ELKHART — Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will hold a town hall meeting in Elkhart on Wednesday. WSBT News has confirmed Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will attend the rally, fueling new speculation that Obama could soon be ready to name him as his running mate.
Some experts believe Obama could announce his vice-presidential choice sometime this week.
Sen. Bayh is already considered one of the front-runners for the vice-presidential nod, and the selection of Elkhart as a campaign stop has sent rumors flying all over again.
Eric Kleiman, the communications director for Bayh, confirmed to WSBT News on Sunday that the senator is planning to attend the town hall meeting, but wouldn't comment on whether any type of announcement was planned. He also would not confirm or deny that Sen. Bayh had discussed the possibility of accepting the vice-presidential nomination from Sen. Obama.
But that didn't stop the rumors from flying across the area on Sunday.
At an Obama campaign "Cookout for Change" at Zanzer Anderson's Elkhart home, the air was "electric."
"I think it's his time now!" buzzed one volunteer.
"We'd love to have him," said another, with a wide grin on his face.
He isn't Sen. Obama. He is Evan Bayh, and at this cookout, he was the one getting all the attention. The thought that he could be announced as Obama's running mate was enough. But, throw in the potential that the announcement could come in Elkhart?
"It'll fire everybody up," said Obama supporter Emma Halling. "[We're fired up just thinking about it], oh yeah!" she said, followed by an excited chorus of agreement from those manning the grill.
"I think they'd make a good looking ticket," said Anderson, a wide grin on her face too.
But it's not just grassroots groups backing the idea.
"I think Evan Bayh is the best choice, and we couldn't be more excited about the possibility," said St. Joseph County Democratic Party Chairman Owen "Butch" Morgan. Morgan also chairs Indiana's 2nd Democratic District, which includes Elkhart County.
"I think Evan Bayh is outstanding," agreed Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-Granger). "I've known him for 20 years. He's a tremendous individual and is capable of tremendous judgment, and does an extraordinary job."
Bayh is a former governor of Indiana. And though he campaigned vigorously for Sen. Hillary Clinton during the primaries, he now backs Obama.
Some experts say that sense of "party unity" would make him a safe choice for the ticket.
"Evan Bayh is very careful about what he says," said Saint Mary's College Political Science Professor Sean Savage. "He comes across as sounding centrist and cautious. He's not known for being a loose cannon the way [Delaware Senator] Joe Biden is."
Sen. Biden is also a reported "front-runner" for the V.P. nomination.
But, even if Bayh is now the leading candidate, is an announcement in Elkhart realistic?
Savage, and others admit, the answer is "probably not." But there are two reasons to argue the other way.
"Even though Obama is from Illinois, Obama is strongest in the northeast and on the west coast," said Savage. "He still has work to do here in the Midwest in order to carry states like Ohio and Michigan and -- who knows -- maybe even Indiana. Because some polls have shown that right now it's virtually a dead heat between McCain and Obama in Indiana."
Sen. Bayh could change that, by helping to deliver traditionally Republican Hoosier votes.
Since 1936, Democrats have won Indiana only once in a presidential election, in 1964, according to the Associated Press.
There's also what's quickly become known as "The Olympic Theory:"
Opening ceremonies for the Beijing games start on Friday and end the day after the Democratic National Convention begins. Some experts believe the candidates won't want their campaigns overshadowed by Olympic media coverage, and thus, may announce their running mates before the coverage hits full stride on Friday.
But, Obama's campaign cautions both theories are, after all, just theories.
"There is a lot of speculation about the prospect of who might be on the ticket with [Senator Obama]," said Jonathan Swain, Obama's Indiana Campaign Communications Director. "He's not going to talk about his time line or process for announcing a running mate until he actually announces a running mate."
But, if anyone ought to have an educated guess, its Swain.
He's a former press secretary to Sen. Bayh, who also served as
Indiana Communications Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign earlier this year.
He also worked as as aide to Former Indiana Governor and South Bend Mayor Joe Kernan and as Former Indiana First Lady Judy O'Bannon's Chief of Staff.
Still, Swain says only a handful of people know for certain who the true front runners are, and when an announcement will be made. And while he would not rule out that an announcement couldn't come Wednesday, he said it was "unlikely."
"I would caution people not to read too far into it," Swain said.
And at Anderson's cookout, they weren't.
"It would be great. It would be wonderful. Evan Bayh would be a wonderful choice. But no, [we're] not holding our breath," she said.
Still -- vice-presidential nod or not -- some say this "summer scorcher" is just getting started.
"For the first time in 40 years, someone is listening to Indiana! We'll matter this time around!" said another cookout attendee.
The town hall meeting will mark Sen. Obama's fourth visit to the area this year.
Sen. Obama also plans a campaign stop Monday in Lansing, Michigan.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain's most recent visit here was July of 2007, during a speech to the Economic Club of Southwest Michigan in Benton Harbor.
Sen. McCain is expected to visit the Detroit Edison Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Frenchtown Township, Michigan on Monday. That's about 30 miles southwest of Detroit.
WSBT's calls to the McCain campaign were not returned Sunday.
But Indiana Republican Party Communications Director Jay Kenworthy confirmed that McCain has no campaign stops scheduled in the Hoosier state.
"Senator McCain has nothing scheduled in Indiana at this time," Kenworthy said. "But he's not taking Indiana for granted. He probably won't be here in the next 1-2 weeks, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is here before the election."
As for why Obama is concentrating so hard on a traditionally Republican state, Kenworthy replied: "Senator Obama has a lot of work to do in the state. He was strong in some of the urban areas, but he has a lot of ground to make up in Southern Indiana and the other rural areas."
Obama's Town Hall Meeting in Elkhart is free, but tickets are required. You can pick them up on Monday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Obama campaign office on South Main Street in Elkhart.
Doors to the Concord High School gym will open at 7:15 a.m., but a time for Obama's appearance has not yet been announced.
