Lugar Addresses Rumors Of Possible Obama Appointment

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar put to rest rumors he'd be tapped to serve as secretary of state by President-elect Barack Obama during a visit to Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Lugar was in town to congratulate students at Hawthorne Elementary School in Warren Township, whose school won the Title One Distinguished School Award this year, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

But the conversation quickly turned to the recent election. Lugar shot down speculation that he'd been on the short list for secretary of state.

"President-elect Obama has not asked me to serve in any role, but he did call me," Lugar said, noting that he and Obama know each other very well from their work together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "It was just simply to talk about foreign policy. He hoped that our association, our friendship, would remain very, very close, which I affirmed that it would."

Lugar, who supported fellow Republican Sen. John McCain's bid for the presidency, said he appreciates Obama's remarkable rise to power, but that he does not envy his challenge.

"Suddenly we're faced with the facts that banks are failing all over the world. Jobs are being lost by people everywhere. The prospects for energy and food are decreasing for people. This is a monumental crisis," he said.

Concerning his party, Lugar said that the Republicans will regroup and refocus. He called Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels a bright star on the party's horizon.