Obama visit stirs excitement at Indiana's Plainfield High School

By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press Writer

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By Tiffany Griffin

Story Created: Mar 13, 2008 at 11:43 AM EST

Story Updated: Mar 13, 2008 at 7:56 PM EST

PLAINFIELD, Ind. (AP) — The battle for Indiana's Democratic presidential delegates is about to heat up. First up: Barack Obama.

News that the Illinois senator will host a town hall meeting Saturday at Plainfield High School energized political and media circles Thursday afternoon.

Tickets to the candidate's town-hall meeting Saturday at Plainfield High School were snatched up less than 90 minutes after details of his visit were released. Reporters descended on the community just west of Indianapolis for quotes and video of the school's gymnasium, where the event will be held.

"We try to do these things whenever we can," said Principal Scott Olinger, who spent part of the afternoon doing interviews and finding people to escort TV camera crews through the school for shots of the gym. "We don't look at it as picking sides, we look at it as giving kids a chance to see how the whole process of democracy works."

Obama is trying to gain an early foothold in Indiana, a state whose 72 delegates may play an important role in deciding who grabs the Democratic nomination for president. The Illinois senator has 1,598 delegates, including separately chosen party and elected officials known as superdelegates, while his opponent, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, has 1,487, according to an Associated Press count.

But it takes 2,025 delegates to secure the Democratic nomination for president, and after Pennsylvania's April 22 primary, Indiana and North Carolina — with May 6 primaries — could be crucial states.

It's a rare situation for Indiana, which has not been a national player in a presidential race since Robert Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy crisscrossed the state in their battle for the 1968 Democratic nomination.

"I hope this is sort of an indication of what's to come in the future," said Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Dan Parker.

Though Clinton has not yet scheduled an Indiana visit, party officials expect to see more of both candidates before May. Republican John McCain held a town hall meeting last month in Indianapolis.

For now, the attention is on Obama, whose campaign expects Indiana to be a battleground because of its black population and the fact that the northern part of the state is in the Chicago media market, where the Illinois senator is often on TV and in the news.

Denise Harris stopped by the school office to pick up son Danny's graduation gown Thursday. She said she's more of a Hillary Rodham Clinton fan but still excited about Obama's appearance.

"This is just little ol' Plainfield, Indiana," she said. "I think the kids will be really pumped up about it."

Plainfield resident Heather Cooney, 23, who was walking with her 1-year-old son, Dillon, near the school, said she hasn't followed the presidential campaigns. But she might check out Saturday's speech.

"If (Obama) can persuade me, I'll vote for him," she said.

Doors will open at 12:30 p.m., followed by Obama's speech at 2:20 p.m.

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