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VP watch: Buy Bayh

James Forsyth

Thursday, 21st August 2008

Time Magazine: One of the biggest moments in the campaign is going to be your announcement of a Vice President. What is that decision going to tell voters about you?
Barack Obama: Hopefully, the same thing that my campaign has told the American people about me. That I think through big decisions, I get a lot of input from a lot of people and that, ultimately, I try to surround myself with people who are about getting the job done and who are not about ego, self-aggrandizement, getting their names in the press, but are focused on what's best for the American people.
I think people will see that I'm not afraid to have folks around me who complement my strengths and who are independent. I'm not a believer in a government of yes-men. I think one of the failures of the early Bush Administration was being surrounded by people who were unwilling to deliver bad news, or who were prone to simply feed the President information that confirmed his own preconceptions.

As Karen Tumulty, one of the reporters who interviewed Obama, points out, the person who best fits this answer is Evan Bayh, the Indiana Governor turned Senator. Bayh was a Clinton supporter during the primaries so picking him would show a desire to reach out. Bayh is also unpopular with the left of the Democratic party who dislike his vote for the Iraq war and generally hawkish foreign policy views, picking a fight with the left at the moment would be good politics for Obama.

In other VP news, a new poll shows that with Governor Tim Pawlenty on the ticket, Minnesota flips from Obama to McCain. That’s got to tempt the McCain campaign who would find it a heck of a lot easier to get to the magic 270 with Minnesota’s 10 electoral votes.

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Verity

August 21st, 2008 9:21pm

You should have titled it Bayh Watch

Augustus

August 21st, 2008 9:57pm

I never understand this perception that VP running mates make all that difference to the way the electorate thinks. Obama's appeal has been generally to younger voters, for whom he has become a kind of Utopian demi-god. But young voters are unpredictable in their ability to show up on election day, so a VP candidate to woo the older generation, as well as the former Clinton fans, might make more voters decide for the Democrats and for 'change' than would otherwise be the case.

However, in the present world climate, the choice between either 'change for change's sake', or 'country first no messing' shouldn't be that difficult to make.

LS

August 22nd, 2008 12:51am

Verity - "Bayh" is pronounced "buy", noy "bay".

Austin Barry

August 22nd, 2008 7:34am

"..I try to surround myself with people who..are not about ego, self-aggrandizement, getting their names in the paper.." presumably because that's his turf, and to suggest again that some Americans just don't get irony.

dennis

August 22nd, 2008 10:45am

James, don't you think Bayh, as a sitting senator is a bit 'politics-as-usual' for Obama. He likes to give the impression he's out to change Washington, not become absorbed by it.

Biden has the same problem (plus a few more!).

Kaine or Sibelius would seem fresher and more consistent with Obama's campaign messages.