Tom Harkin is a lot better than Evan Bayh

[JI7]

if the reason for bayh would be to get someone from that part of the country, tom harkin is a lot better in many ways. i know some might have a problem with him having endorsed dean, but i always said tom harkin would be a good vp choice for any of the candidates running no matter who he endorsed.

[eissa]

1. Tom would be great

I've always liked him -- his speech at Wellstone's memorial was simply fantastic. He would make an excellent VP choice. BUT...I really doubt he would be considered solely for his endorsement of Dean.

[JI7]

4. John Kerry isn't like that

he separates politics from personal feelings. while at the time he might not like it or get annoyed with what people do, he isn't one to hold grudges. and kerry is friends with harkin. if he sees harkin as being the best to help beat bush there is no question he will pick him. as compared to bayh, i think tom harkin is better in many ways. the only reasons bayh is being considered is being of geography from what i have heard.

[eissa]

7. I hope you're right, but

even if Kerry is big enough to look past that, I still think footage of Harkin endorsing and campaigning for Dean would be used against Kerry. Not that there was anything wrong with Harkin's endorsement, of course, but it could be spun negatively for Kerry.

[On the Road]

2. I Think So, Too

He appeals to liberals and activists, but he's a populist from a midwestern agricultural state. He can be fiery but instills confidence from being in DC for so long.

[BL_Zebub]

3. Elvis Presley's rotting corpse would be better than Evan Bayh!

And if it comes down to that, I'd even be willing to let the King's soul out of Hell, I promise!

[cosmokramer]

5. Bayh won't win his home state...

...why add him to the ticket? Indiana is a FIRMLY red state, and Bayh won't win it. At least Harkin could deliver Iowa (maybe...after his mistake of endorsing Dean and how bad it looked, I doubt it would be Harkin).

Think Iowa Governor, not Senator. And Bayh has no foreign policy experience, which the Kerry campaign clearly stated they would seek in a VP candidate.

[JI7]

6. also, the dem governor can appoint a dem to replace harkin

they could do that with bayh also, but i just don't see what bayh brings other than hopes of geographic appeal. and that isn't even certain.

[WI_DEM]

8. I agree

Iowa will be more of a toss up than Indiana--Gore won it by only a few thousand in '00 and the GOP is targeting it this year for a pick up. Harkin is also a hell of alot more exciting than Bayh--and on a ticket with Kerry that is something that is needed.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

9. Tom Harkin actually has some spine

He was one of the few who stood up for farmers during the 1980s, when the Reaganites were doing the dirty work of the agribusiness conglomerates, and his speech at the Wellstone memorial showed that he'd be fantastic on the campaign trail. He could provide some of the fire that Kerry lacks.

[Armstead]

10. Harkin could be a great choice

He's a mainstream liberal, but a midwest populist one and not an eastern elite.

It could also be healing, in terms of bringing Dean/Wellstone progressive types into the mix. Symbolically, he could be great for the "move on from the divisions of the primaries" factor.

[Khephra]

11. YES!

As a Hoosier, I fucking HATE Bayh as much, if not more since he's from here, as Lieberman. I've also met people who work for him. Can you say "snake-oil salesmen?" I knew that you could.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. The only reason to put Evan Bayh on the ticket

would be to sabotage it from within.

[earthsea wizard]

13. Let me repeat myself

Tom Harkin
Excellent progressive credentials
Navy VietNam Vet
Midwesterner
Appointed to the Senate Home Security Council
Authored the Americans with Disabilities Act
Articulate, photogenic, and fully capable of acting as President

[HFishbine]

14. Although Harkin

voted for the IWR, he was an outspoken critic of Bush's push for war when it mattered, before the war started. He'd be far, far better than Bayh, Edwards or any of the other "the war was the right thing" possibilities.