Evan Bayh: Obama's Vice President?
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AUG 22 -- Bumper Sticker Says Its Bayh: KMBC reports that one Kansas company knows who Obama's VP will be.
After weeks of speculation and days of intense rumors, the answer to who Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama would name as his running mate may have come down to a bumper sticker printed in Lenexa.
KMBC's Micheal Mahoney reported that the company, which specializes in political literature, has been printing Obama-Bayh material. That's Bayh as in U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana. Word leaked out about the material as it was being printed up by Gill Studios of Lenexa. The Obama campaign had said it would make the announcement by text message on Friday.
AUG 20 -- Obama Doing "Major Event" In Indiana Saturday: The Nashville Post reports that Obama is doing a major event in Evan Bayh's home state the day he is expected to first appear with his running mate.
NashvillePost.com has learned that senior campaign officials from the Barack Obama Presidential campaign are being dispatched from various locations around the country and are converging in Indianapolis for a "major event" to take place on Saturday.
Saturday is the same day that Obama is expected to make his first public appearance with his yet to be announced vice presidential running mate. Indiana is the home state of Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, widely considered to be on the short list of Democratic vice presidential contenders.
AUG 13 -- Anti-Bayh Movement Heats Up: With rumors circulating about Bayh's rising chances, concerned Democrats launch a campaign against the senator:
Popular candidates like Gen. Wes Clark and Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) were famously recruited into politics by volunteer-driven "drafts." Now something close to the opposite of a draft is rumbling among concerned Democrats, as insiders and bloggers respond to apparently credible rumors that Sen. Evan Bayh retains a high position on the short list for Obama's running mate.
It is somewhat staggering that Bayh holds any great mentioner status at all. Unlike Obama, he is a centrist Washington fixture who strongly backed the Iraq war. His red state victories are based more on family dynasty than personal dynamism. His total lack of national name identification, along with other hurdles in the current political environment, led him to shutter his own presidential exploratory committee in December 2006 -- less than two weeks after it opened. This morning, a new Facebook group, "100,000 Strong Against Evan Bayh for VP," was launched to push back against Bayh, while the Booman Tribune blog outlines the argument today.
AUG 12 -- NYT On Risks And Rewards Of Bayh: The paper reports on how Evan Bayh's support for the Iraq war could make him a problematic VP choice.
Mr. Bayh's support of authorizing force in Iraq stands in sharp contrast to Mr. Obama's oft-stated view that he showed the good judgment to oppose the conflict from the start. After his vote, Mr. Bayh in early 2003 joined Mr. McCain as an honorary co-chairman of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which made regime change in Iraq its central cause.
"He was not only wrong, he was aggressively wrong," said Tom Andrews, national director of the Win Without War coalition, referring to Mr. Bayh. "In my view, he would contradict if not undermine the Obama message of change, turning a new page on foreign policy and national security."
AUG 6 -- Obama-Bayh Event Sparks More Veep Buzz: The pair's joint Indiana appearance fuels speculation but doesn't offer much new evidence.
Mr. Bayh made the only introductory speech at the event at Concord High School here, referring to Mr. Obama as "my friend, our neighbor" and noting that this was Mr. Obama's 42nd visit to the state.
Mr. Bayh, however, focused his remarks on the political battle that lay ahead and marveled at the effort Mr. Obama is making to win the state, calling it "a very unusual thing."When Mr. Obama took the stage, the two men embraced, Mr. Obama smiling broadly as he patted Mr. Bayh on the shoulder. And during the question-and-answer session that followed his remarks on energy policy, Mr. Obama went out of his way to praise Mr. Bayh.
AUG 5 -- Bayh Says He Hasn't Been Asked The senator denies Obama's upcoming trip to Indiana involves a VP announcement.
Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., told The Indianapolis Star today that Sen. Barack Obama has not asked him to be his running mate and that he's not expecting Obama to announce his vice presidential pick when Obama is in Indiana Wednesday.
Asked if he will be Obama's vice presidential choice, Bayh said; "I have no idea. You'd have to ask him."
JULY 29 -- Bayh Is Being Vetted: The Washington Post reports that Bayh is on Obama's shortlist.
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine has told close associates that he has had "very serious" conversations with Sen. Barack Obama about joining the Democratic presidential ticket and has provided documents to the campaign as it combs through his background, according to several sources close to Kaine.
Sens. Evan Bayh (Ind.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) are also being seriously vetted by the campaign staff, according to sources with knowledge of the process.
JULY 20 -- Bayh Gives Non-Denial On Fox News: Asked about the VP slot, Bayh gets evasive.
WALLACE: Senator Bayh, if Obama asks you to be his running mate, what will you say? BAYH: Well, I've said that's not the sort of thing you say no to, Chris, so... WALLACE: Which means you'd say yes. ...WALLACE: Have you been asked to turn over personal information to the campaign?
BAYH: You know, that's their business, Chris, and I think you should direct those questions to them.
WALLACE: But -- oh, come on.
BAYH: Well, I'm trying my best not to make news on that this morning, so I hope you'll forgive me. But truly, they've established a process. It's their process. And I think it's up to them to respond to that.
WALLACE: Are you in the process?
BAYH: You know, I'd love to answer your question, but I think I really can't.
JULY 18 -- Bayh Says He And Obama Have A Lot In Common: Bayh talks up similarities witht he candidate in an interview with National Journal.
"We know each other, we're friends, we're about the same age, we both have young kids, we both like sports, we made that trip to Iraq [in 2006]. You know, you get to know somebody when you're traveling in the belly of a C-130 or lifting off in a Blackhawk for somewhere like Fallujah or Kirkuk ... We're the same generation, so we have a comfort level, but I don't want to overstate any of that. I like him, I hope he likes me."
JULY 16 -- Bayh Joins Obama Security Talks: Obama brings Bayh to a panel on future threats.
Democrat Barack Obama warned Wednesday about the danger of "fighting the last war" as he pledged to focus on emerging nuclear, biological and cyber threats if elected president.
Among those joining him for a panel discuss at Purdue University were two potential running mates, Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. As the former governor of a Republican state, Bayh could help Obama. Nunn, a defense expert from the South, would burnish the ticket's experience.
Related: Bill Browning: Obama Will Name Bayh his VP Choice on Wednesday
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First Posted: 07-29-08 11:18 AM | Updated: 08-22-08 05:44 PM