Friday, December 01, 2006

Evan Bayh to take bite into 2008 presidential race

Two years ago I heard quite a few radio commercials for Marvin Scott, the Republican candidate running against Indiana Democratic incumbent Evan Bayh. Scott's campaign purchased the spots I heard on expensive Chicago radio stations.

The theme of Scott's commercials was that Bayh acted as a moderate while in Indiana, but performed as a liberal in Washington. It didn't do much good for Scott, as he got steamrolled by Bayh in the general election, even though President Bush won Indiana by a comfortable margin.

A couple of months after Bayh's big win, he resigned his chairmanship of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council, in a move believed to placate the left of the Democratic Party.

Earlier today is was disclosed that Bayh plans to form an exploratory committee for a possible 2008 presidential bid.

That could be a risky move for Bayh. His bid to win the Democratic nomination, like Iowa's Tom Vilsack's, is a longshot to succeed. And if he runs to the left to gain support in his quest, he risks alienating his largely conservative constituency in Indiana.

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