If there is an secondary motive in Bayh's maneuver and subsequent PR campaign (The View? Really?), I would argue that it is to set up a run for Governor in 2012, not President.
To challenge Barack Obama in the 2012 Democratic primary, even a weakened Barack Obama, would be political suicide for Bayh. Conspiracy theorists might look for a "Johnson statement" from Obama ("I shall not seek, nor will I accept, my Party's nomination for another term as your President"), which would blow 2012 wide open, but I doubt it.
At first blush another run for Governor would seem like a step down, but look at it this way. Bayh left the Governor's office with almost an 80% approval rating and a budget surplus. In the minds of many Indiana Democrats ( and certainly after Mitch Daniels), there is a tremendous amount of goodwill and nostalgia for Evan Bayh as Governor. While trying to recreate those good times would be a huge gamble politically, but if he could do so, it would set him up for what will certainly be a wide open field in 2016. Bayh will be 60 years old, and with his almost fanatic jogging regimen, he should be in excellent physical shape.
Bayh would certainly be in a better position to distinguish himself as Governor versus as a member of the Senate, counterintuitive as that may seem. Also, what more intriguing angle could there be than someone who left the Senate, regains his old Gubernatorial seat, (theoretically) rejuventates Indiana, and decides to "follow Barack Obama and continue the work of bringing America together"?
Updated (almost) daily!
dustinblythe.blogspot.com
Buy St. Joe Dems merchandise:
www.zazzle.com/dustinblythe
10% of all sales benefit the St. Joseph County Democratic Party.
No comments:
Post a Comment