Loading ...
By BRIAN A. HOWEY
NASHVILLE, Ind. - U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh praised Barack Obama’s running mate Joe Biden as an "outstanding public servant with deep experience" today. His statement came hours after a 3 a.m. text message to supporters from the Obama campaign that elevated Biden to the Democratic ticket.
And it ended a two-month long roller coaster ride for Bayh, who appeared twice with Obama on Hoosier soil in recent months as many believe that Indiana is in play this fall. 
Without Bayh, that task becomes much harder for the Illinois senator.
"Joe Biden is an outstanding public servant with deep experience and a fighting spirit," Bayh said. "These qualities will make him a great asset in the White House and on the campaign trail this fall. Indiana and America face challenging times. We are a nation at war with an economy on the rocks. In his most important decision to date, Barack Obama demonstrated the judgment to choose a governing partner who is wise and strong and will help him deliver change to a country yearning for it."
Bayh vowed to support the ticket, where his assistance here in Indiana this fall will be crucial if Obama hopes to carry Indiana’s 11 Electoral College votes. "I enthusiastically support the selection of Senator Biden. It was an honor to be considered, and I hope it reflects well on the state of Indiana that a Hoosier was in the running,’ Bayh explained. "I am proud to serve in the United States Senate and will continue to work each day to make a difference in the lives of the people of my state."
Bayh, who had been on short lists of Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004 and has long been viewed by Hoosiers as presidential timber, now finds the path to the White House arduous. Had he joined the ticket and won, he would have been poised in 2016 to seek the presidency himself at age 60, an office that eluded him after he suspended his own brief presidential campaign in late 2006 with the meteoric rise of Barack Obama.
If Obama loses in November, Bayh will almost certainly find U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton poised for the nomination in 2012. If Obama wins, his new runningmate as well as Clinton will be waiting in the wings in eight years.
Bayh was seen as a "safe" choice for Obama, bringing executive credentials as Indiana governor for eight years, and his work on the Senate Armed Services, Intelligence and Banking committees. He endorsed Clinton in September 2007 when her nomination was seen as "inevitable," then helped her forge a narrow and intense victory over Obama in the May Indiana primary.
Bayh’s Hoosier coattails caught the attention of the Obama campaign, elevating him to the third consecutive veepstakes short list, which became an intense roller coaster ride that took the pair to Purdue University in July, Elkhart and Portage in August, while bringing the national press to Bayh’s doorstep over the past couple of days.
The fact that Bayh is not on the ticket will be a blow to the Democratic gubernatorial campaign of Jill Long Thompson. With Bayh on the ticket, he would have spent much time campaigning here and it was suspected both the Republican and Democratic senatorial committees would have invested heavily in the Thompson-Daniesl race with the winner choosing a Vice President Bayh’s successor. That investment is now unlikely.
En route Tiblisi earlier today, U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar reacted by saying, "I congratulate Senator Barack Obama on his selection of my friend, Senator Joe Biden, to be his vice-presidential running mate. I have enjoyed for many years the opportunity to work with Joe Biden to bring strong bipartisan support to United States foreign policy. I share the disappointment of many Hoosiers that my partner in the Senate, Evan Bayh, was not selected on this occasion, but I believe he will continue to have widespread support for higher office during many years ahead."
Photo: Sen. Evan Bayh introduced Barack Obama in Elkhart earlier this month. Their joint appearance there and a trip to Portage sparked intense speculation of an Obama-Bayh ticket. (HPI Photo by Ryan Nees)
Tags: Barack Obama, Dick Lugar, Evan Bayh, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden
Related posts
This entry was written by and posted on August 23, 2008 at 12:33 pm and filed under HPI Weekly. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
Post a comment(Latest is displayed first) or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.