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U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh’s hopes of joining the Democratic presidential ticket with Barack Obama might have come down to his wife’s service on seven corporate boards. Bloomberg News reported today that Susan Bayh’s board directorships on companies like Eli Lilly, Wellpoint, E*Trade Bank and Emmis Communications raise "questions about potential conflicts of interest from his wife’s work." The Bloomberg report quoted James Thurber of American University’s Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies who said, "When you’re vetting a vice president and his wife is on seven boards, that is a serious question of conflict of interest on a whole variety of issues." And Bill Buzenberg of the Center for Public Integrity was quoted in the article saying, "It doesn’t pass the ethical smell test." That story also surfaced on NBC’s Today Show this morning as a potential mark against Bayh’s veep hopes. Indiana Democratic sources say the Bloomberg story and other reports on the web have Bayh supporters in Indiana seeing Bayh’s ticket potential dim. The source said that the announcement is expected to be text messaged to supporters early Wednesday morning. The informed and reliable source said that there will be a conference call with Hillary Clinton delegates early this evening. The source said that U.S. Sen. Joe Biden is the apparent "front runner," though the source issued a familiar caveat that "anything can happen." If Biden is the selection, the source raised the possibility that Clinton supporters might push back against that nomination on the convention floor. Bayh’s office reacted to the Bloomberg story by saying that Evan Bayh has gone "above and beyond what is required under Senate ethics rules” to prevent possible conflicts, according to Bayh Communications Director Eric Kleiman. "There is a wall preventing any and all lobbying contact,” and Susan Bayh isn’t a lobbyist, Kleiman said. "Spouses of public servants deserve the opportunity to pursue success in their chosen fields of endeavor." It could be a developing trend. In Sunday’s New York Times, columnist Frank Rich raised questions about Cindy McCain’s ownership in Hensley & Company which "lobbies regulatory agtencies on alcohol issues that involve public health." A spouse of a vice presidential candidate has mired a ticket in controversy before. In 1984, Geraldine Ferraro’s husband received intense scrutiny over his finances. The Mondale-Ferraro ticket suffered an epic landslide defeat to President Reagan that November. Further, sources say that the Obama campaign has grown increasingly pessimistic that Jill Long Thompson will defeat Governor Mitch Daniels this fall, and a second Daniels term would leave Bayh’s vacated U.S. Senate seat in Republican hands. (HPI Photo by A. Walker Shaw)
Tags: Barack Obama, Evan Bayh, Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton, James Thurber, Joe Biden, Susan Bayh
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This entry was written by and posted on August 19, 2008 at 11:44 am and filed under HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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