With Bayh trying to out Lieberman Lieberman

[question everything]

it is hard to imagine that Bayh was on the list of the top three considered by Obama as a running mate - according the a new book.

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. Maybe he wanted to get him out of the Senate (joke)

[polichick]

2. We sure dodged a bullet - what a horrible choice he would've been! nt

[alsame]

3. I used to get sick to my stomach every time his name was mentioned as

a possible VP candidate last year.

[Clio the Leo]

4. yeah but in hindsight we can tell....

..... that it was never REALLY anyone other than Joe and Hillary.

The rest were just fluff.

[question everything]

9. Right. Obama and his group realized that they needed a strong foreign

policy running mate so, yes, it was between these two. And... I can see why they hesitated about Hillary and I think Hillary is using a lot more of her skills as Secretary of State than being a "heart beat" away..

[karynnj]

10. I wonder if Reed, who was rumored to be possible but said no, was

seriously on the list. Given that Obama's areas of comparative weakness were foreign policy and experience, Biden was the clearest fit. It seems like HRC was not on the list for long, as she wasn't vetted at all.

[IndianaGreen]

5. Bayh's whore of a wife, Susan, sits on the board of Wellpoint, a major health insurer

The Bayhs hold millions of dollars worth of stock in Wellpoint and Lilly. They are both corporate sluts!

[question everything]

6. Of course, Daschle, who was almost a shoo in for Secretary of HHS

was a "consultant" to UnitedHealth, which has been paying about 100 million a year to its former CEO. And the only reason why he had to step down was for back dating options. And the guy is a physician who found nothing wrong about denying coverage for people, about squeezing physicians - as long as he and his shareholders were making money.

[RepublicanElephant]

7. how can a son be so backward compared to his dad? nt

[question everything]

8. I know. I mentioned his name to my spouse who replied

Bayh? The son of Birch Bayh??

[karynnj]

11. Not to mention Birch Bayh was folksy and had an interesting personality

(and was a friend of Ted Kennedy's, who life he likely saved.)

[question everything]

12. Really? How did he save his life?

I am not familiar with this story but would be interested to hear.

[Alexander]

13. Kennedy and Bayh were in a small plane crash - Bayh pulled Teddy from the wreckage.

The crash killed a pilot and one of Kennedy's aides, IIRC, and gave Teddy a lifelong back injury. He was hospitalized for quite some time after that. This happened in about 1964. Supposedly this triggered Teddy's interest in health care.

Possibly the first case of high-profile liberals flying in a small plane that crashed.

[karynnj]

18. They were in a small plane that crashed

That is when Ted Kennedy injured his back. Bayh was able to get him out of the burning plane. Here is the story:

Marvella Bayh said she and her husband crawled out of the plane, which reeked of fuel. The pilot and a congressional aide were killed.

"I can’t leave Ted," Bayh said.

"Birch crawled back in," Marvella Bayh wrote. "They locked fingers, and Birch managed to get him over the seat, through the window, and over the motor."

Kennedy’s back was broken, two ribs were fractured and doctors were unsure whether he’d walk. Six months later, he returned to the Senate. Though he was able to walk, Kennedy’s back injuries caused him pain for the remaining 45 years of his life.

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20090826/NEWS03/908269950/-1/NEWS09
(nice story written by Bayh - http://www.newsweek.com/id/213703 )

It always amazes me that Indiana had 2 very good Senators in the 1970s.

[burning rain]

15. I'm sure a big part of it was seeing his dad unseated in 1980 by Dan Quayle.

That year--the high tide of the New Right--Republicans gained 12 Senate seats and unhorsed other well-known liberals, including Frank Church, John Culver, George McGovern, and Gaylord Nelson. But whatever the promptings of caution, Evan Bayh doesn't have an excuse on health care. Health care reform in the public interest would be a political winner in Evan Bayh's rust belt state.

[burning rain]

14. Good thing Bayh didn't get the nod as veep.

He'd probably have pushed for big pharma to get a sweetheart deal in the health care bill.

[Myrina]

16. Once the execs at Anthem, WellPoint and Lilly read the bill ...

... and decided their bottom lines will benefit, ol' Evan changed his tune and said he wouldn't filibuster and in fact would probably vote for the bill.

Also I think he got a love letter from 200 of his top donors saying they'd with hold their financial support in the next election if he didn't go with the flow.

It's all about the benjamins for Empty-suit Evan.

[JTFrog]

17. OMG they had a list!!!???!!!!

The fucking nerve! You'd think they had some kind of process where he went around and considered half a dozen people or something.

And Clinton was on it too!!! Holy shit!!!

:sarcasm: