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Indiana loves to be wrong
by Steve Hammer May 14, 2008

Once again, Indiana proved itself to be on the wrong side of history with its vote in the Democratic primary last week.

That itself is nothing new. Indiana has a long history of choosing exactly the wrong candidate in any given election. We were the very first states to go for George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004. And for Bob Dole, Bush, Reagan, Ford and Nixon before that.

Let’s just face it. We suck when it comes to picking presidents. I bet if Indiana were given a chance of bringing two presidents back from the dead and Abraham Lincoln and Calvin Coolidge were squaring off, Hoosiers would go for Cool Cal if Coolidge promised to rebuild I-465.

We’re the Jennifer Lopez of states: every few years we marry the wrong person for us and then dump them just as quickly.

This year, the collective intelligence of Indiana decided that it was a better idea to vote for a candidate who was in the last days of her campaign, with no realistic chance of winning, with no real plan for the future and who was so broke that she had to loan herself millions of dollars so she could buy TV ads during Jerry Springer broadcasts.

Good call, Indiana.

Hillary Clinton’s narrow win in Indiana keeps alive our winning streak of choosing the worst candidate. And you can bet that even if John McCain comes out for slavery or for heroin for schoolchildren, we’ll still give him a majority of our votes come November.

There’s something comforting about knowing your home state can be trusted to always back the loser. It’s the same kind of feeling you get when you visit an elderly relative who’s always talking about the unions destroying America. They’re so wrong that it’s cute.

You have to realize several things about Indiana. We elected Mitch Daniels, the former federal budget director, as our governor even after it was known that he took record budget surpluses and turned them into record deficits.

In other words, when we were offered arguably the worst-performing government official ever, a majority of us picked him. Why? He had an RV and pretended to sound like a smalltown Hoosier.

And this year, when the worst budget director has transformed himself into possibly the worst governor ever, many of us seem inclined to support him again. Why? He drives around in an RV and pretends to sound like a good old boy.

It doesn’t make sense unless you think about it this way: We like to choose the worst candidate. We want to hold the world record for being the most wrong for the longest period of time. We’re proud of it.

Hoosiers aren’t stupid people. Many of us have achieved at least a high school diploma and some of us have even been to one or two college classes. We just enjoy playing the devil’s advocate and going for the least qualified candidate.

Therefore, it makes perfect sense that a narrow majority of us picked the one presidential candidate with absolutely no chance of winning the nomination, much less the general election. We wouldn’t have it any other way. We just like to be wrong.

Comments on Indiana loves to be wrong
The Story
by Don | Jun 5, 2008

The story that you missed with this Indiana primary is that Barack Obama ALMOST won this primary. For Indiana and Obama that is huge. And don't forget, there was one year where Indiana did make the right choice on primary day, 1968 and Robert Kennedy. And BTW Stop trashing our state!!!!!!

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by Gern Blansten | May 18, 2008

Hey, I don't follow politics much but whichever candidate lets me play hopscotch at Cool Creek Park with other adult men is the candidate for me. They have my full support.

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by Dave Crutchfield | May 17, 2008

Amen. There are choices of better educated, professional people capable of deliberative thought and action- and we get Burton and Carson.

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by TIM BUCKTWO | May 15, 2008

Steve, Stick to writing about Peeps, White Castles and that dead beat dad you enjoy so much, James Brown. Write about anything else, and you come off sounding like a moron.

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You're wrong once again.
by Ripple Independent | May 15, 2008

Well, Hammer, once again, you're wrong. Mitch Daniels is probably the best governor the state has seen in the 30-plus years I've lived here. Evan Bayh is a nice guy, and so was Frank O'Bannon. But they didn't accomplish a darn thing while they were in charge. Bob Orr didn't do anything, either. Doc Bowen wasn't a bad guy, but even he didn't get much done. As for Hillary, well, she's all about her self-inflated ego. I guess I have to agree with you on her.

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