Since this guy isn't all that well known, he might be more of a 2012 pick than a 2008. However, even that would be assuming (1) that a Republican had won in 2008 and (2) that the U.S. still exists in 2012. Condition #1 makes condition #2 unlikely.

I like im more before but he came down because on his vote on the Flag Desicreation Amendment I think he was
for it and I think he is for the PATRIOT
act too could be a good VP choice with
Either Gore or Edwards to Balance the
ticket geographicaly

I LIKE HIS STREIGHT FORWARD, NOT ALWAYS EASY TO TAKE, BUT REALISTIC APPROACH. I AM REPUBLICAN, BUT IF HE RUNS, I COULD SWAY TO THE LEFT. AT LEAST I WOULD BE VOTING FOR A STREIGHT SHOOTER AND NOT JUST THE LESSER OF THE EVILS AS IN PAST ELECTIONS!

He has a shoot of getting the mid-amer.vote.We need this to win in 2008.

We need Bayh!!

Listen... the democrats NEED to lock up the midwest. This is the neglected region of the country that has caused what I think to be the majority of the problems for the democrats in the past two presidential elections. This used to be solidy democrat country, but now the democrats have lost Iowa and Missouri and are losing Minnesota (used to be the most liberal state in the country) and Wisonsin. A Bayh/Feingold ticket would absolutely tilt the balance in this region back into solidly democratic hands, and also probably give the dems Indiana (which hasn't gone blut in a long time) and make a win in Ohio very much probable. This would also give the democratic candidates (Bayh/Feingold) the chance to spend very importnat time in other sections of the country (Southwest, Florida). BAYH / FEINGOLD 2008!!!!!!!

Don't know much about him, but if he was elected governor of Indiana he's probably too conservative for me.

As a citizen of Indiana I'd definitely lay my vote on this guy. Definitely one of the better people this state has produced. He ALMOST makes up for Dan Quayle. Almost...

If Hillary drops out or doesn't run, he is my next choice for the Democrats. He is a 2 term senator and former 2 term governor from one of the most conservative states in the U.S. He would give the Democrats a lot of Red states that they lost in 2004. And he's slightly moderate, but not so moderate that he's a conservative in disguise, like Mark Warner and other 2008 wannabes. Like Bill Clinton moderate. And to all that say he's a conservative Democrat, you're wrong. The National Taxpayers Union (an orginization based on tax-cutting policies) scored him 26% on tax-cutting policies. Hillary Clinton scored 21%. Ted Kennedy scored 17%. John Kerry scored 14%. So he is only a few percentage points behind some pretty liberal Democrats in the U.S. This proves that he will stick to the Democratic principles.

Senator Bayh would be a strong candidate for President. He has been successful as a democrat in a traditionally republican state. He comes across as someone who can unite the country.

Bayh is the Next Clinton (Bill that is)

If he can show a little toughness and a little more passion, Evan could be the one.

I think that he is a sleeper candidate if the top rank fails.

Senator Bayh could be a top-tier candidate if he plays his cards right. He has broad experience in Government, both at the state and national levels; very intelligent, pragmatic. He's a popular Democrat coming from one of the most Republican states in the nation, Indiana. The Democrats have been having problems in the South specifically because over the past few years, the party has been defined by leaders who give the impression that don't seem tied to a set of values that would define their leadership. Bayh provides such a message, thus making him very electable. Might not be considered liberal enought for some Democrats, especially among the pro-choice groups and the unions, but frankly they are becoming political dinosaurs on the scene. The Democrats would be smart not gearing their appeals to such groups, for they aren't that relevant anymore. Of all the potential candidates in the Democratic field, I see 3 potential winners; Bayh is one of them. In fact, a Bayh-Richardson ticket would be definite winner for the Democrats. The perfect balance of experience, breath and geographical balance.

UPDATE: Looks like pharm gets his wish with Dean elected chair of the DNC. The problem for thoughtful dems like ProudLiberal is that Bayh will not get past the early primaries, which is structured in such a way that moderates (like Bayh) are not told the location of the meetings and rallies. Only the hard-core liberals turn out, Hillary has an enormous lead in fund-raising and why would you take on someone whose track record has produced so many chalk outlines along her way? It's not healthy and I believe Bayh will read the tea leaves correctly and drop out a year or two before the primary season begins, pledging his full support for the newly discovered moderate of the Democrat Party, Hillary Clinton. ORIGINAL COMMENT 12/17/04: Wow. There's another country heard from. Pharm, your advice would be to move sharply leftward in order to win back the presidency and Congress? So Hillary is your girl. Or is she not left-wing enough? What about Howard Dean, didn't he give it the old college try? How about Nancy Pelosi? Didn't Kerry's (clearly left-wing) voting record hurt him in the previous election? And if you're not going to give any effort to appealing to that huge block of undecided voters, how do you make the numbers add up to a left-wing victory on a national basis? I don't think they make that much kool-aid.

Has potential to become the next President. First, before becoming Senator of Indiana he was Governor. He has the legaslative and executive expierence. Second, he comes from a very, very red state, and they have embraced him. Will have a dog-fight campaign against Hillary in the primaries though. Still a very solid candidate.

Another unimpressive rich-boy weak-offspring clone in the tradition of George W Bush and Al Gore.

easily the best candidate for the Democrats in 08. A true Clintonesque, Red Stater. Evan Bayh with Tom Vilsack as his VP would be true Democratic Dream Team.

Here are 9 reasons why Evan Bayh could easily Win the 08 election: 1) son of extremely popular 2 term DEMOCRATIC Governor of Indiana (a very red state). 2) was elected to two terms as Governor of Indiana (a very red state) by LANDSLIDES. 3)has been elected to two terms to the U.S. Senate in Indiana (a very red state) by LANDSLIDES. 4) was the ONLY candidate in 04 to recieve MORE VOTES THAN GWB within his own state (a very red state). 5) he is a moderate Democrat 6) he is chairman of the Centrist Coalition in the U.S. Senate 7) he supports the core beliefs of our party platform and DOES NOT want to overturn Roe v. Wade 8) he is very photogenic, well spoken and educated. 9) I believe he could easily win states that GWB won in 04 like Indiana, West Virginia, Nevada, Iowa, New Mexico and YES even Ohio which equals a LANDSLIDE victory for Democrats in 08. In Response to the critics: 1)for those of you who think a moderate Democrat cant win in 08 . Youre Wrong.With Gore and Kerry we had candidates who painted themselves as moderates but were exposed by their voting records. Evan Bayh's voting record is consistent with that of a TRUE moderate. 2) for those of you who think Evan Bayh cant win Indiana, you must be living on Mars. He got MORE VOTES THAN GWB within the state of Indiana in the 04 election. 3) and for those of you who think only a Gov. can win the 08 election. Do your homework. Evan Bayh was re-elected twice as Gov. of Indiana by LANDSLIDES. 4)I come from a Union family but Unions dont have the political pull that they used to have just ask Gephardt, Kerry, Gore, Betty Castor and Cruz Bustamante. Having a voting record consistent with your views is they key to victory.

Have you people even being watching politics at all in the last 6 years!?! Bayh has NO chance to win the nomination. Why he doesn't switch parties is beyond me. The Dems right now are the party of John Kerry, (Won't)MoveOn.org, Michael Moore, Nancy Pelosi, AL Franken, ANSWER, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, and the wackos from the People's Republic of San Francisco Bay! The Dems must to come back to Earth before someone like Bayh will ever be nominated. ---- Besides senetors don't win the White House, governors do!

The 2008 presidential election will be a wide open field and Bayh will have a better chance of winning the nomination and the election. If he does win, he would be wise to bring a liberal or a left-leaning moderate as his running mate. It worked for Bill Clinton.

The last thing the democrats need to do is to have a moderate message. It hasn't helped them the last 2 presidential elections, why would it help them now? The democrats need to stop shifting to the right and becomming republican-lite candidates. They need to stop appealing to fickle undecided swing voters in the midedle and start reaching out to a liberal base boosting voter turnout just as the republicans did with their base. Nominating a centrist candidate is a sure way to fail in 2008. Every time the democrats shift towards the right, they are sending a message that the liberal ideals of the party are something to be ashamed of and they end up pushing the republicans further to the right. If people have conservative tendencies, they are going to vote for the real thing and not a watered-down version of it. The dems should be pushing moral values like poverty, fairness, honesty, openess, human rights, and social justice. They should not be appealing to people in red states who equate morality with how literal one takes the bible, how often you go to church, and how afraid you are of gay people. Those people won't vote for a democrat anyway.

Whipsmart, witty, handsome, experienced and a moderate...exactly what the Democrats need.

Free trader will hurt him with unions. But his homespun Hoosier style will play in Iowa and New Hampshire. A red sttae Democrat who got more votes than Bush in Indiana. AMAZING! Best chance to win gen election. Could get knocked from perch by a Feingold win in Iowa.

A definite candidate and he may be able to pass himself off as a moderate. Like Clinton, I believe he has been preparing himself for his moment for years.

As a liberal Democrat, Bayh is not my favorite senator, but I want to win. And that is what Bayh can do. He may not be able to carry Indiana, but he could easily flip Ohio, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, etc. He wouldn't have to even win a single southern state, but he very well could. Bayh is clearly the man for the job, I just hope he decides to run.

Evan Bayh would be the perfect choice for the Democratic nominee. And, I beg to differ bsd987 - if any Dem could carry Indiana it would be this man. He was our governor for many years and returns to the senate with every election. He has a lot going for him; he's young, moderate and very well respected. I would be very inclined to vote for him if he's nominated.

Would never happen. A democrat carry Indiana? In my lifetime? I don't think so. Virginia, Indiana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, and Nebraska have all gone republican every election since 1964 (could be more; I don't know). Talk about a drought. But at least Wyoming has an excuse. Cheney delived Wyoming for the GOP ticket the last 2 elections. And Utah is more conservative than a Dan Reeves playoff drive.

Of all the Democratic candidates, Bayh is one of the two that are the most appealing. More moderate than Kerry and certaintly more intelligent, Bayh is a more moderate democrat who certain outranks Hilary Sick and Tired Clinton.

Southerner. Democrats have for too long left the South primarily to the Republican party. Evan Bayh would help to stabilize the party and help to bring the party back to it's traditional base, poor/middle class, labor, and minorities. Bayh, like Obama, would make a worthy candidate and one I, a Republican, wouldn't be upset if was elected president.