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The Indiana primary election is over. Congratulations! You made it and may now resume watching television/streaming shows, using social media, talking to politically interested friends. You have a week, maybe two, to relax, but political life never stops in even years in Indiana.
Earlier this month, I attended the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site Off the Record event at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It featured a bipartisan/nonpartisan panel of speakers discussing presidential campaigns from the vantage point that they have experienced them.
First-term West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter spoke about her experience as a field organizer on the 2008 Obama-Biden campaign in Ohio. Longtime political pundit and lobbyist Mike McDaniel told stories about his roles on multiple presidential campaigns, from serving as a volunteer to state chairman on Republican races from 1980 to 2000. Indiana-based national journalist Adam Wren, who writes for Politico, shared his perspective on covering the 2016, 2020 and now the 2024 candidacies of Republicans and Democrats running for president.
The speakers provided insightful comments that did not require you to be a political veteran to understand the lessons each conveyed.
Admittedly, I am not a historian (multiple Franklin College professors can verify), so it is no shock that I did not know that the 2024 election is the first time in more than a century that a previous president will face a sitting president as the nominees of the party of which they previously ran. The last time this happened was when Indiana’s adopted son President Benjamin Harrison was defeated by former President Grover Cleveland in 1892, the incumbent he had bested four years before. Cleveland is still the only president to have served two non-consecutive terms.
The Off the Record event was impressive. The Republican showed no contempt toward the Democrat. And vice versa. Neither was rude to “The Media” and vice versa. Their stories were all instructive for anyone in the room, especially the BHPS “Trailblazers,” high-achieving students who have demonstrated interest in history and the presidency, who were in attendance. They had the most to gain from a successful execution of the event.
Easter spoke about the joys and (lack of) glory of the grassroots component of a campaign. Long hours, no pay, minimal recognition and the acceptance that those who do the work do not often receive the VIP seats (not a complaint, just a statement of fact). Her principles and desire to win for those principles were evident.
McDaniel merged tear-inducing (for me) humor with prose in stories he said were “mostly true” about his professional relationship with President George H.W. Bush and why he decided to support then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush for the 2000 nomination. Books should and could be written about the takeaways there.
Wren’s anecdotes about covering then-candidates Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Pete Buttigieg during their presidential campaigns reminded us all, among other things, that the candidates are all people who are human, despite their political ambitions/responsibility.
If there was a subtle or overt message conveyed, it was the role of partisanship in general election races. Wishing/willing your team to win is what partisans do in a campaign, but a stronger message was demonstrated on stage. The campaign arena showcases partisanship, but it does not define you outside that arena, nor should it.
Many thanks to the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site for facilitating smart conversations for diverse audiences. Good for them for elevating the discourse, and good for Indianapolis for being politically mature in 2024.•
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Rateike is founder and owner of BAR Communications and served as director of cabinet communications for President Donald Trump. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.
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