Views » August 15, 2008 » Web Only

Will Obama Wave Bayh Bye to the White House?

By David Sirota

If you believe the chatter, Barack Obama is desperately seeking a white guy — any white guy — to be his running mate. Democratic sources have floated vice-presidential trial balloons for every pale-faced stiff in the D.C. region — from Delaware Sen. Joe Biden to Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. But with Obama needing his “change” brand to overshadow his recent flip-flops, no pick would be more self-defeating than Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh — the career politician who best personifies “more of the same.”

The son of Sen. Birch Bayh, Evan has no discernible political skills (unless “skills” include being the cure for insomnia and having a famous last name). In the decade since this prince claimed his daddy’s Senate seat, he has amassed not a single significant accomplishment — a miraculous achievement, even by Washington’s do-nothing standards. If he is known at all, it is for heading a business front group called the Democratic Leadership Council, using that position to rake in corporate campaign contributions and then paying back the money with votes.

For instance, in his 2004 campaign, Bayh raised almost $1 million from the banking and financial industries, then voted in 2005 for a bankruptcy bill helping those industries intensify their usurious practices. Similarly, despite representing a manufacturing state crushed by trade-related job losses, Bayh has voted for a bevy of lobbyist-written trade pacts, including the monumentally destructive China deal in 2000.

On foreign policy, it’s even worse. Bayh has been a shameless Bush parrot, infamously commending himself for being “tough and smart” after aggressively supporting the Iraq War — the same war that U.S. intelligence agencies have said is severely weakening America’s national security.

Obama selecting this corporate Frankenstein would implicitly signal that the Illinois senator’s populist campaign promises are a farce. In terms of demoralizing Democratic voters, a Bayh pick would make Al Gore’s 2000 choice of Joe Lieberman — i.e., the worst vice-presidential nomination in contemporary history — look positively brilliant.

But let’s say Obama doesn’t mind destroying Democratic enthusiasm for his candidacy. Let’s say he is specifically looking to win a Republican state like Indiana. Even in that context, a Bayh nomination is absurd.

Democrats have lost Indiana in every presidential election since 1964, including the three that Bayh appeared on the statewide ballot. In the June Democratic presidential primary, Bayh backed Hillary Clinton — and yet, Obama nearly tied her in Indiana. That’s correct — the Bayh machine that is supposedly powerful enough to deliver Indiana in the general election couldn’t even muster a decisive intra-party victory.

The most ridiculous arguments for Bayh are those insisting that his nomination would a) appease embittered Clinton supporters because Bayh was a Clinton supporter and b) help win Indiana border states such as Ohio.

Like most D.C. analysis, this assertion assumes that most Americans are as obsessed with politics as professional pundits, and therefore that most Clinton voters a) know who Bayh is and b) know Bayh supported Clinton. Furthermore, the theory presumes that unemployed factory workers in places like Akron will decide to vote for Obama because of Bayh — even though most of them have never heard of the Indiana senator and those that have know him for voting to ship their jobs overseas. (Note to Obama: If you want to win Ohio, why not pick the Buckeye State’s anti-war and anti-NAFTA Sen. Sherrod Brown?)

If Obama has, indeed, confined his vice-presidential search only to white men (a big “if”), that’s unfortunate, though unsurprising. With Obama facing a continued barrage of race-tinged attacks, such calculation would be predictable. But that doesn’t mean he has to pick a running mate who completely undermines his “change” message. If he does that, Democrats could be saying Bayh bye to the presidency.

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• Reader Comments

  Oh, come now.

  If “amass(ing) not a single significant accomplishment” makes one ineligible for high national office, what the hell is Zero doing at the head of the Demonicrat Party?

  I presume Zero has to find someone to run with Himself, but the potential running mates are taking themselves out, voluntarily and involuntarily, at an alarming rate.  Maybe they know something?

  A couple of weeks ago, the buzz was that a Republican female was being considered, I don’t remember her name.  But at the rate Zero is going, he may have to select a Whig or a Tory or a Know Nothing as running mate.  Now that would be appropriate!

  Posted by scorp on Aug 15, 2008 at 9:50 PM

  A pundit mr Sirota is not.Political prognostications from those who are

  big sky people tend to be as expansive as their horizons and could

  benifit from a dollop of humility.

  Posted by headed on Aug 15, 2008 at 9:54 PM

  No offense, but your knowledge of Evan Bayh seems to be limited. Yes he has made some questionable decisions as Senator, like voting for the Iraq war. But as someone who lives in Indiana I happen to remember his time as governor which you seem to have left out. He was one of the most successful and popular governors in state history.

  You say he has no accomplishments. I say producing the largest taxcut in state history, going 8 years without raising taxes, creating the largest budget surplus in the state’s history, passing measures that improved the school systems, and created 350k jobs during his tenure are pretty nice accomplishments.  As a Democrat in a largely Republican state, he has been elected statewide 4 times. His bid for reelection as Gov. saw him receive the highest percentage statewide vote in history and he left office with an 80% approval rating. Running for Senator he has yet to receive less than 62% of the vote.

  You trying to compare making a few campaign stops for Clinton to being on the ticket is also laughable. The Bayh name is gold in Indiana and having him on the ticket would easily assure Obama of Indiana. I live in the rural southern parts of Indiana where Obama couldn’t muster 30% of the vote. Yet, even in these areas if you go around talking to people who generally would tell you they won’t vote Obama and don’t trust him would vote if Bayh was on the ticket. If for no other reason than they think he is a great politician and would make a great President.

  Posted by Canes on Aug 16, 2008 at 5:42 PM

  Please Mr. Sirota:

  Stop it with (1) the ad hominem attacks and (2) the gossip style of journalism.

  I hope you are well.

  Posted by francis frank on Aug 17, 2008 at 2:47 AM

  “In the June Democratic presidential primary, Bayh backed Hillary Clinton — and yet, Obama nearly tied her in Indiana.”

  Indiana borders Chicago - in fact, a big bunch of the state is part of Greater Chicago. Obama, not Clinton, that had the odds there.

  Posted by andken on Aug 18, 2008 at 1:32 PM

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