Please note that Birch Bay is a place in Washington State. So not only is there generations of politicians (his dad ran for president in 1976 against Jimmy Carter. Yes that’s right…a tree lost to a peanut farmer) named after a tree….but a place in Washington State.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birch_Bay

Buut I don’t think he’ll be Obama’s running mate since apperantly he’s FOR the war while Obama is against.

“Bayh was an early supporter of the Bush administration’s policies on Iraq. On October 2, 2002, Bayh joined President George W. Bush and Congressional leaders in a Rose Garden ceremony announcing their agreement on the joint resolution authorizing the Iraq War, and was thanked by Bush and Senator John McCain for co-sponsoring the resolution.”

As for his political views. He’s a pro-choicer, voted NO to ban gay marriage, appears to flip flop when it comes to environmental issues “Voted No on prohibiting eminent domain for use as parks or grazing land (Dec 2007). Voted Yes on including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations (Sep 2005). Rated 74% by the LCV, indicating pro-environment votes (Dec 2003). Voted No on confirming Gale Norton as Secretary of Interior (Jan 2001). Voted No on more funding for forest roads and fish habitat (Sep 1999)”.

I’d like him if he wasn’t a flip flopper for the Environmental stuff. But then again…I agree that he could and probably should be punched in the face. And this coming from somebody who likes John Edwards (even IF he cheated on his sick wife….so what? McCain did the same thing and ended up marrying the woman he cheated on his wife with… a woman who’s CEO of one of the largest distributers of Budweiser in North America…)

Ironically, neither of whom I would like to punch in the face. This guy though, hell yes.

The thing about bringing a swing state into the blue is that it’s a very rare politician who’s so wildly popular in his home state that you can guarantee it- pretty much just Evan Bayh and Bill Richardson have that kind of clout. Bayh’s a poor choice for the punchability mentioned above, as well as a couple of other reasons, and it seems like Obama and Richardson just didn’t have the right kind of chemistry (which is vital to this process, and why Clinton was never going to be on the ticket without a convention showdown)… Which is a shame, as he’d be an excellent choice on paper, both for his credentials and the clout he has in the Southwest. But aside from those two- Biden/Nunn/Kaine/etc wouldn’t guarantee their home states at all.

Regarding Clark’s ties to the Clintons, that’s only a bonus here. He’s not a Clinton, and so he’s not going to galvanize the anti-Clinton movement, but he’d go a long way (as would Bayh) to incorporating that wing of the party into the campaign. Donors who’ve previously been tight with the checkbooks/etc would see it as a concession to them, and that’d only help things. He’s not my first choice (Caroline Kennedy, what), but he’s definitely the best of the frontrunners.

–d

Yes, I remember the fallout of his very correctly pointing out that getting shot down is not a qualification to be President, but I think that it would have permanently silenced anybody else. A respected military leader who has actually won a war or two? Not so much.

at this point I really don’t have much of an opinion supporting anyone for veep.

all I know is they better not appoint someone who’s more to the right to “balance the ticket” or some BS like that, and I really hope they pick someone who’s big on gay rights issues just to put that firmly onto the platform.

But Kucinich wont support him.. and after FISA, I’m not sure I would either.

I like Richardson, but he seems like a natural born Secretary of State. Sticking him in the VP role seems kind of like a waste.

But I’ll admit to being a fan of the Obama “Justice League” cabinet that’s been floated around since the primary season: Richardson as Secretary of State, Edwards or Clinton as Attorney General, Clark as Secretary of Defense, Gore as Secretary of Energy.