The reasons for Mr. Bayh’s apparent presence in the inner circle of potential ticketmates are varied, and they say something about the nature of the 2008 race and the correlation of forces within the Democratic Party.
In contrast to Illinois, Mr. Obama’s home state, neighboring Indiana has not supported a Democrat for president since 1964, when it was part of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s landslide victory. But in this election, it is considered a battleground state. Many Republicans crossed over to vote Democratic in the May 2 primary, and there is some thought that putting Mr. Bayh on the ticket just might be enough to make this red state and its 11 electoral votes turn blue.
During the primary campaign, Mr. Bayh, 52, not only supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, he was also one of her national campaign co-chairmen and described her in an advertisement as having “a spine of steel.” But his roots and popularity in Indiana run deep. His father, Birch Bayh, served three terms in the United States Senate (losing in 1980 to Dan Quayle, the last Indiana native to serve as vice president). And Evan Bayh served two terms as governor of Indiana before being elected to the Senate in 1998.
Still, there was not much to parse Wednesday at the event here, which focused, as have all of Mr. Obama’s public appearances this week, on energy independence. Mr. Bayh introduced Mr. Obama as “my friend, our neighbor” and they embraced on the stage, Mr. Obama patting Mr. Bayh on the back and smiling warmly.
But a stop later in the day, at Schoop’s Diner in Portage, exemplified the sometimes-feverish and ultimately undecipherable speculation that has been swirling around Mr. Bayh. He and Mr. Obama entered together, and, according to a pool report, after Mr. Obama ordered four cheeseburgers, a local reporter yelled out, “What does the V.P. want?”
Mr. Bayh smiled and said, “You’re causing trouble.” At that, another reporter asked about the speculation and Mr. Bayh said, “Nothing today.” In fact, he added, the subject of the ticket did not come up on their bus ride to the diner. Instead, he said, they spoke about sports and family.
And Mr. Obama remained as mum on the subject during a conversation with reporters Monday night during a flight from Boston to Ohio, when he deflected a question about his leanings. Which is exactly why there was so much attention paid to body language and nuance when Mr. Bayh was in his company on Wednesday.
