Getting out the vote

For the weekend of a home football game against Michigan State, there was a vast number of green and white shirts swarming a campus usually filled with cream and crimson. They gathered in front of Memorial Stadium not in support of the Spartans, but for Republican gubernatorial candidate Mitch Daniels. \nWhile many IU fans gathered to cheer on the football team, others came together to speak with Daniels as he tailgated with the IU College Republicans.\nWith the Daniels RV parked behind him, Daniels signed copies of his signature "My Man Mitch" green and white shirts for long lines of Hoosiers. \nIf the abundance of "My Man Mitch" shirts didn't catch students' eyes, the smell of the barbecue behind Daniels certainly did. With a full-fledged cookout under way, the Daniels campaign registered voters while Daniels himself spoke with students and residents about their concerns for Indiana's future. \nCollege Republican Chairman Angel Rivera said his group was out to support Daniels in any way they could.\n"We have been helping out today by registering people to vote and handing out information cards on Mitch as well as our organization," Rivera said.\nRivera said Daniels' record makes him well qualified to become Governor of Indiana.\n"He's gone out of his way to go where no candidates have gone before," Rivera said. "Mitch has gone everywhere, including the small places in the state. I think that's really cool and I'm really impressed."\nDaniels said he traveled all over the state to try and meet as many people as he could and to let people get to know him better.\n"I wanted to go on a tour of Indiana to restore personal contact to politics. I've never ran for office before, and there were certain things about modern politics that I didn't find attractive," Daniels said. "I didn't want our campaign to be about raising money and buying ads. We have been out on the road for 15 months, and we have been to places no one from government has been. I just feel an obligation to anyone that is a voter who wants to interview me for the job personally."\nRivera said he believes Daniels' extensive history in politics makes him a great person for the job.\n"I'm not always impressed by a candidate, but Mitch is hardworking and is disciplined," he said. "He's worked for Bush and Reagan. This guy knows politics from all angles, business, government, social interest and citizenry."\nFreshmen Bonnie Neilson and Emily Roche both attended the tailgating festivities Saturday in support of their friend Maggie Daniels, Mitch's daughter. Both Neilson and Roche talked about the importance of Daniels coming to IU to increase his support.\nRoche said she thinks Daniels' character makes him a great candidate.\n"I think if his family is any representation of himself, then I think he's a good guy," Roche said.\nNeilson said she thinks Daniels made a wise decision to come to the tailgate. \n"I think it's really important with thousands of voters here and it's anything he can do to raise support for himself," Neilson said.\nDaniels spent much of the time before the football game casually talking to anyone who wanted to ask him questions. For many Hoosiers, meeting Daniels was a chance to personally ask the questions they've always wanted to answer.\nRoche said young people might not know many of the issues in the Governor's race, and Saturday was a good chance to let people know what Daniels stands for.\n"A lot of younger people are uneducated on the issues," she said. "So for him to come here it's good to educate us and allows us to make a better, wiser decision."\n-- Contact senior writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu and staff writer David Paulen at dpaulen@indiana.edu.