WILL EVAN BAYH BE TO HILLARY WHAT LIEBERMAN WAS TO GORE?

I was at a state banquet at the White House, September 16, 1998 in honor of Václav Havel when I was corned by my then least favorite character in Clinton Washington, Tipper Gore. I'm actually embarrassed about what I snarled at her when she asked me if I'd be supporting Al for president. Of course I eventually decided I would. And then he made his worst choice since marrying the censorious Tipper-- he picked the censorious Lieberman as a running mate. Could Hillary find someone as unappealing to grassroots Democrats? Not likely. But...

Last week Wes Clark endorsed Hillary and there was a flurry of VP talk. I suspect he'll be Secretary of State in the Hillary cabinet. And I'm still betting on ex-Iowa Governor Vilsack for VP. But today's endorsement by Indiana Senator Evan Bayh causes progressives to shudder that Hillary may be contemplating bringing that reactionary onto her ticket. Progressives may be shuddering; DLC reactionaries and conservative Democrats are salivating.

One of the local Indiana paper touts him by referring to him, proudly, as "cautious" and listing his most distinguishing attributes:

He is polite and charming. He's been an articulate spokesman for fatherhood, even writing a book on the subject. As Indiana's governor, he promoted the fatherhood movement and offered other culturally conservative initiatives. He didn't serve liquor at the governor's mansion and reinstated Gideons Bibles in state park inns after an overzealous official thought they violated the First Amendment... [He] is most zealous about being a moderate.

Forget for a moment that it would hand a Democratic Senate seat to the Republicans. Instead, just look at Bayh's voting record and it's weakest link, his record on Iraq, which shows that he has often sided with Bush and Cheney against Democrats. Overall, there are only 9 Democrats who vote more frequently with Republicans than Bayh.