Wannabe Republican. He isn't half the man his daddy was.
As a journalist, I have covered Evan Bayh since he was Secretary of State. I think he was like 12 then or something.
Here are my insights, for what they are worth....
1. The guy has never misspoken. He has never appeared flummoxed or caught "off guard" or unprepared. If he was holding a presser about state school testing and I asked a question about out of state trash, he was ready. This is probably a positive. He is surely the anti-Bush. But it could be a negative as it can come off as wooden and insincere. He does seem to lack passion about anything except Susan.
2. He hasn't carved out a niche for himself in the Senate. Lugar's niche is foreign policy, with a special passion for containing loose nukes. Kennedy's drumbeat is health care. McCain's WAS campaign finance. Etc. Bayh tends to flit from issue to issue. Again, could be good...as it demonstrates a comprehensive approach to governing. Could also be a negative that betrays a lack of passion.
3. If image and family are important, Bayh beats every Republican and every Democrat, except maybe John Edwards on that count. Bayh has a gorgeous wife and two beautiful, toe-head twin boys. He is NOT his father and, as a liberal, I wish he were. But he remains a devoted son and his Dad has clearly taught him well.
4. When he was Secretary of State and then Governor for two terms, Republicans had to really get creative to find fault with this guy. He was always a step ahead of them and never seemed to make a mistake. This is no small feat in a state where the media are overwhelmingly pro-GOP and where most voters tend toward Republicans. Bayh's popularity was so large, he swept his Lieutenant Governor into the top job for two terms. Frank O'Bannon's last year or so was cut short by a stroke.
5. When Bayh decided to run for the Senate, incumbent Senator Dan Coats -- who was wildly popular in Indiana and in the national GOP (Bush strongly considered him for several cabinet posts) -- chose not to run for re-election. By every account, Coats was certain he would lose to Bayh. And he would have.
All this said, the nation is not Indiana. Bayh never had to worry about anyone running to his right in the Democratic primary. He never had challengers as experienced as Gore or as charismatic and eloquent as Obama. Should he win the nomination, he'll have a whole set of fresh challenges.
What WOULD be particularly interesting is a Bayh-Guiliani race. I can't think of a single issue Bayh wouldn't be more conservative than Giuliani on.
