Yahoo News is reporting today that Indiana Senator Evan Bayh will not seek another term as Senator. He stated that he has lost his desire to remain in Congress because of the political gridlock and the extreme ideology that is prominent in the Senate. Unfortunately for the Democrats, he made this decision only a few days before the filing deadline to run for his Senate seat.
Evan Bayh is a politically savvy Democrat. He has a reputation as a moderate although he has supported some of the more extreme Democrat proposals in this Congress. There is a strong possibility that Senator Bayh will be a Presidential candidate sometime in the future, and I believe getting out of Congress now is a smart move for that reason. The approval ratings of the current Congress are at 20 per cent or less. Even though the Democrats have had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate since November of last year, they have not been able to pass healthcare reform or cap and trade. They are seen as totally ineffective by the American people, and it is to Senator Bayh's advantage to distance himself from the current Congress.
The Democrat Party is moving left as the American people are generally moving right. It is quite possible that if the Democrats lose badly in the 2010 Congressional elections, they will be looking to rebuilding their party and its image. Evan Bayh would be one of the people who logically could help in that process. I also believe that if President Obama's approval ratings are below 40 percent in 2011, Evan Bayh could challenge him in a Presidential primary. That would be extremely unusual, but at that point, it could be very possible.
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