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Sen. Evan Bayh will not seek the presidency in 2004.
"I'm not," Bayh told The Indianapolis Star when asked whether he's running for the Democratic nomination.
With those two simple words, Bayh ended months of speculation.
Bayh, who is working with President Bush on ways to promote responsible fatherhood, said the needs of his 5-year-old twin sons come before politics.
"I don't think it would be the responsible thing to do," he said.
Bayh will discuss his decision today in Indianapolis at a news conference he's holding to announce an Indiana Fatherhood Initiative paid for with federal funds.
The former two-term governor of Indiana, who was elected to the Senate in 1998, said it's hard enough now to see his children at night or to preserve weekends for family.
"To run for president means I would abandon my kids for the next 31/2 years."
There might be other opportunities to run for president, he said, but he has only one opportunity to watch his children grow up.
In fact, the 45-year-old Bayh might have at least five more shots at presidential politics.
Joe Andrew, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the Indiana party, said Bayh "clearly would have been a very strong candidate, with excitement and energy around him. That will be there if he decides to do this in 2008, 2012, '16, '20 and '24, and that's not an exaggeration."
Well, maybe not 2008, Andrew quickly added. He's expecting a Democrat incumbent president to be running for re-election that year. Bayh, he said, could be on that ticket anyway -- as a vice presidential candidate.
Bayh was on the short list of candidates Vice President Al Gore considered as his running mate last year. He has been tagged as a rising star in Democratic politics since his race for secretary of state in 1986 because of his ability to win votes from independents and Republicans. In 1998, he won with about 64 percent of the vote.
Those political assets, coupled with his early decision to forgo a presidential bid, only increase his chances of being a vice presidential candidate in 2004, Andrew said.
"This would vault him to the very top of that line," Andrew said.
There will be no tepid testing of the waters; there will be no comments about Democratic competitors that could come back to haunt him. Getting out early earns him political capital among those still in the race.
Bayh insisted no political calculations of any kind entered into his decision. Still, he left open the possibility of the vice presidency, noting that is a three-month campaign, not a three-year one.
Indiana Democratic Party Chairman Robin Winston said he isn't surprised by Bayh's decision. He notes that Bayh still will provide fellow Indiana Democrats a political boost in 2004 as a candidate for re-election to the Senate.
Indiana Republican Party Chairman Mike McDaniel said family was obviously a "major factor" in Bayh's decision.
But, he said, Bayh also might be bowing to political reality. When he asks other Republicans around the nation about Bayh, he said, the reaction is: "Huh?"
Bayh just isn't known outside Indiana and Washington, McDaniel said. And, he added, Bayh has to recognize that Bush is a popular president who will win re-election.
Ron Klain, an Indianapolis native who was a top campaign aide to Gore, scoffed at that. The Democrat who runs in 2004 will win, Klain said, adding that that man could have been Bayh.
Klain cited the timing of Bayh's decision, so early in the campaign cycle, as evidence that family, not politics, is the reason.
"If he wanted to do this, he was positioned to run a very successful campaign," Klain said. "I think he was positioned to win."
That positioning included Bayh's ascension earlier this year to the chairmanship of the Democratic Leadership Council.
That organization of Democratic centrists counts former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Joe Lieberman, Gore's running mate, among its former chairmen.
Al From, executive director of the council, said Bayh will continue to be a party leader through his roles in that group and the Senate.
"He will be a candidate for president, I'm sure, at some point in his career," From said.
Klain agreed.
"Someday Evan Bayh will run for president," Klain said, "and I think he'll win."
And another one bites the dust...
Joe Andrew is that perfectly poisonous democrat who headed the DNC under Gore. He was booted out by Clinton/McAuliffe. Now the only question is, does GORE play into this, or is this a purely Ms. Clinton operation?
It's only the year 2001. The boy governor, now the boy senator, has plenty of time to see if GW messes up his presidency. I rarely believe a politician when he/she/it sez they won't run because of their family. The rise to power and parenthood rarely walk hand in hand.
Yeah, and I probably wont try out for the Olypmic shotputting squad either....too hard on the wife and kids.
But other than that, I coulda been a contender. Probably the first 180 lb shotputting champion in history, but the wife and kids come first.
"He has been tagged as a rising star in Democratic politics since his race for secretary of state in 1986 because of his ability to win votes from independents and Republicans. In 1998, he won with about 64 percent of the vote."
A "rising star" who talks a conservative line and votes as leftist as any of them. Typical demoLIAR. His lifetime ACU rating is a whopping 14%, comparing very nicely to D'assholes lifetime rating of 13%.
I wish Indiana would pay attention to how this guy votes. We had the same problem here with a jerk named John Glenn.
Whew! I was afraid we were going to be bored to death!
Indiana law permits Bayh to run for both Vice-President and Senator in the same election.
My own gut reaction on this is that Bayh's father [ex-US Senator Birch Bayh], who has spoonfed Evan throughout every step in Evan's political career, made the decision that it was a little too early for Evan to make his run for the presidency.
"With those two simple words, Bayh ended months of speculation."
Two more simple words: FBI Files
Think you nailed it Miss Marple.
I'd look for John Edwards and John Kerry to bow out pretty soon, too, The Wicked Witch of the West Wing wants a clear field to the nomination. But I doubt she's going to be able to scare Algore off, and that will be a brutal primary campaign.
This means Edwards and Kerry solidify their status as the front-runners for 2004. Smart money is on Edwards.
Both those guys could be taken out if we could get an operative to replace their shampoo with depilatory.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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