MyDD: Breaking: Bayh is OUT

[Pirate Smile]

"Rumors are flying fast and furious on a Friday night... Apparently, Evan Bayh will be dropping out of the presidential race. At this time, the reasons are unclear. (I'm told the story will hit the AP Wire in the next few minutes.)"

http://www.mydd.com/bb#2653


edit to add - I googled and found this story on CBS.com


Bayh Bailing On '08?
Intense Speculation That Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Won't Make A Presidential Bid


With gubernatorial and Washington experience, Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh looked like a strong contender in a presidential race. (AP Photo)

(CBS) There has been intense speculation among Democrats Friday night that Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek his party's nomination for president in 2008, CBS News has learned. Bayh’s office has not yet responded to requests for comment.

The speculation comes less than two weeks after Bayh hired campaign staff and announced plans to form a fundraising committee for a potential presidential bid.

"He has this very serious team ... some very high-powered help," Mark Blumenthal — aka Mysterypollster, editor of pollster.com — said at the time. Blumenthal noted that he's worked in the past with some of Bayh’s new staff.

Bayh might have been a strong Democratic contender in a presidential race. A two-term governor before being sent to Washington, Bayh would have come to the contest with the advantage of having both Capitol Hill and gubernatorial experience.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/15/politics/main...

[NYCGirl]

1. Was that a world's record? NT

[Mabus]

31. I think he even beat Perot's record

[Kelly Rupert]

2. Too bad. I liked him.

But I suppose he didn't have much of a chance anyway.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Bayh....

He just brings inspiration... of a gnat.


Thank god he stepped out.

Hawkeye-X

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. And we'd hardly even noticed he was in it.

Bye, Bayh.

[LiberalFighter]

10. I just as soon not use that verbage

That is the verbage the Hoosier GOP used at their state conventions when Bayh ran for Governor. It didn't work for them hoosiers.

[Kolesar]

13. I remember a couple of pukes chanting it at the breakfast table at Purdue

in November 1980 after Birch Bayh lost. Har har har

[LiberalFighter]

20. Just shows how much integrity those pukes had

IMO Birch would had been a better Governor of Indiana than Evan ever was. Was a better Senator than Evan ever will be. And would had been a better President then his son could ever be.

[southerncrone]

5. I hope it's not a scandal

We need to keep our noses as clean as possible, at least until '08.

[longship]

17. I'd be very surprised if it was a scandal.

Bayh is a clean as a whistle.

[IndianaGreen]

19. Bayh is squeaky clean

Question is, who will Bayh support for President?

[Comicstripper]

37. Clinton

But he'll probably wait at least a little while. I think he may have negotiated a veep arrangement.

[IndianaGreen]

41. Bayh will make a fine Veep in any ticket

After 8 years of Darth Cheney, the country is ready to return to the old days of the Republic in which the Vice-President was as useful as a spittoon, just a warm body to keep a "heartbeat away" from the Presidency.

[Greeby]

6. Oh well, just makes the Kucinich campaign's task easier

[NYCGirl]

30. Huh? It's not as if Bayh and Kucinich were competing for the same voters. NT

[Upfront]

7. Who?

[AndyTiedye]

8. Good Riddance

[hippiechick]

9. First smart decision he's made ...

... if indeed it was actually him who made it.
His track record doesn't indicate a whole lot of potential for independent thinking.

[fujiyama]

11. Maybe his fundraising was going poorly

or all this Obama-mania has really taken all the air out of his campaign. That and all the hype surrounding Hillary.

I also seriously question his judgment on Iraq (did he ever at least regret his vote?).
Personally, I found him too wishy-washy...sorta dull, but I wouldn't have minded a few differing voices though during the primaries and had no intention of dismissing him outright (he has found a way to get elected to the federal level in one the reddest states even in presidential years).

Biden and Vilsack won't last long either.

[Pithy Cherub]

12. bayhmentum officially stalls out...

Well, my vote for Mickey Mouse is still safe cuz he had it if Bayh was the nominee...

[Robbien]

14. He is only polling at 1-3%. Of course he should bail out.

He would need a lot of gold to break out of that ditch he is in.

[longship]

16. That had nothing to do with it.

Hint, hint. It's the 2008 Presidential election, not the 2007 Presidential election.

[longship]

15. Very sorry to see him go.

Evan Bayh is one of the cleanest possibilities for 2008. I met him in the 90's when he gave the keynote at the KS state Dem convention. Good guy. I like him a lot. Not sure if I would support him, however, the 2008 campaign will be less for him dropping out of it.

[kirbyenthusiasm]

18. well, i hate to be the guy to say....

look at clinton in 92... early on he had low numbers.

but on the other hand, he had a lot of support from other governors and people connected with the party. i don't really know what bayh had going for him, because I'd expect he and Hillary are drawing from the same crowd.

It's a little sad maybe, I'm from Indiana, moving back to Fort Wayne in the spring after I graduate from college and I would've loved to work for him out there. But on the other hand, there's quite a bit of superstar power on the Dem side right now, and he would've probably pulled a Dan Quayle and polled 8th in the first races. I suppose there's always 2016....

[jaysunb]

21. Gore/Obama 08

Bayh never had a chance....he was probably hoping Hillary will ask him to VP. ( DLC chums )

[Clarkie1]

22. Has anyone ever dropped out this early? nt

[ulysses]

23. Feingold. n/t

[NYCGirl]

26. Bayh, who had formed an "exploratory committee," was a bit further along the

campaign road than Feingold.

[Tom Rinaldo]

24. Warner. Though he wasn't officially running yet - he was. n/t

[MidwestTransplant]

29. Mark Warner

[MindMatter]

25. Excellent news

This guy never took a solid position on anything. He is the best example of the the worst the Democratic Party has to offer. He is an exemplar of the entire generation of empty suits that almost killed this Party by doing nothing but try to find the middle ground, offending nobody. Good riddance, vacuous one.

[zulchzulu]

27. All the best to Bayh

I'm sure he and his family knew best. Running for President is a 2+ year run through hell while spending millions trying not to to be misunderstood...

[mzmolly]

28. I'm somewhat disappointed.

But, if Gore runs, I'm good with it.

[Ouabache]

32. Maybe he is waiting for a dead-locked convention & then they

turn to him?

Ok just trying to bring some levity....but in the olden days a dead-locked convention would turn to guys like him.
Maybe he is worried about small planes? ..and IN does have a repuke governor.

[NJ Democrats]

33. Good, because Bayh is boring!

I hope Gore runs

[PresidentObama]

34. Maybe he's feeling the pressure....

Of the big names considering a run. Hillary, Gore, Kerry, Obama, Edwards.

In any event, it's sad news. I think the more candidates running, the better. We have a lot of qualified candidates.

[kerrygoddess]

35. He's out

Bayh Out of ‘08 Race
December 15th, 2006 @ 11:47 pm

{SNIP}
Bayh’s decision was made public tonight in a statement released to The Indianapolis Star:

“As you know I have been exploring helping the people of my state and our country in a different capacity,” he wrote. “After talking with family and friends over the past several days, I have decided that this is not the year for me to run for President and I will not be a candidate for the presidency in 2008.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4963

[Comicstripper]

36. We'll see him as a very serious contender for Vice President

depending on who is nominated. Hillary would very possibly pick Bayh, probably not Obama or Edwards, though.

It is sort of a shame. I realize he's more conservative than most of us, but I believe he would have been a competent, appealing candidate. And it certainly would have given us Indiana.

[SmellsLikeDeanSpirit]

39. I seriously doubt he would have given us Indiana

[Infinite Hope]

38. Good

I'm not anti-Bayh, but in my opinion he didn't add anything unique to the race. Unless they add something unique to the debate, I'd rather stick with a corps of core candidates who represent those unique views.

[MeanBone]

40. Only a couple of days after that Iowa poll...

...that showed Edwards with a commanding lead among both rank-and-file Democrats and county leaders.