2/16/10
And old (and new) friend, a fellow alum of the legendary and storied St. Ignatius, asked me my opinion of Evan Bayh and his sudden decision not to run for reelection. I got a little carried away in my reply, so I thought I’d post it as a blog entry:
Evan Bayh is the son of the legendary Birch Bayh, an old fashioned, deal making moderate to conservative Dem senator (though probably more liberal than his son has been) from Indiana, but Evan has surpassed his father in political accomplishments, having been governor and senator for (I think) three terms. He’s been a good senator, a fiscal conservative, at least relative to members of his caucus and many members of the other caucus, and, for those who consider this a big issue (I consider it a big MORAL issue but not so big a POLITICAL issue, but that is another discussion.), quite pro-life for a Democrat. The Senate will miss him.
A long time ago I met Evan Bayh at a lunch at the Union League Club. He and I had a chance to talk one on one for quite a while. I was amazed not only at his level-headedness but also at his soft-spokenness, both quite unusual for a politician.
That having been said, I wonder why he dropped out so late. While it is admirable, in my estimation, to not make a career out of political office, the timing was erratic. Why so late? He may have destroyed his chances of getting on a national ticket if his ill-timed exit and the consequent scrambling for a candidate results in the GOP picking up the seat, as looks like the case. So if running full time for president was his aim, he has hurt himself, probably quite profoundly. However, it is awful tough to unseat an incumbent of your own party in the primaries (Ask Danny Hynes.), so I doubt if that was his goal. Perhaps he is being sincere. He’s a politician, though, so that would appear to be a last resort alternative when speculating on his motivations.
Of course, Bayh’s exit bodes well for those who think like me. No, not Republicans (I am NOT a Republican, though I usually take a GOP ballot.), but fans of divided government. If the government is paralyzed, the citizenry stands a chance. Note that the last time we experienced a balanced budget, or at least the last time we went from deficit to surplus (The surplus may have endured into Bush’s early years; I just don’t remember and don’t have time to look it up right now.), it was during a period of divided government. Divided government is good; probably not good enough to get me to vote for the odious Mark Kirk, but good nonetheless, and that is another issue.
I don’t make political predictions, but even if I were to be so silly as to engage in such prognostication, I would not be opining on the chances for a second Obama term this early. He’s certainly having a rough time of it of late, and I never believed he was as smart and politically attuned as advertised. He looks like a kid in WAY over his head right now (Such a trait is becoming rather characteristic of U.S. presidents of late.), but there is a lot of time between now and 2012, and you can’t beat somebody with nobody.
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2 comments:
Mark --
I was wondering when the Bayh post would be up!
I suppose that we all see what we want to see, but I read his decision and its timing as a very public slap at his Democrat colleagues more than anything else. In his public remarks, Bayh attributed his decision to the Capitol's extreme partisanship, and pointed to two specific pieces of legislation: the budget commission vote and Reid's decision to pull the second stimulus, er, jobs bill. Both died at Democrat hands. Had the Democratic leadership chosen to press its caucus to pass the budget commission there were plenty of Republican votes to do so. As for the bipartisan jobs bill, even Time magazine acknowledges that Reid himself killed a bipartisan effort that would have passed. His resignation followed reasonably closely on the heels of Reid's partisan handiwork, and niftily kept the dems from fielding candidates for an Indiana primary. I can't help but see this as a public censure of Reid & Co.
As for his future, maybe he is one of those (rare) politicians who seek office to get something done for people -- as opposed to, say, a John Edwards or Billy Clinton, who sought power for its own sake. I don't know Indiana politics, but maybe he thinks he can have more of an impact on people's lives as governor than as a US senator. Or maybe he flips and runs for national office as a republican?
Speaking of republicans, I'm glad to hear that a vote for Kirk is not out of the question. To paraphrase Jim Carey's Dumb and Dummer character, at least there's a chance!
Joe
Thanks, Joe, for reading and commenting. Bayh’s resignation may have been a slap at his party, but, unless he's going to flip parties, such a move would seem to be cutting of his proverbial nose to spite his face. Maybe he is one of those rare politicians who seeks and holds office out of a sense of public service. While I have a very hard time being that sanguine about any politician, Bayh is one of the few whom I might consider in such a light.
Don’t get too excited about the possibility of a Kirk vote; it is only a VERY remote possibility!
Thanks again, Joe.
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