Bayh Spins Himself for Vice President

[davidnc76]

Source: The Nation

To be sure, Evan Bayh's answers to question about whether he will be Barack Obama's vice presidential running-mate sound like confirmations.

"Well, that's the kind of thing you do say ‘yes' to," the Indiana senator chirped in an interview with Fox News, a network that's unusually friendly to Bayh, a centrist whose willingness to side with Republican in the Senate on key tests regarding Iraq, civil liberties and trade policy has tended to endear him to conservatives.

Asked whether Obama's aides are vetting him as a veep prospect, Bayh teased: "I'd love to answer your question, but I think I really can't."

That was in line with what Bayh has been saying in recent days.

Famously, he declared while campaigning with Obama in July that, "Any questions about the vice presidential thing are understandable and it's good for my ego. But I should probably let Sen. Obama and his campaign address those kinds of questions."

Read more: http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/342058

[Wetzelbill]

1. Please don't let Obama pick this guy

I couldn't think of a worse choice. Well I could, but it wouldn't be realistic. Like say if Obama chose Osama as his running mate, or if he went bipartisan and picked Tom Delay.

I'd rather have Carrot Top be Obama's pick than Evan Bayh. What would be the choice there? To counter Obama's charisma and excitement with Bayh's exceptional ability to put people to sleep.

[scheming daemons]

2. Well... in one retrospect, it's good. Obama looks even MORE charismatic by comparison....

[flamingdem]

3. O man has enough charisma for both of them, at least this guy is squeaky clean nt

[Myrina]

19. ... not if they dig deep enough ...

.... there's some 'shell game-with state money' secrets lying around Indiana from when he was governor ... if they dig deep enough ...

[ccharles000]

14. Nunn is worse.

[polmaven]

25. Ummm..

The REAL Carrot Top, or have I missed something, like maybe someone like William Weld's (R;MA & NY) name coming up in the mix somehow? :rofl:

[dkf]

4. Mitt Romney looks like a pit bull in comparison to Bayh.

Sad but true.

[TexasObserver]

15. I can't think of anyone Bayh could look good up against.

I'll be very disappointed if he's the choice. He's about as close to a dial tone as a politician can get. There's just nothing going on up there. His dad was OK, but Jr. is weak.

[Supersedeas]

28. Bayh will completely stunt the momentum Obama has banked upon

Bayh is a DNC ball-n-chain.

[TexasObserver]

32. Other VP duds = Ferraro & Lieberman

I want Obama to pick someone that won't result in a collective yawn.

I wouldn't walk across the room to talk to Evan Bayh. He makes Dan Quayle look exciting.

[MidwestTransplant]

5. Side with Republicans on Civil Liberties? So that means he is against them?

[NBachers]

6. My fax to the Obama Campaign

It's 1 AM in San Francisco and my clock's set for 5. But I gotta get this off. Obama's fax number is
[phone].

Dear Obama Campaign: You may be getting ready to make a mistake in your VP choice. Here’s how it looks from here:

About your Vice Presidential choice: I’m a longtime involved Democratic voter with good political sensibilities. Here’s what it looks like from outside the campaign: You need someone to boost your campaign, not someone who will be a drag on it. McCain is actually capable of winning this thing, with all the dirty tricks he’s playing. Maybe you should reconsider the Town Hall Debates.

Wesley Clark is your best Vice Presidential pick. He’s got the military experience to defuse McCain. He has alignments with the Clintons, so they will feel involved; they will campaign and not feel slighted. And he can be a tenacious and loyal attack dog when necessary. I’d prefer him for Secretary of Defense, but he’s more needed in the VP slot right now. He brings strength & experience.

Evan Bayh - No No No! Bayh brings absolutely nothing to your campaign. He is a yawn candidate who will drag you down, not boost you up. He will become Barack Obama’s Dan Quayle. And don’t expect him to mollify the “moderate centrists.”

Tim Kaine - pretty much the same as Bayh. The only advantage to Kaine is you don’t have to raid the Senate for him.

Joe Biden - It’s better if you don’t take a Senator; we need all the Senators fighting in their place. Biden can make some verbal gaffes that need cleaning up afterwards. If you must take a Senator, however, then go for Biden.

Kathleen Sebelius - A good possibility, but please make sure she can answer back when she’s attacked.

Bill Richardson - I really like Bill Richardson, but I’m not sure what kind of a campaigner he’d be. Can he fight back?

Hillary Clinton - I’m actually a Clinton advocate, but I think her career is as a powerful Senator more than a VP.

A couple of other suggestions: John Edwards for AG with Robert Kennedy Jr. in charge of straightening out the voter disenfranchisement & electronic voting mess; Bob Graham for Secretary of Agriculture; George Mitchell for Secretary of State. But please, Wesley Clark for VP. He will strengthen you, Bayh & Kaine will weaken you.

PLEASE heed this advice!

Sincerely,

NBachers

[awoke_in_2003]

8. Wes would be my pick...

but just one point- he is ineligible to be Sec Def. Have to be retired for 10 years to hold that position.

[NBachers]

11. OK, interesting, I didn't know that

so that leaves the VP slot open for him.

[RBInMaine]

7. Come on now folks, it's gotta be a bit tent party. And,

I understand wool-dyed progressives ideally want other wool-dyed progressives as VP's, but you need to think outside the box and very objectively. We have lost time and again with far too narrow a voter base and by being competative in only about 18-20 states. The Obama people (and Howard Dean) are VERY smart and savvy. They know that in order to win we need to be a NATIONAL party again with an expanded electoral base. To do that, we need to understand that different kinds of politics play in different regions. This year, there is real opportunity to expand our base into states like Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and even North Carolina, Virginia, Montana, and Indiana. Some of these are states that haven't voted Democratic at the Prez level in decades. We also need to win back a majority of moderate Independents, more working class whites, and white men. These are realities. Look at the special election House wins in IL, LA, and MS. In LA and MS, we won, BUT, with candidates who were moderate to conservative on a number of issues (but progressive on most of the bread and butter issues). We could not have won with "far left" candidates in LA and MS. BUT, better to have "centrist" Dems in those seats than conservative R's. WE MUST BE A BIG TENT PARTY TO BE A NATIONAL PARTY. The best VP choice is a moderate white male who can balance Obama's more liberal/progressive persona and show that Obama is a candidate who can govern effectively not by abandoning all principle, but by being willing to compromise somewhat in order to get things done. This is what our nation is founded on, and the majority of Americans want the two parties to work together. Bayh and Kaine are good choices because they help with the constituencies and in states where we need to start playing seriously again and in which we actually have a chance to turn blue to expand our electoral map. This is the political reality.

[Donna Zen]

12. The vast majority of the American people

Don't like the war in Iraq, and don't favor another one. Bayh was the pusher, not just a buyer of the war in Iraq. Bayh is now into saber-rattling with the Iranians. Anyone who wants to see the end of the K-Street influence which is most Dem. Indies, and republicans doesn't need someone with the credit card companies on speed dial. Bayh voted "yes" on NAFTA, "yes" on bush's tax-cuts-for-the-rich, "yes" on FISA, and "yes" on whatever else those considering the Big Tent would find a stopper from entering. I do phone banking every week; I wouldn't even try to sell Bayh.

[RBInMaine]

33. Who have you been phone banking, only D's?

Another "liberal progressive" on the ticket would be DOOM. Too narrow a base. We'd lose. There needs to be a moderate. Bayh is a moderate who can win Indy's and the other groups I've stated. Too many here aren't thinking outside the far left box.

[Donna Zen]

34. Phone banking D's and Indies.

Bayh is a conservative if you want to label him. However, I kinda think of him at pure DLC...devoted to Wall Street.

Obama is not Denis Kucinich. Obama is a moderate.

People where I live....red red Maine, uniformly want an end to the bullshit. They're tired of the war and the borrowing and their country's inabilty to get something done. Everyone is my town has seen their jobs moved to China.

What liberal progressive do you see around? Ok, I'll give you Feingold. Baldacci is DLC...how's that working out? Tom Allen, who keeps me picking up that phone, happens to vote for his state and with great courage. I watch his votes very closely and he always makes me proud. I wouldn't label Tom Allen as a wided-eyed leftist.

Cripe. I was a president of the PTA...far left yourself. Currently I'm working with some folks in town to do some fundraising to help the people up here who will surely fall through the cracks come winter. We're taking care of ourselves because our government no longer works. Our group is made up of Dems. repubs, and non-voters. None of them are pinko commies or DLC.

[Douglas Carpenter]

18. EXACTLY! ! Bayh can reach out to the pro-war neocons and bring more of them into the Party

This is a constituency which liberal and progressives have long neglected.

Perhaps with someone like Evan Bayh, former Democrats like Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz could feel at home in the Democratic Party again.

"Sen Bayh is a past recipient Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson Award for Distinguished Service from the neoconservative security think tank JINSA"
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/02/03/evan_bayh_tough_but_smart.php

-------

"The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) is pleased to welcome Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) as an Honorary Co-Chairman. Bayh becomes the third U.S. Senator to join the committee after Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced their participation on January 28."The Committee for the Liberation of Iraq (CLI) is pleased to welcome Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) as an Honorary Co-Chairman. Bayh becomes the third U.S. Senator to join the committee after Sens. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced their participation on January 28.

The Committee is a neo-con group that was formed to propagandize the country into war. It boasted such illustrious neocon members as Bill Kristol, former CIA director James Woolsey, and even McCain senior foreign policy adviser and Chalabi-bamboozler Randy Scheunemann, whom Josh has been blogging about."

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/07/bayh_as_veep_he_cochaired_wing.php

----

Perhaps with Bayh as Vice President there might be a strong advocate for war with Iran.

Perhaps he can even be a strong influence for more future wars.

Just think how great it would be to have not one, but two parties dominated by neoconservative thinking.

[Buns_of_Fire]

9. A "willingness to side with Republican(s) in the Senate on key tests," eh?

Fee, fie, fo, fum, I smell a potential Lieberman...

[peace frog]

10. Aaargh!

Please re-think this one, Obama. Bayh would be a HUGE MISTAKE.

[NBachers]

13. Bringing the Limp Dishrag vote home to Obama

[JTFrog]

16. I trust Obama. No Pro-War Bush Enabling 50% NARAL rated Senators on his ticket.

We haven’t had a race in quite some time where a former member of the Senate ascended to the White House. Why make it twice as hard by putting another Senator on his ticket? Especially one that voted for IWR/Kyl-Lieberman?

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

17. I am now convinced that Wes in indeed The Best!

He's been curiously quiet these days after the press buried him. That *could* mean something. It would be a brilliant choice. He could include AR and the rest of the South. The Clintons might be more open to campaigning in AR and many other areas in the South and Midwest. His military and foreign policy expertise is unmatched. McSame has NOTHING on that ticket. Absolutely NOTHING!!

[Myrina]

20. Yep --- if I can't have Feingold for VP, I'll take Wes :-)

:patriot:

[saltpoint]

21. If the Obama team has discussed the veep job or a Cabinet role for

Bayh, and has asked him to remain quiet on the details, I'm glad Bayh is accommodating the request. It's smart politics. Whether he is asked to play a role or not, Evan Bayh knows that John McCain is very likely not going to be the next U.S. President.

There was plenty of talk of Bayh's chances as our nominee around this time last year. In 2007 Bayh formed an exploratory committe and had begun laying plans for the Iowa caucus.

Bayh had trained his sights on Iowa as early as 2005: http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2005/08/03/news/state/doc42f059a16d08f505498360.txt

By last fall, he'd raised some serious cash as well.

His father had done fairly well in an Iowa Democratic contest in 1976. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_Bayh

His ideology aside, a lot of people acknowledged he had some electoral punch.

When he stepped aside for the HClinton campaign -- Vilsack too -- two formidable contenders were suddenly out of the way for an HClinton win in Iowa. Later was to come the Des Moines REGISTER endorsement and voila -- she wins Iowa.

Whoops. The Obama and Edwards camps had other plans.

I would have been interested to see the outcome had Vilsack, a favorite son, and Bayh, a potent vote-getter, stayed in the race.

[Upton]

22. Bayh would be a disaster, we need an attack dog as VP

Clark or Clinton immediately come to mind.

[saltpoint]

23. I've seen Bayh go on the attack before.

By any chance do you remember one of the early accountability appearances Don Rumsfeld made in the Senate regarding the Iraq War before the Armed Services Committee?

Evan Bayh grilled Rumsfeld regarding ethics and accountability. Rumsfeld was thrashing around for a response to shut him up and never found one. Bayh's prompt was the revelations of Abu Ghraib specifically and the conduct of the war generally.

Bayh was prepared, sharp, and very much to the point. Rumsfeld came away having been asked by Evan Bayh whether he, Rumsfeld, felt it incumbent upon a Cabinent official to resign-- meaning Rumsfeld -- against the backdrop of deceit and incompetence and unethical management of his office.

Rumsfeld used to be a wrestler. At the time of that hearing, he was a high-profile liar. Evan Bayh made real quick work of him.

[Skwmom]

24. The Obama team are idiots if they pick this guy. Obama needs someone to help insulate him

against the MSM/RNC/2012 gang attacks. An Obama/Schweitzer ticket would be unbeatable.

[flaminbats]

26. Obama/Bayh..

I think Birch Bayh was more of a populist like Sherrod Brown than Evan is. But I don't think picking Evan Bayh will be like Gore's mistake to pick Lieberman. Gore didn't support universal healthcare, but supported his own watered down version that would have allowed the 55-65 year-old age group to get coverage. Picking Lieberman in 2000 tipped the ticket in Gore's already DLCish direction, leaving no balance for Bradley supporters who viewed healthcare and the economy as the most important issues. Obama already supports universal healthcare and ending the war in Iraq, making Bayh a safer choice now than in 2000.

Obama needs someone on his campaign not to win more votes, but to give those who run his campaign a needed kick in the ass! I think Hillary and Bill would do this, but I doubt Bayh even cares! Picking someone like Carville to run the campaign will increase Obama's chances of winning more than picking his running-mate.

[bigwillq]

27. Bayh is not a very good choice.

For all those who complained about H. Clinton being DLC, well you're getting the male version of her if Bayh is on the ticket.

Why would Obama pick a DLCer when he is the change candidate? :shrug: Doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't be a good pick. I want a true progressive on the ticket to balance off Obama's centrist views.

[trewsx11]

29. Bayh is a good choice PRECISELY because he is male version of Hillary

With executive experience as governor, I might add.

[Arnold Judas Rimmer]

30. The only "reasoning" behind Obama picking this clown would be for the same reason Poppy chose Quayle

and that wasn't anything to do with winning the state of Indiana.

And if that's the case, just hire a few more Secret Service agents, and get a better Vice President.

[Bobbie Jo]

31. Bayh represents the "AntiCheney"

...in other words, will not wield much power, no threat, traditional VP.

Not my personal choice.

[Thrill]

35. Bayh will get his ass handed to him in a debate.

[Dinger]

36. Pfffft

:boring:

[goodgd_yall]

37. Just watched a YouTube video of Evan Bayh

He was grilling Petraeus. My impression is that Evan Bayh's manner would be a turn-off to a lot of people. I think, with the charges of "elitism" from the Republican camp, the choice of Evan Bayh would not help at all. I don't think the blue-collar segment would find any comfort in him either.

I was rethinking Joe Biden and now believe he would be a good choice: he'd be an excellent attack dog, and I think blue-collar folks would find his feisty fighting style attractive.