Tea Party Candidate Loses in Indiana

Tea party = hype.

Former Sen. Dan Coats, the Washington establishment's favored Republican, won the GOP nomination in Indiana's Senate race on Tuesday, beating back a challenge from one candidate supported by the tea party coalition and another who is an ex-congressman.

Voters in North Carolina and Ohio also made their choices in House and Senate primaries.

In Indiana this fall, Coats — who was recruited by the National Republican Senatorial Committee — will face Democrat Brad Ellsworth, whose nomination is assured. The candidates are seeking the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh.
....
Coats overcame spirited challenges from four, including state Sen. Marlin Stutzman, a tea party favorite who was endorsed by South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, and former Rep. John Hostettler, who had the support of onetime presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas.
AP

Bayh and Graham on Plight of Washington

Bayh Calls For Reformation of Congress

Evan Bayh, who recently announced he's had enough, has an op-ed in the NYT today:

Challenges of historic import threaten America’s future. Action on the deficit, economy, energy, health care and much more is imperative, yet our legislative institutions fail to act. Congress must be reformed.

There are many causes for the dysfunction: strident partisanship, unyielding ideology, a corrosive system of campaign financing, gerrymandering of House districts, endless filibusters, holds on executive appointees in the Senate, dwindling social interaction between senators of opposing parties and a caucus system that promotes party unity at the expense of bipartisan consensus.

Many good people serve in Congress. They are patriotic, hard-working and devoted to the public good as they see it, but the institutional and cultural impediments to change frustrate the intentions of these well-meaning people as rarely before. It was not always thus. Read it all

Bayh Nails the Problem

He's right. Congress doesn't work for anyone anymore because it's made up of ideologues on the left and the right. No one wants to compromise. To an ideologue, "compromise" is a very bad word.
Why should he stick around and accomplish nothing in Congress, when he could accomplish more outside of Congress? Instead of Bayh bashing democrats should listen up.
Watch Sen. Evan Bayh speak this morning on his decision to retire at the end of his term here.
Here is Bayh, who rules out a presidential run, on Morning Joe:

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Bayh Retiring From Senate Because of Partisanship

I'm hoping that Obama follows in Evan Bayh's footsteps in this regard and doesn't seek a second term. Politics isn't a means of making meaningful change anymore. Politics is for the icky, power hungry republican types. Let them take over and shrink government. Let Sarah Palin give it whack. Bayh is also getting swift kicks from the left. Let the left and the right knock their fool heads together until it finally hurts.

So why the exit? Bayh says it's the excessive partisanship that makes it hard to do almost anything in Washington.

“After all these years, my passion for service to my fellow citizens is undiminished, but my desire to do so in Congress has waned,” he says. “But running for the sake of winning an election, just to remain in public office, is not good enough. ... I simply believe I can best contribute to society in another way: creating jobs by helping grow a business, helping guide an institution of higher learning or helping run a worthy charitable endeavor.” LAT

Obama's statement:

"For more than two decades, Evan Bayh has devoted his career and his life to serving his fellow Hoosiers. During that time, he has fought tirelessly for Indiana's working families, reaching across the aisle on issues ranging from job creation and economic growth to fiscal responsibility and national security. I look forward to continuing to work with him on these critical challenges throughout the rest of the year. Michelle and I thank Senator Bayh for his leadership and service and wish him and his family all the best in their future endeavors."

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Bayh's Advice for Obama

Mike Pence, by the way, has decided not to challenge Evan Bayh, probably because Bayh is popular in Indiana. While liberals are telling Obama he needs to move more to the left, moderates such as Bayh are advising Obama to move center. Still the same old battle, and the same one that blocked healthcare. I'm with Bayh. The majority of the country and the independents, really want people working together. Obama can't run the nation from one corner. I think Scott Brown's election made that clear.

"The only way Democrats can govern in this country is by making common cause with moderates and independents," he said. "It may be too late to regain them on health care. It's not too late to regain them on spending." To a president being pulled by some toward the left, and by others toward easy populism, Evan Bayh makes the case for driving a stake firmly in the political center instead. WSJ

Bayh says Obama needs to get tougher on Congress:

President Barack Obama, Mr. Bayh said in an interview, needs to "step it up" in his State of the Union address Wednesday and get tougher with Congress. Here's his message to the White House: "My strong advice is for you to draw a line in the sand on spending in the State of the Union, and to have the president pledge to veto spending bills that exceed the limits he puts out." The White House may be tacking in that direction; officials say it's preparing a plan to freeze some domestic spending.

Mike Pence Says Republicans Have Been Little Angels

It's interesting to watch everyone hitch their wagons to Scott Brown. Yesterday, Dick Armey said he hitched FreedomWorks' (part of the tea party) wagon to Brown when he started to see him take off:

He was so energetic, enthusiastic in the race that the grassroots activists just came to respect him and they regarded him. And they sort of govern by a notion we call Armey's axiom: Hard work beats Daddy's money.

He wasn't going to Washington to bring in money. He was getting on the Internet. He was talking to people from Massachusetts. He was funding from local initiatives and he was matching every dollar's worth of money he got with his own effort on the ground. And folks said, you know, look, if he's willing to work that hard, we ought to work for him. So they really pitched in.

Representative Mike Pence has a lot of gall to say that republicans have been bipartisan. Not in the least. Just look at his eyes when he answers. That's what people are sick of, lying politicians. I'm so sick of politics right now. I think the trouble we're having as a nation is shifting from politics to governing. Everyone wants to play politics but no one wants to do the work. Politics gets in the way of governing.

As far as offering "substantive" alternative proposals. Ha! I think it's a well known fact that republicans haven't offered any solutions, which is why Scott Brown bubbled up. The media says that Brown's election bodes well for the republicans. Hardly. It's another repudiation of republicans. Pence is one of the biggest liars they've got and now he may run against Evan Bayh:

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Scott Brown Win Proves Something's Afoot in America

Well, I'm surprised out of my socks and in my disappointment, I'm reaching out for ice cream and cookies.
I thought for sure Martha Coakley would pull it out. I'm beginning to think that politics is way of keeping government from doing anything. I think Americans are government-shy. Americans don't believe that government can be efficiently run. They don't believe it's good for much besides national security. There is no appreciation of government.
I don't think Brown's election says much about the tea party. I don't think tea partiers elected Brown. They just hopped on the bandwagon to oppose Obama. They'll throw their parade and wear their tea bagger hats and wave their misspelled signs.

But they'll be disappointed with Brown, who's a moderate republican. He's for abortion rights and he's not nearly as wacked out as say, Michele Bachmann. Tea partiers will be disturbed the first time that Obama and Brown have a conversation or if Obama checks out Brown's truck.

After watching Brown's victory speech, I get it. I understand his appeal. I still haven't figured out the truck thing.

I think people did vote against healthcare because they were afraid, and they voted against higher taxes. But there is something more. They voted against power.
I'm not sure what the election says about Obama. The media acts like we just elected a new president. But life goes on. Obama is still president. Not sure what it says about how much he'll be able to get done. Not a lot will change since democrats didn't take advantage of their so-called super majority while they had it.

It doesn't look like the democrats are going to get it together any time soon either. Representative Anthony Weiner was on TV tonight blaming Obama. Sen. Evan Bayh is blaming liberals for hijacking the party. Nancy Pelosi says they're going to pass a healthcare bill fast and Henry Waxman says not so fast. There isn't any agreement.

Obama's got his work cut out for him. I wouldn't be the President of the U.S. if you paid me $1 billion. There are so many negative forces. It's near impossible to govern. As if Obama already didn't have enough to be concerned with. Obama will be on with George S. tomorrow, so I'm sure we'll get some encouraging words and a bigger picture view.

Obama has already called Brown and they joked around about playing basketball.

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Obama Meets With Bayh and Graham Dec. 2

Today, Obama lunched with political writers and tomorrow, Obama has a series of meetings. He'll meet with Robert Gates and senior advisors. He'll meet with Nobel Laureates and he also has Sens. Evan Bayh and Lindsey Graham slated for meetings. Healthcare? Afghanistan? Obama will also lunch with Joe, who's meeting with Dick Lugar, Gary Locke and Tom Vilsack. On today's lunch:

On the day of his major Afghanistan speech, President Obama had lunch with a group of top political writers at the White House, according to a source familiar with the lunch.

There were some attendees today who write extensively on foreign policy, such as Joe Klein (Time), Fareed Zakaria (Newsweek/ CNN), and Tom Friedman (NY Times).

But it wasn't the only time that the White House reached out to leading opinion-makers before Obama outlined the administration's strategy at West Point. As I reported earlier, senior administration officials held a background briefing with nearly a dozen top writers and pundits, including Ron Brownstein, Eugene Robinson, Al Hunt and Judy Woodruff. Politico

Office of Budget and Management director Peter Orszag will speak at 8:30 am tomorrow (Dec. 2) on healthcare at the National Press Club.

Bayh Pitches Deficit Busting Proposal to Obama

Sen. Evan Bayh met with Obama yesterday. Bayh says Obama is serious about reducing the deficit.

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Bayh Reintroducing Responsible Fatherhood Bill

Update June 19: Obama will speak on fatherhood at 3:15 p.m. eastern.
I enjoy the discussions on Morning Joe because they can be critical of the Obama administration without getting loud and stupid.
Evan Bayh talks about the deficits, the latest polling and his responsible fatherhood bill. This is a bill he's reintroducing.
The bill is designed to get fathers to help raise their kids. The majority of fathers do the right thing, he says, but a new crop of young men think it's cool to have a kid. Bayh says Obama is a supporter of the bill, which is aimed at low income families.
Obama is expected to talk about the importance of fathers for father's day.
Let me talk about fathers for a moment. I don't think it's fathers, per se, that are the problem. I think it's men in general who, since the women's liberation movement in the 1970s, have gradually lost their groove. Since they no longer play the superior role to women, they're still trying to figure out what their role is.
Also, if a 19 year old kid has a kid and no job, what are the chances of that kid being a great father? The 19 year old mother, on the other hand, has no other choice but to pick up the slack.

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John McCain's Right on the Omnibus

McCain's amendment to strip the omnibus bill (it funds the federal government for the remainder of the year) of pork failed. Even Claire McCaskill agreed yesterday in a tweet that it's too porky. She and Bayh were the only two senate democrats to vote against it.

Will Obama veto it? It seems he doesn't want to get bogged down in last year's business.

The earmark issue has been a thorny one for Obama, who successfully urged lawmakers to pass an economic stimulus bill without them. He deferred to lawmakers on the legislation now moving through Congress, but his aides have worked to make it appear that he is merely acquiescing in what lawmakers and the White House had been prepared to do at the end of the Bush administration.
McCain ridiculed that argument in an animated speech on the Senate floor on Monday, asking, "does that mean that last year's president will sign this pork-barrel bill?"
At the White House, Gibbs was deflecting questions on the same subject.
Asked why Obama would sign the bill when he was overturning numerous policies put in place by former President George W. Bush, he said, "I think that you'll see that the president is going to draw some very clear lines about what's going to happen going forward." AP

But I wish Obama would. Here's Evan Bayh op-ed in the WSJ today:

This week, the United States Senate will vote on a spending package to fund the federal government for the remainder of this fiscal year. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 is a sprawling, $410 billion compilation of nine spending measures that lacks the slightest hint of austerity from the federal government or the recipients of its largess.

The Senate should reject this bill. If we do not, President Barack Obama should veto it.

The omnibus increases discretionary spending by 8% over last fiscal year's levels, dwarfing the rate of inflation across a broad swath of issues including agriculture, financial services, foreign relations, energy and water programs, and legislative branch operations. Such increases might be appropriate for a nation flush with cash or unconcerned with fiscal prudence, but America is neither.

Drafted last year, the bill did not pass due to Congress's long-standing budgetary dysfunction and the frustrating delays it yields in our appropriations work. Since then, economic and fiscal circumstances have changed dramatically, which is why the Senate should go back to the drawing board. The economic downturn requires new policies, not more of the same. Read more

Obama's Panetta Pick Controversial

In addition to being a big surprise, many seem to think Panetta is not up on his spycraft, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, who will chair the Senate Intelligence Committee. Huh? is their reaction. Others like the shift from waterboarding to intelligence. A former CIA officer, Robert Baer, says at least Obama knows the CIA's problems. 

Leon Panetta may not have an intelligence background, but his appointment as CIA director shows that Barack Obama understands the CIA's problems.

Maybe the long-troubled CIA, which seems to lack leadership, will actually get an intelligence boost.

Houston Chronicle: WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama's decision to fill the nation's top intelligence jobs with two men short on direct experience in intelligence gathering surprised the spy community and signaled the Democrat's intention for a clean break from Bush administration policies.
Former Clinton White House chief of staff Leon Panetta, an eight-term congressional veteran and administrative expert, is being tapped to head the CIA. Retired Adm. Dennis Blair is Obama's choice to be director of national intelligence, a selection expected for weeks, according to two Democrats who spoke on condition of anonymity because Obama has not officially announced the choices.
Obama is sending an unequivocal message that controversial administration policies approving harsh interrogations, waterboarding and extraordinary renditions — the secret transfer of prisoners to other governments with a history of torture — and warrantless wiretapping are over, said several officials.
Earlier pick withdrew
The search for Obama's new CIA chief had been stalled since November, when John Brennan, Obama's transition intelligence adviser, abruptly withdrew his name from consideration.
And despite an internal list of former and current CIA officials who had impressive administrative credentials, all either worked in intelligence during the Bush administration's development of controversial policies on interrogation and torture or earlier, during the months leading up to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Neither Panetta nor Blair are tainted by associations with Bush administration policies, in large part because they both come from outside the intelligence world. Blair was posted at the CIA for about a year.

Another senator balks:

A later e-mail: 'Senator Kit Bond, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, ... made the following comments on President-elect Obama's nomination of Leon Panetta as the next Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: 'Job number one at the CIA is to track down and stop terrorists. In a post-9-11 world, intelligence experience would seem to be a prerequisite for the job of CIA Director.'

Some background (2005) from the Foreign Policy Research Institute on what's wrong with the CIA. Here's part 2.
In 2006: 

CIA chief Porter Goss abruptly and unexpectedly resigned his post yesterday, apparently pushed out by intelligence czar John Negroponte after less than two years leading an agency dogged by morale problems.

Senior administration officials told reporters following videotaped statements by Goss and George W. Bush that Negroponte, who was given the nation's top intelligence post by the U.S. president, had recently raised the prospect of the departure of the former Florida congressman.

Here is what Bush said of Goss when he appointed him in 2004:

"He knows the CIA inside and out," Bush said of Goss, who was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and served as a clandestine CIA officer in the 1960s in Central America and Western Europe. "He's the right man to lead this important agency at this critical moment in our nation's history."

Which proves that knowing the CIA inside and out doesn't necessarily make a good CIA head.
Politico says Obama will be pushing Panetta's plusses:

THE CASE TEAM OBAMA WILL BE MAKING FOR PANETTA:

*Good manager -- recognized across the board for his management ability

*Foreign policy experience -- handled foreign policy as White House chief of staff, Bosnia war, etc...

*Intelligence -- as head of OMB, handled intelligence budget and other sensitive matters

*Bipartisanship -- good bipartisan support in Congress

--And a former colleague says don't forget: Calm and collected. 

David Axelrod says Panetta will do just fine:

"I think he's going to be fine," senior adviser David Axelrod said. Of concerns that Panetta might not have enough experience with the CIA's culture, Axelrod said Panetta "will do well. He's tough and smart."
Evan Bayh is with Feinstein. They like Steve Kappes, deputy chief of CIA.

Obama's Vice President Evan Bayh?

I had a dream about Obama's vice presidential pick. Now you know where my head is -- crazy. Despite Obama choosing "Irving" in my dream, a surprise vice presidential pick, I have no insights. Sorry. Apparently, Time magazine has concluded that his choice will be Sen. Evan Bayh or someone not on the circulated shortlist. From Politico: 

The cover of Time is 'Special Issue: The Democrats,' with a DEBUT COLUMN BY MIKE MURPHY and a very tight cover shot of Senator Obama. Time's Karen Tumulty concluded, based on comments he made in an interview for the cover package, that his veep pick is 'either Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana (low profile, both executive and foreign policy experience, but a supporter of the Iraq War), or a surprise whose name has not been circulating on the pundits' short lists.'

Obama told Karen and David Von Drehle, when asked what the pick would tell the country about himself: '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 our focus 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.'

Here's Time's in-depth look on his veep thinking and other stuff.

There has also been some criticism that you've helped fuel that idea that the election is about you — for example, with the huge rallies.
You know, Karen, I give full credit to the Karl Rove acolytes who are working for John McCain and one of their general strategies is to try to turn strengths into weaknesses. The enthusiasm and involvement at the grass roots that we've seen in my campaign, I consider a strength. That's one of the reasons we are able to compete in 18 states, but those crowds and those rallies, those people have not come out because of my speechmaking.

They've come out because they understand what's at stake in this election. And that's not going to change, and we have small town halls or we have round tables like we had this morning, whatever the venue, the message is going to be the same, that somebody needs to be fighting for America's families in Washington. We've got to stop having the agenda set by special interests and lobbyists and I'm the person who's best equipped to bring that change about.

More VP buzz buzz
Bayh goes head to head with Gov. of Minnesota and possible McCain veep Tim Pawlenty.
Bayh's bag incident
Bayh's risk and rewards:

Bayh’s support of authorizing force in Iraq stands in sharp contrast to Obama’s oft-stated view that he showed the good judgment to oppose the conflict from the start. After his vote, Bayh in early 2003 joined McCain as an honorary co-chairman of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq, which made regime change in Iraq its central cause.

“He was not only wrong, he was aggressively wrong,” said Tom Andrews, national director of the Win Without War coalition, referring to Bayh. “In my view, he would contradict if not undermine the Obama message of change, turning a new page on foreign policy and national security.”

Bayh was unavailable for an interview, but his spokesman, Eric Kleiman, contrasted his evolution on the war with the position of McCain, saying that McCain has said he would cast the same vote again. “Sen. Bayh has shown the judgment that we need to admit that mistakes were made and we need to learn from them,” Kleiman said.

Obama Has Chosen Vice President Pool of 3

Tim Kaine was my choice but I think Obama now needs a national security powerhouse. Too many people perceive Obama to be weaker than McCain on national security. It's too bad really. The announcement is expected to be made via text message early in the morning to get the most news.

NYT: WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama has all but settled on his choice for a running mate and set an elaborate rollout plan for his decision, beginning with an early morning alert to supporters, perhaps as soon as Wednesday morning, aides said.

Mr. Obama’s deliberations remain remarkably closely held. Aides said perhaps a half-dozen advisers were involved in the final discussions in an effort to enforce a command that Mr. Obama issued to staff members: that his decision not leak out until supporters are notified.

Mr. Obama had not notified his choice — or any of those not selected — of his decision as of late Monday, advisers said. Going into the final days, Mr. Obama was said to be focused mainly on three candidates: Senator Evan Bayh of Indiana, Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware.

Bayh and Biden Both To Speak on VP Night

Guessing who's going to be Obama's vice president is getting tougher but it sure is fun. With Senators Evan Bayh and Joe Biden speaking on the night of the vice president to be, one or the other or neither could be vice president! 

If we use a little deductive reasoning, the few people not scheduled to speak so far could also be Obama's veep: Sam Nunn, Jack Reed and Tim Kaine. 

CNN: The two senators widely believed to be at the top of Barack Obama's shortlist for VP have been given prime-time speaking slots at the Democratic convention Wednesday night — the very same night the vice presidential candidate is slated to speak.

According to the Democratic National Convention Committee, both Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden will deliver speeches on national security during the marquee night — the same evening former President Bill Clinton is also scheduled to speak.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar will also speak Wednesday evening, according to the convention committee.

Obama Town Hall Elkart Indiana August 6

Update: what Bayh had to say on the vice president slot. 

Video of event below and new one here.
Being live streamed at barackobama.com.
Obama is holding a town hall near Senator Evan Bayh's home, so speculation is swirling that he will also meet with Bayh. The Indiana Senator Evan Bayh supported Hillary Clinton in the primaries. The event is likely to be livestreamed at cnn.com.

Obama is scheduled to host a town hall meeting at Concord High School in Elkhart, Ind. The event will be held in the McCuen Gym. Doors open at 7:15 a.m.

MSNBC: On the Veepwatch front, nothing's on Obama's schedule yet, but the traveling press registration e-mail has us flying to South Bend at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and not leaving until 3:25 p.m. the next day.

It seems seems like an awfully long time to be in one place. (Where exactly is Evan Bayh?) Bayh's home town is near Terre Haute, Ind.

There is an Obama/Bayh site.

What Bayh brings to the position.
I'd like to see Obama Kaine 08. 

They keep saying Hillary Clinton owes $25 million. Hasn't she gotten any money? Of course she has. She paid one of her debts: 

Indy: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has paid off its $55,000 debt to Indiana University for events it held on the Bloomington campus.
IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said auditorium director Doug Booher had received the final payment from Clinton for campus campaign visits.
The campaign had previously paid about $20,000 of its debt, and recently sent a final check for $32,000. The campaign had also paid about $3,000 for Chelsea Clinton's visit.

Soldier Enthusiasm for Obama

They're all wondering why the soldiers are so happy to see Obama.
Here's why:
1) He's young in mind.
2) He's relatable. Who can relate to McCain?
3) He stands for something new, a new America, so to speak.

Sens. Joe Lieberman for McCain and Evan Bayh for Obama on Fox News.

Obama Testing Vice President Chemistry

Sam Nunn and Evan Bayh (Bayh supported Hillary in a big way) will join Obama on the campaign trail. Anyone but Ed Rendell. I hear his name a lot but after seeing him lie for Hillary during the primaries, he seems as old school as it gets. Here's another tidbit, if California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is going to be the environment and energy czar, what happens to Al Gore? Vice president?

CNN: The Illinois senator is set to be joined on the trail by Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn — two Democrats widely believed to be on the shortlist for the vice presidential spot.

The two are set to join Obama at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana for a discussion on national security issues — a forum that is designed to set to stage for the Democratic president candidate's overseas trip next week.

Specifically, the three are set to discuss nuclear non-proliferation, bioterrorism, cyber security and emerging national security threats.

Bayh, who comes from a powerful Indiana family and once served as governor of the state, remains a very popular figure there. His aggressive campaigning on behalf of Hillary Clinton during the state's Democratic primary is widely seen as a chief factor for the New York senator's narrow victory there. He briefly flirted with his own presidential bid late last year but ultimately ruled against it.

Nunn remains one of the most respected national security and foreign policy experts on the national scene. The former senator has a serious, no-nonsense demeanor that would add instant gravitas to the ticket, and he is a popular figure in Georgia — a state the Obama campaign hopes to make competitive this cycle.

Bayh and Biden Would Say Yes to Veep

It's a switch for Joe Biden, who seemed adamantly opposed to being vice president. Evan Bayh, Hillary's fan, said he's say yes. I say yes to Biden and no to Bayh.

Right now, I'm thinking Obama Edwards. They seem to go together. Obama could then stuff his cabinet with in-the-know military types.

But in the last two weeks, two Senate Democrats have flatly confessed they'd take the position if asked. On Sunday, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden said candidly, "The answer I’ve got to say is yes," if the No. 2 position is offered.

And on Tuesday, Sen. Evan Bayh, a former Hillary Clinton supporter from the potential battleground state of Indiana, also admitted he'd take the job if it is offered.

"I don't think it's the kind of thing you say no to….the answer to that is yes," Bayh said in an interview on MSNBC.

"If you care about serving your country, that is the kind of thing that you do," he argued.

Another thing, it seems the vice presidential process is doing a good job of weeding out the bad democrats, the ones who are still holding their breath.