Barack Obama is campaigning in Elkhart, Indiana having senator Evan Bayh on his side. Analists say the VP focus is turning to Evan Bayh now as he quickly rose in Vice Presidential contenders' list of Barack Obama. Senator Bayh can be a very serious candidate for Obama's VP as he has similar views on one of the most important issues the U.S. society is facing: The Energy.
I heard Barack Obama saying yesterday that he wants to encourage advance batteries for cars to give taxpayers credits to get batter powered electric cars (plug-and-go) to get the pressure off of the gasoline prices. In a similar move Senator Bayh also holds the same views which you can read in a statement where Evan Bayh says "Advanced battery systems have enormous potential to reduce our oil dependence."
Will Evan Bayh (pronounced bye) be Obama’s Vice President?
Reported by Let Us Talk
There are rumors and rumors of rumors saying that he will be announced Wednesday afternoon in Indiana. Bayh’s a pretty good choice not only because he’s immensely popular in Indiana - the former Governor broke electoral records - but also because he’s liberal on social issues like abortion and gay rights, but has a keen handle on the economy. During his 8-year tenure as Indiana’s Governor, Bayh never once raised taxes and helped create over 300,000 jobs. A man like that could help woo worried Middle Americans.
Evan Bayh was born in Shirkieville, Indiana to Marvella Belle Hern and Birch Bayh, who was a Senator from 1963 to 1981 and ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1976, but lost to Georgia Governor and eventual President Jimmy Carter.
Bayh attended high school at St. Albans School in Washington, DC, and went on to graduate with honors in business economics and public policy from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 1978, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi. He received his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the University of Virginia in 1981. Bayh clerked for a federal court judge and entered a private law practice in Indianapolis. He has an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Golden Gate University School of Law in California.
He and his wife Susan have twin sons, Birch Evans “Beau” Bayh IV and Nicholas Harrison Bayh, born in 1995. His wife is a law professor and serves on several corporate boards.
Bayh was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998 to the seat that was once held by his father. He won with 64% of the vote, the largest victory margin ever by a Democrat in a U.S. Senate race in Indiana, defeating former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke. He easily won reelection in 2004 defeating Prof. Marvin Scott, receiving 62% of the vote.
He currently serves on five Senate committees: Banking Housing and Urban Affairs, on which he is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance; Armed Services; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Special Committee on Aging; and the Small Business Committee.
Bayh released an autobiography in 2003 entitled From Father to Son: A Private Life in the Public Eye. He describes growing up as the son of Senator Birch Bayh and emphasizes the importance of active, responsible fatherhood.
Bayh has voted against confirming United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito.
Bayh was an early supporter of the Bush administration’s policies on Iraq. On October 2, 2002, Bayh joined President George W. Bush and Congressional leaders in a Rose Garden ceremony announcing their agreement on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and was thanked by Bush and Senator John McCain for co-sponsoring the resolution.
Senator Bayh began asking for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation in 2004 for his mistakes in the Iraq war. Bayh made it clear that he had lost confidence in Rumsfeld.
He voted yes on reauthorizing the Patriot Act in 2006.
He was selected by Bill Clinton to give the keynote address at the 1996 Democratic National Convention to reinforce his efforts to cast himself and the Democratic Party with a new moderate image. He notably attended the Bilderberg Group conference in Portugal in 1999, and in May 2000, President Bill Clinton stated, “I hope and expect someday I’ll be voting for Evan Bayh for President of the United States.”
He was indeed considered for national office as a possible running mate for Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election and in 2004, when some experts and pundits initially predicted Bayh to be a possible running mate for Democratic nominee John Kerry.
His native Indiana was a key state in the important Midwest since Indiana was a Republican stronghold in presidential races, and it would almost certainly not be a swing state unless Bayh were nominated.
On December 1, 2006, news sources revealed that Senator Bayh was creating a Presidential exploratory committee. Bayh confirmed these reports on December 3. On December 15, 2006, Bayh announced that he would not run for president in 2008, surprising many. Up until then, he had been considered a leading candidate because of his moderate views and experienced background. The possible reason is that despite raising $10 million for the campaign, future fundraising appeared to favor other prospective candidates, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
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