Indiana GOP Party takes down Obama punching bag

(CBS/AP) MUNCIE, Ind. - A punching bag depicting President Barack Obama as a boxer with a black eye has been removed from the Republican Party tent at an Indiana fair after some fairgoers complained.

Delaware County GOP spokesman Tom Bennington tells The Star Press he thinks the bag was placed outside the tent by party leaders. It was displayed at various times Monday through Wednesday at the fair in Muncie, about 50 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

He says the bag was "meant in fun" to illustrate that Republicans hope to defeat Obama in November, but he found it "mildly offensive" because of how it portrayed the military's commander in chief. It was removed after fair visitors — including at least one Republican — voiced concerns.

It's not the first time people have complained about political spirit crossing the line. In May, Republican South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley became a similar target for a game when a picture of her face was taped to a pinata at a picnic. South Carolina AFL-CIO president Debbie Dewitt was videotaped bashing the pinata with a baseball bat in a clip that was posted on YouTube and reposted by the governor on her Facebook page.

Dewitt then told the National Journal it was "all in fun." The labor organization has long struggled with Gov. Haley, who has likened unions to thugs.