seats this session," said Senate Minority Leader Richard Young, D-Milltown. "It's a question of how many."
  
  Indiana Senate Democrats didn't gain any seats two years ago, and Republicans enjoy a 33-17 stranglehold over the chamber.

• Ninth district Representative Baron Hill and challenger Mike Sodrel are at it again. Reinventing an old spat that dates back to last election's transition period, a press release issued by the Hill campaign states:

  “(Sodrel) did (Indiana residents) a great disservice, and although the Sodrel camp is simply trying to sweep this issue under the rug, I want to make sure the people of the 9th District know how Sodrel treated them in his final days of office.”