OBAMARAMA

Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh announced this morning that the odds of his receiving the Democratic presidential nomination “were longer than I felt I could responsibly pursue.” He recognized that running for president “would have required me to be essentially absent from the Senate for the next year instead of working to help the people of my state and the nation.”This decision is undoubtedly grounded in Bayh’s experience in New Hampshire last weekend, where his appearance drew little attention from voters, thousands of whom flocked to three packed Obama events. The Chicago Tribune called Sen. Bayh’s decision not to run — despite having raised $10 million — “the first casualty” of “the Obama effect.” Sen. Bayh was widely seen as a viable alternative to Sen. Hillary Clinton, a role played even better by Sen. Obama.

OBAMARAMA salutes Sen. Bayh’s decision to focus his efforts on his work in the Senate and on behalf of the people of Indiana. Too rarely are politicians with presidential aspirations ready to put serving their constituents above serving their own ambition.