Free Food and a U.S. Senator

Evan Bayh is running for president. I know, he hasn't officially announced anything yet, and that would make my opening sentence reckless. But why else would he take time out of his senatorial duties to meet with a group of Indiana bloggers in the dingy back room of a deli in downtown Indianapolis? He's not running for Senate this year, in fact, he has five more years left on his current term. Why else would he spend a May weekend in Iowa? He's running for president.

He may not be saying it, but I'm saying it.

So that's where I found myself yesterday afternoon, sitting in an enclosed area of a deli and listening to Senator Bayh field questions from several of my fellow bloggers.

Bayh is an intriguingly cautious politician, and at times he can seem overly cautious, at least that's how I'm reading him. But maybe this isn't a hindrance in today's political climate of fire-breathing idealogues. Maybe his middle-of-the-road, open-to-compromise approach to governance has an appeal.

Maybe he'll be eaten alive in the 2008 primaries.

The question I kept asking the bloggers I met yesterday was "what's this all about?" Why would a man whose career has seemingly been one success after another want to meet with a group of these strange creatures known as bloggers? To me this was also intriguing.

Is he wanting to get in touch with the grass-roots? That's a question I posed to Linda Perdue of Bilerico whom I had the pleasure of sitting beside at yesterday's meeting. I met two more members of the Bilerico staff, and they all seem like great people. Everyone I met yesterday was nice, even Mitch Harper.

But back to the Senator...

I did use this occasion to ask the Senator a direct question - should General Hayden resign his military post?

In short, no. Bayh said it shouldn't matter what Hayden wears, but what should matter is that he is capable of heading the agency effectively. Fair enough. Bayh also said he feels that Hayden would stand up to Secretary Rumsfeld's attempts to exert influence in the realm of civilian intelligence. Okay, here's where I see something troublesome.

Later on, Bayh would explain his "yes" vote on the Iraq war by citing a conversation he had with Former CIA chief George Tenet. The Senator had asked Tenet point-blank if the intelligence about Iraq was to believed, and Tenet had unflinchingly responded "yes" while looking Bayh directly in the eye. But this is also a similar claim that Bayh made when defending Hayden. He said he had met with the General privately, and he believes he will be able to stand up to Rumsfeld based on this intimate conversation. Do you see the problem too?

I thought so.

Speaking of Iraq Bayh also stated that the new government will need to show it's effectiveness within 6-8 weeks. I like numbers, so that's why I thought I would relay that little bit of information.

Okay, that's the bad news, now for something positive.

I like Bayh's overall approach to national politics. He spoke of the overly-partisan culture in Washington, and his own desire to get through this tumultuous period and start responding to the country's problems. The Bush era will soon be ending, and the Senator thought it was important for the Democrats to effectively communicate "what's next." He spoke of weariness of politicians who are unwilling to compromise their rigid ideology, and he feels this has had a detrimental effect on the ability for the Congress to solve problems. I may be showing my naivete here, but I think this is a good message that people want to hear.

Torpor has a good post with links to all or most of the bloggers who attended. This leaves me with a final question - there was cake?