Relief at end of race

Regardless of political persuasion, Hoosiers will have one election outcome to celebrate next week: The end of the Mourdock-Lugar campaign.
National observers have indicated the campaign hasn’t been out of the ordinary in the rough and tumble political world of the U.S. in the 21st century.
But by Hoosier standards, it has been nasty, loathsome and disheartening.
State treasurer Richard Mourdock threw Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment — thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican — out the window months ago.
And longtime incumbent Sen. Richard Lugar has diminished his own stature and legacy as a statesman by matching Mourdock attack for attack.
In doing so, Sen. Lugar has also adopted a strident tone on a host of issues in a way that has independents and conservative Democrats who voted for him in the past wondering if they really ever knew the guy.
The Lugar they voted for won their support by virtue of his intelligence, his command of the issues, his pragmatism, and his willingness to seek bipartisan consensus. That Lugar has been pretty much absent in this campaign.
Neither candidate has distinguished himself in this race, and that is putting it mildly.
The only good news is that it will soon be over. — J.R.[[In-content Ad]]