So I'll ask the only VP question that is important to me:  is this person qualified to be POTUS?  If yes, how/why?  

The dems sure do know how to snap victory from the jaws of defeat.

Any progressive should be able to agree that he takes the party in the wrong direction.

Bayh is a pretty average choice.  Not bad but not terribly great either.  He's experienced without actually achieving a whole lot.

LINK

So we will have a ticket that's right of center and uh, right of center.  Who are we supposed to vote for and why is this better than McCain?

The one thing Obama shares with those on the dollar bills is HE IS A MAN.  And so is Bayh.

So Obama picked a white man, a Mid-westerner who he hopes can bring him some of the mid-west states to the Democrats.  So how is this "change"?  It's still MEN running everything, and women told to fall in line.

You make no convincing statements.

Mostly he's the Does No Harm/Low Risk candidate.  Experienced, moderate, could immediately help win one red state, and comes from the Hillary wing.

As for taking on the oppo, Bayh is experienced in winning against Rs and seems to bring some more game to the debate table than expected.

Last cycle, librul Dems had few complaints about Edwards, but his inexperience probably was a reason he underperformed in the one debate that mattered, in addition to some alleged possible disloyalty in carrying out Kerry campaign directives on the stump.

No one will have to worry about Bayh being ready to debate (as aides were with the jittery Edwards) nor with his loyalty, imo.

I don't like his vote for FISA and can't imagine having a dem ticket where both candidates voted for that #*$!. I'm also not thrilled with his stance on abortion and since the Supreme Court is a big issue this year I don't want someone who's not 100% pro-choice being a "heartbeat away" from the presidency. But it could be worse I suppose. And the republican ticket will be worse.

From Glenn Greenwald 7/18/08:

That both parties at the leadership level -- in terms how they act as collective entities -- are controlled by so many of the same factions and operate by so many of the same "principles" is just undeniable. As the most recent, astonishing piece of evidence, look at House Resolution 362, a resolution sponsored by Democratic Rep. Gary Ackerman which spouts every neoconservative accusation against Iran and then demands -- literally -- that the Bush administration order a naval blockade against Iran (see clause 3), an act of war. That Resolution now has over 200 co-sponsors, roughly half of whom are Democrats (including Rep. Ed Towns -- see all of them here). A similar resolution in the Senate -- sponsored by Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh -- now has 32 sponsors, a list that includes, in addition to Joe Lieberman and some of the most extremist GOP warmongers in the Senate, 13 Democrats as well.

Bolding mine.

Bayh seems pretty agreeable and bland, so maybe he'll dump this aggressive neocon posturing by the side of the road if made VP by Obama.  But who will replace him as Senator from Indiana?  Bayh's place will be filled by the Repub Governor.  

He is no more centrist than Obama or Clinton, in my view.  I have no doubt in my mind that Obama would have voted for the Iraq AUMF had he been in the Senate, and I think Obama knows that too, so he does not hold it against Bayh.  He will have to explain his 'judgement' statements though.

Given how much Obama has moved to the right, it's disappointing to see him possibly pick someone who's already to the right of center.  I suppose because Obama is somehow seen as being very much the liberal - I still have not figure that one out - he needs to be seen choosing someone that balances him, but all I see are two people with center-right leanings - especailly Obama, who has flipped on almost every major issue that matters to me.

I just don't understand why the Dems don't get that we need fighters, not compromisers.  Line-in-the-sand types, not how-can-we-modify-our-position-to-please-you types.  I almost feel like Bayh would be a younger version of Kerry.  Hmmm.

As we look at these various and sundry possible VPs, I think it's helpful to try saying their names with "President" in front of them, because this VP pick, assuming Obama wins, is your presumptive nominee for president in 2016.

"President Bayh?"  

I don't really know how I would handle it if the half of the adult population that has never yet held one of the 2 top spots was to find itself there.

It's so good to know that the men are still ready and willing to bear the burden for us pathetically underqualified females.

Thank God for men, geez.  The most mediocre of them are simply  superior to the best of us, again.