Veep Watch: Bayh breaks his silence
Unlike the excitable Tim Kaine, Obama Veep contender Evan Bayh has been following the ground rules for the Veepstakes and has generally kept quiet on his status as a member of Obama’s short list and a name frequently mentioned as a perfect fit for the Dem nominee.
The silence ended today, however, as Bayh finally was pushed to answer the speculation that is heating up over Obama’s strange visit to northern Indiana tomorrow for a big rally with every Hoosier’s favorite Senator.
Bayh made some comments to the Indy Star this afternoon.
Asked if he will be Obama’s vice presidential choice, Bayh said; “I have no idea. You’d have to ask him.”
Bayh will be introducing Obama at Wednesday’s town hall meeting in Elkhart, but said he knows of no plans for a private meeting with Obama, even though both men are flying into northern Indiana tonight. The length of Obama’s visit here — he arrives at about 6:30 p.m. and isn’t scheduled to leave until about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday — had acceleratd already flying rumors that Bayh will be Obama’s choice.
But Bayh said he believed the campaign was trying to add another stop in Indiana, accounting for the length of the visit.
Bayh said his wife, Susan; twin sons Nick and Beau; and his father, former Sen. Birch Bayh, will not be joining him on this trip — one additional sign that the vice presidential announcement likely won’t come Wednesday.
In fact, Bayh said that while he has “no idea” what Obama’s timeline is for announcing his running mate, “I’m absolutely confident there will be no announcement tomorrow. I guess the best way to put it is, if there’s an announcement tomorrow, I’d be as surprised as anybody else.”
The length of time Obama is set to spend in the Hoosier State is a bit odd, but it by no means indicates that Bayh will be named as the running mate tomorrow.
The Obama camp wants to wait until right before the convention in a game of chicken with McCain to see if their GOP opponent cracks first and names his Veep before Obama. They want to give it as much time as possible in order to pick after McCain. The publicity capital gained from a late pick pays impressive dividends.
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…..isn’t that Evan Bayh just a-m-a-z-z-z-i-n-g, surprised he didn’t crack a few smiles while having said “no idea about” the timing of Obama’s selection. It could have been a plant by Obama’s strategists to see if Bayh capitulates and gives into the media pressure, a political loyalty litmus test of some kind…..