I e ic i an4, it Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday, October 16, 2008 michigandaily.com Obama pulling .staff out of M.\.i ch. With state no longer a major battleground, workers head to N.C., Penn., Indiana By EMILY BARTON Daily News Editor Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's campaign confirmed yesterday that it would move some of its staff members out of Michigan. The move comes two weeks after Republican presi- dential tominee John McCain announced it was pull- ing all its resources from the state in response to polls showing Obama's lead in Michigan increasing. A recent Quinnipiac University poll shows Obama with a 16-point lead in Michigan. Obama spokesman Brent Colburn said he didn't know the details of how many staff members would be leaving or where they will be going, only that they would be sent to "other battleground states." "We'll still have over 200 staffers here through the election day," Colburnsaid. He said the campaign won't be closing any of their 60 field offices in the state and still plans to open a new office in Detroit this weekend. LSA junior Nathaniel Eli Coats Styer, chair of the University's chapter of the College Democrats, said he thought the Obama campaign made the right call. "I think it's a smart strategic move," he said. Styer said he didn't expect the staffing shift to have any affect on the group's campaign efforts. "We'll still continue our enthusiasm," he said. Styer said some of the staff members he spoke with See OBAMA, Page 7A U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) spoke yesterday to a crowd at the Michigan Union about his vote in support of the controversial bailout of financial firms and Barack Obama Levin: Bailout 30-year veteran of Senate praises Obama in speech on campus By A. BRAD SCHWARTZ For the Daily Speaking before a packed room of students yesterday, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) explained his controversial vote on the bailout of financial firms . and called Democratic presidential nominee the perfect candidate to han- die the nation's problems. "The last time that I saw the pes- sibility of change for the better in this world was John Kennedy in 1960, and I haven't seen this opportunity to real- ly change direction since then to the same degree," Levin said. "So this is an opportunity which cannot be lost. It's a once - maybe twice - in a lifetime opportunity." Levin cited former President Kenne- dy several times in his talk, which was hosted by the College Democrats and held in the Michigan Union. He made mention of Kennedy's well-chronicled speech in Ann Arbor in October 1960 on the steps of the Union. In it Kennedy first broached the idea for a service pro-. gram that would become the idea of the Peace Corps. The senator took issue with the Republican presidential nominee's crit- icism of Obama's speech in Berlin this summer. Upon Obama's return, McCa- in called Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," citing a crowd of 250,000, that flocked to hear the Illinois senator speak. "The truth of the matter is that if we can have an American running for president of the United States who can inspire that kind of reaction, we should not be mocking him," Levin said. "We should be applauding him, regardless of who that person is and what party that person is from." Levin also honed in on the nation's current economic crisis. He contrast- ed Obama's policies with McCain's by tying the Republican to the current administration. "We can get this economy going again if we do the necessary things the way Bill Clinton did the necessary See LEVIN, Page 3A MCC Down-ticket hopefuls press on TRAPPED BEHIND BARS Republican House, Senate bids must deal with loss of McCain's resources By JAKE SMILOVITZ Daily StaffReporter When Republican presidential nominee John McCain pulled his staff out of Michigan two weeks ago, his campaign said he was redirecting the resources to closer battleground states. That has left an even steeper uphill battle for other Republicans seeking office in the Great Lakes State. of the six statewide and local GOP campaigns contacted by The Michigan Daily this week, all expressed displeasure with McCain's decision. But all prom- ised to fight on. The state's Republican candi- dates for U.S. congressional offices said they were relatively immune to McCain's exit, because of strong ground games of their own. Danae Brack, manager of State Rep. Jack Hoogendyk's long shot U.S. Senate campaign, said McCa- in's pullout hasn't affected the campaign much. "Of course we would have loved to see McCain and Palin stay in Michigan," she said. "But we haven't been counting on that to pull us across the line." Hoogendyk is running in an attempt to unseat five-term incumbent Carl Levin, a Demo- crat. While Brack admits a strong fight from McCain in Michigan could have boosted Hoogendyk - See GOP, Page 3A Village Corner barred from booze sales City filed tax lien on store after it fell behind on IRS payments SBy TREVOR CALERO r~ r Daw Stff ePor Village Corner, a small grocery store on the cor- ner of South Forest and South University avenues that sells beer, wine and liquor, hasn't been able to buy alcohol to stock its shelves since the beginning of the school year after the store's owner failed to pay taxes for the store to the Internal Revenue Ser- vice on time. The Ann Arbor Clerk and Registrar of Deeds filed a federal tax lien against the liquor store on Aug. 26 because of back taxes, preventing the store from purchasing alcohol until the back taxes had been paid to the IRS. MaxOCOLLi55Daiiy Village Corner owner Dick Sheer acknowledged Village Corner stopped selling alcohol last week as a result at he was late in filing the store's tax reports, but said a federal lien on the store. See ALCOHOL, Page 3A Nursing junior Julianne Armijo speaks with a bystander while Engineering sophomore Pranay Lagadapati sits in a cage as part of a Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! protest against the alleged use of animals in University drug and alcohol testing. Assault suspect booted from team Running back Milano suspended amid investigation By DAN FELDMAN and GABE NELSON Daily StaffReporters LSA senior Mike Milano, a redshirt junior running back on the University's football team, was suspended from the team yesterday, with the University's Department of Public Safety investigating an assault in which Milano is a suspect, according to multiple sources. People with knowledge of the situationsaid Milanowasinvolved in an incident near East Quad early Sunday morning that left LSA junior Steve Kampfer with severe head injuries. Kampfer is a defenseman on the Michigan hockey team. Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson said yesterday that Kampfer sustained "a serious fractured skull, right down the back of the skull." The injury will keep him off the roster for at least eight to ten weeks, Beren- son said. Dave Ablauf, a spokesman for the Michigan football team, said Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez suspended Milano "indefinitely." The walk-on running back left Schembechler Hall wear- ing street clothes Wednesday afternoon shortly before the Michigan football team began practice. Athletic Department officials declined to elaborate on the reason for the suspension, but acknowledged that it was related to a University Police investiga- tion. "Coach Rodriguez at this time See SUSPENSION, Page 7A WEATHER HI:54 TOMORROW LO: 31 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON THE DAILY BLOGS Beilein lays out expectations for this season THEGAME.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS.. . .............2A SPORTS..............................SA Vol. CXVIll,No. 33 SUDOKU............................3A CLASSIFIEDS...........A:.........6A v2008The Michigan Daily OPINIONA................... ....4A TH E B-SI E................l t....,. B mchaandatycom"