The Old Prof Thinks Out Loud

For those of you in the other 49 states, let me inform you that many of us in Indiana were not that surprised when Evan Bayh wasn't picked to be Barack Obama's running mate. We already knew he was too bland, had no clear positions on many of the issues, and was more of a handsome face in an empty suit (unlike his more dynamic and decisive father, Birch).
And, despite all the reasons cited by the TV and Internet pundits, one of the factors -- maybe even the key factor -- for the non-selection had to have been the fact that the balance of power in the U.S. could have been at stake. If Bayh had been selected, then elected, his seat in the Senate would have become vacant. And anyone who knows just how red a state Indiana is -- can you say fire-engine red? -- would also know that a Republican probably would have been elected to fill Bayh's seat. With the narrow majority in the Senate right now, Democrats couldn't have afforded to let that happen.
Presumably, there would be a better chance that a Democrat could be elected to fill Biden's seat. And let Evan Bayh be content with being selected Miss Congeniality one more time.
And that's the rest of the story from here in the land of Danny Burton and Mitch Daniels.