Bayh also said the President will have to balance the reality of our current challenges with the belief that we can be optimistic about our future.

What does the Senator say about the anger people feel when they see the government shoveling so much of our money out the door? 

“People have a right to be angry,” he said, “at these people who got the banks in trouble, folks who got overextended.”  But, Bayh said “we couldn’t afford to sit back and do nothing.”  He argued the country needs aggressive action now — to provide stability and “get the economy growing, once again.”  Then, he said — of the people “who got us into this mess” — we will hold them accountable “and make sure that it can never, ever happen again.”

Bayh also said the deficit is likely to be too big for anyone’s taste this year and next year.  But, if the administration is able to get long-run spending under control, he said Mr. Obama’s goal of cutting the deficit in half by the end of his term is “realistic.”

This follows a campaign stop in Elkhart last summer.  It is one of the hardest recession-hit counties in the country.

When the president talked about the challenges facing the country, he said “…they will be met.  Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin the work of remaking America.”

I wasn’t sure what the musical connection was until I did a search.  I found this song with the words ”pick yourself up, dust yourself off” in the lyrics. 

Sinatra sang the song.  Maybe he had some subliminal influence on the speech.  Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers performed it, too.  But, judging by the presidential dance, last night, Mr. Obama was probably not influenced by them.

Congressman Pence said he ”certainly caught that line” and several others that suggest “traditional liberal Democrat signals.”  But, since Mr. Obama “won a contest of ideas,” Pence won’t begrudge the right to offer something contrary to Republican preferences.

Overall, though, Congressman Pence said the inaugural speech “ struck a very positive tone for the country and I expect folks back home will receive it as such.”

-I’m impressed by the large number of Obama signs still in yards around Indianapolis.  When they disappear, will that be a sign the honeymoon is over?

-Now that Hillary Clinton is in the Cabinet, does John Edwards have a shot?  Don’t everyone respond at once, please.

-My Marion County property tax bill arrived, as promised, today.  The tax relief delivered by the General Assembly is not only obvious, it means that I will pay less than I did last year.  Maybe I can affort that weekend shopping, afterall.

Think mid-week in northern Indiana.

Party leaders change the rules so that they, and not always the voters, control the nomination process.   That’s how they came up with super delegates and that’s how they produced proportional primaries.  Now, they will find a way to change the game so that in the future it is always decided before Indiana gets its turn in May.

Of course, Indiana has the ability to change the rules, too.  The Indiana primary could be held earlier in the year and the 2008 experience will increase the appetite for that.   Ironically, the Republicans hold all the cards, at least for now.  They control the state Senate and the Governor’s office, so change will happen only if the GOP thinks its a good idea.

Or, if the GOP sees that Democrats won an organizational advantage as a result of the efforts of the Obama and Clinton campaigns. 

It was a long time from 1968 to 2008, and it could be a lot longer before Indiana matters again.

-Will this put a stop to talk about moving the primary in this state to an earlier date?

-Will it dull memories of 1968?

-Will the economic activity generated from campaign appearances and tv ads by Democrats improve state tax revenues to the benefit of Republican Governor Mitch Daniels?

-Does anybody miss all the car ads?

-Why did David Orentlicher wait so long to get on television and then to go negative?

-Why is Woody Myers staying positive? 

-Is he ahead?

-Who wins the doctor vote in the 7th District?

-Why did Jim Schellinger appear on camera so much in his tv ads?

-Will Democrats pick the toughest opponent for Mitch Daniels (Jill Long Thompson) in spite of party leaders?

-How many Democrats will vote for President and then skip Governor?

-Why haven’t the Clintons worn out their welcome?

-Did Obama take Indiana for granted for too long?

-Will Republicans bother to vote on Tuesday?

-Hillary Clinton hits the air with commercials in Indiana this week.  Now the battle here is joined in every respect.  After 40 years of nothing, we’re Iowa, only with higher stakes.

-That is, unless Hillary loses in Pennsylvania.  Do both the Clinton and Obama campaigns pull the plug here if that happens?

-Evan Strange’s 15 minutes are up.  (The kid who asked the Lewinsky question at Butler.)

-Jim Greeson’s elevation to State Fire Marshall clears the way for Mayor Greg Ballard to put his stamp on the Indianapolis Fire Department.

-The Dave Matthews free tickets in exchange for a promised voter registration produced no arrests.  Are prosecutors looking the other way?  Or, is it ok?

-Pollster Del Ali (The WISH-TV Indiana Poll) says that if Obama wins here, so does Jill Long Thompson.

That was evident in Terre Haute today where Hillary Clinton appeared at the Saratoga Inn, an appearance that Fred Nation (former Evan Bayh press secretary and longtime Terre Haute resident) helped to arrange.

Next door to the Saratoga Inn on Wabash Street is the local Obama for America headquarters and, in it this morning, was one of the local organizers, Todd Nation (Fred’s son and President of the Terre Haute city council.)

Todd says the location was coincidence.