Why should a liberal Deomocrat support Evan Bayh?

[TomC]

Why? Because a nominee's first job is to get a majority of votes (in a two way race). Until that is done, nothing else really matters.

[Notre Dame rules!]

Bayh has always supported the war.

He has proposed a bill to end the "Patriot Penalty" so that soliders won't have their pay cut once they come back from the war.

Pro-war is a definite negative when it comes to the primary. And if they don't admit it's a mistake, it will hurt them in the general election too. Kerry did ok since he admitted it was a mistake, but it would have been better if he hadn't voted for the war in the first place.

     






Had Kerry voted against the war, he would have lost in a landslide.   The GOP would have had far more success linking him to his antiwar past had he not voted for the Iraq War.  He played it as well as he could.  He votes for it, then says that it was handled badly, thus making it a mistake. 

By the way, the candidate that didn't claim that it was a mistake won the election.

[J.R. Brown]

Bayh has always supported the war.

He has proposed a bill to end the "Patriot Penalty" so that soliders won't have their pay cut once they come back from the war.

Pro-war is a definite negative when it comes to the primary. And if they don't admit it's a mistake, it will hurt them in the general election too. Kerry did ok since he admitted it was a mistake, but it would have been better if he hadn't voted for the war in the first place.

     






Had Kerry voted against the war, he would have lost in a landslide.   The GOP would have had far more success linking him to his antiwar past had he not voted for the Iraq War.  He played it as well as he could.  He votes for it, then says that it was handled badly, thus making it a mistake. 

By the way, the candidate that didn't claim that it was a mistake won the election.

That doesn't mean it was handled well. Bush just sold his position better.

[Smash255]

Bayh has always supported the war.

He has proposed a bill to end the "Patriot Penalty" so that soliders won't have their pay cut once they come back from the war.

Pro-war is a definite negative when it comes to the primary. And if they don't admit it's a mistake, it will hurt them in the general election too. Kerry did ok since he admitted it was a mistake, but it would have been better if he hadn't voted for the war in the first place.

     






Had Kerry voted against the war, he would have lost in a landslide.   The GOP would have had far more success linking him to his antiwar past had he not voted for the Iraq War.  He played it as well as he could.  He votes for it, then says that it was handled badly, thus making it a mistake. 

By the way, the candidate that didn't claim that it was a mistake won the election.

That doesn't mean it was handled well. Bush just sold his position better.

Pretty much every single poll has Bush's approval on te handling of the War in Iraq in the low 40's with disapproval in the low to mid 50's