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Dems ready for primaries in in Indiana; N.C

BY NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON | nia.henderson@newsday.com

4:17 PM EDT, May 6, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS - Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spent this morning doing what they have done almost every day for the last 16 months -- campaigning for votes in places large and small, this time ahead of primaries in Indiana and North Carolina.

Obama, in Indianapolis, told voters at a polling place that he feels good about his prospects here, though polls show him down by about five.

"We think it's been a good day and I think there's going to be good turnout. People seem very enthusiastic. People are serious about the issues in this campaign, they're concerned about gas prices I think they believe we need long-term relief and not just Washington gimmicks," he said, once again hitting Clinton's proposal for a gas-tax holiday.

Obama, who Monday night had a rally attended by 21,000 people and headlined by Stevie Wonder, will need a big turnout in the major cities, college towns and northwestern parts of this traditionally Republican state to offset Clinton's strength in the rest of the state.

But Obama also got a taste of the difficulties that awaited him in Indiana when he stopped by a restaurant in Greenwood for breakfast. Several people greeted him warmly as he went from table to table but when he approached one man sitting alone, the man waved him away. "He's a Muslim," the man told reporters later. "He's not even pro-American as far as I'm concerned." Obama is, in fact, a Christian.

For her part, Clinton spent the morning at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway auto racing track. She said the finish line of the presidential race was 2,209 delegates -- including Florida and Michigan, and not 2,025, the tally set by the Democratic National Committee. Currently, Clinton trails Obama by 139 delegates.

She said that by June, "if we haven't done it already, we are going to have to resolve Florida and Michigan. They were legitimate elections, people came out and voted."

Clinton toured the famed speedway Tuesday with racer Sarah Fisher and wouldn't make a prediction about the outcome of the primaries. "Every race is filled with the unexpected. You never know what's going to happen from day to day," said Clinton. "I never make predictions."

Asked by reporters what her message was by being at the Speedway, she said: "That we need to get on the track in America. If you want to go forward, you put it in D. If you want to go backward, you put it in R," Clinton said.

Former President Bill Clinton has become her surrogate-in-chief over these last days, swooping into small towns in North Carolina and Indiana, burnishing his wife's working class credentials. He has made more campaign appearances than both Hillary Clinton and Obama over this last week.

Obama said his showing among white blue-collar voters in previous contests was a "mixed bag," noting that he won Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota with the help of those voters. In Ohio and Pennsylvania, Obama lost in large part because of his poor showing among white blue-collar voters and Catholics.

Indiana, a border state for the junior Illinois Senator "feels like home," he said.

With 187 delegates up for grabs, North Carolina and Indiana are crucial contests for both Obama and Clinton. Polls show Obama leading in North Carolina, and Clinton is ahead in Indiana. Obama is expected to benefit from the sizable African-American population in North Carolina -- blacks make up about 30 percent of Democratic voters -- and Clinton is expected to have a good showing with whites in Indiana. It is a racial split that has increasingly defined their fierce battle for the Democratic nod.

A strong showing in Indiana could bolster Clinton's claims that she is most electable in November, a charge that Obama brushed off yesterday in Durham, N.C.

Clinton will spend election night in Indianapolis, while Obama will be in Raleigh, N.C., signaling where each camp expects to claim victory tonight.