We must be inching closer to November: The big gubernatorial money is starting to roll in — and cause some political sniping.

Last week, the Daniels camp said challenger Jill Long Thompson is a big sellout for taking large chunks of money from Washington-based interest groups. Specifically, they charged that Thompson’s campaign has been almost entirely funded by contributions from the Service Employees International Union and EMILY’s List, a group that donates to female candidates who support abortion rights.

I’ve always maintained that real people, who maaaaaaaybe think about politics two days a year, don’t care where the money comes from. But the Republicans made it an issue, so the chattering class chattered about it.

Fast forward to this week, and we find out that Daniels just received a huge cash dump — almost three-quarters of a million dollars — from the Republican Governors Association, a Washington-based group that collects cash and distributes it to GOP gubernatorial challengers and incumbents.

Huh. Well, that seems a little ironicalistic, doesn’t it?

Not only does Daniels have a little of the ol’ special interest egg on his face, but he also looks a bit more vulnerable, like someone who needs a large influx of money to get a leg up in this race as the incumbent.

At the end of the day, Joe Hoosier doesn’t care where the cash came from. He’ll see the ads on television and get the direct mail delivered to his doorstep. If he lives in a targeted part of the state, he might even get a knock on the door from a volunteer or two. But he’ll probably never know who footed the bill, and he probably wouldn’t care if he did.

(Watch Jennifer’s Hot Button)

When Evan Bayh was elected Governor of Indiana, I was more interested in Barbie dolls than politics.

Had I been a little older, I might have had my first crush on him, what with his youthful good looks and charm.

Two decades have passed, and Bayh remains good-looking and charming. He traded in his gubernatorial hat to become a United States Senator, and now he reportedly sits at the top of a short list to become Barack Obama’s running mate.

The remarkable thing about Evan Bayh - and his Senate colleague, Republican Richard Lugar - is that they have transcended party lines to earn respect from voters on both sides of the aisle.

Dont get me wrong. Evan Bayh still sits at the helm of the Democratic Party in this state, but that’s the kind of inside baseball regular folks don’t care about.

What speaks volumes is that while other politicians have seen their approval ratings wax and wane, Bayh and Lugar remain consistently beloved.

Perhaps that’s why Obama is eyeing one for vice president while using the other in a new ad talking about nuclear weapons.

Well know soon enough whether Bayh will be part of the national ticket. In the mean time, this Indiana Democrat will be saying a few extra prayers that our favorite son finally gets his day.