Seeking to become the "Jobs Governor": both major candidates zero in on Indiana's job losses.

• Author: Howey, Brian A.
• Position: Politics

IT WASN'T TOO LONG ago that anyone at the highest echelons of Indiana politics wanted to be known at the "Education Governor." But in 2004, after three years of a grueling recession and a largely jobless recovery, Coy Joe Kernan and Republican challenger Mitch Daniels are wanting to be known as the "Jobs Governor."

Thursday, June 17, was a classic day of sparring. That morning, Kernan flew to Evansville, where he announced the Indiana Department of Commerce would create the "Office of Small Business Advocate." The office would help small businesses navigate through Indiana regulations and qualify for grants and loans. Employees would be eligible for certificates for learning new skills. "Small businesses employ almost half of Indiana's workforce," Kernan explained. "Small businesses are at the front end of innovation and entrepreneurship."

Daniels responded by calling the initiative "trivial" and added, "We have very large problems and this administration shoots BBs over and over." And he unloaded his chief criticism of Kernan: That "the governor was responsible for jobs for eight years in this state. All these problems have been visible and getting worse for all of the eight years."

But Kernan fired off the last volley of the day. That afternoon, he appeared with Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson and announced that AAR Corp. would be occupying part of the Indianapolis Maintenance Center abandoned by United Airlines, creating up to 800 jobs by 2009. "This is exciting news for all of Indiana," Kernan said. "This world-class maintenance facility and a well-trained workforce right here in central Indiana are assets to AAR's long-term business goals."

Daniels' "Aiming Higher: Roadmap to an Indiana Comeback" outlines his chief criticism of Kernan. Indiana had a net job loss of 106,000 since May 2000, and Daniels explains that Hoosiers now earn less than 90 cents of the dollar earned by the average American...