Bil Browning writes at HuffPo that Evan Bayh will be named Obama's VP on Wednesday, partly based on the announced schedule of the Obama campaign - an event Tuesday afternoon in Indiana, but departure on Wednesday afternoon without any events in-between. Browning updates his post at Bilerico to later say this may not be the case, while Howey Politics says Obama could just be spending the night at home in Chicago (via Bilerico). Rumors abound...

Evan Bayh could be a decent pick - two-term Governor and two-term Senator in a traditionally Red state, that is a toss-up this year and could turn Blue. But he apparently was front-and-center in supporting the initial decision to invade Iraq. Further, the (possibly re-elected) Republican Governor Mitch Daniels could replace Bayh with a Republican for the next two years, which would reduce the Democratic Senators count by one (but as Sylvia Smith points out, the potential Dem pickup in Alaska post the Ted Stevens indictment could compensate for this loss). I wonder how Susan Bayh's directorship of many companies - in areas where Senator Bayh apparently cast many votes - will play out.

I would personally prefer either Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius or Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano, both of whom have been re-elected in Republican states with good majorities. Sibelius is apparently personally pro-life, but has repeatedly vetoed legislation banning abortion (after all, this is Kansas). Napolitano has called for federal comprehensive immigration reform, based on her experience as both a US attorney and as the AZ Governor (via Wikipedia). Both were named among five best Governors in America in November 2005 by Time magazine. So they are excellent candidates - who happen to be women. Of course, since both of them endorsed Barack Obama during the Democratic primaries, an Obama/Sibelius or an Obama/Napolitano ticket may not be the "unity" ticket some see in with Obama/Bayh. And Kansas is unlikely to turn blue, while Arizona may well remain red, given recent polls.

Still, I'd love to see either Sibelius or (especially!) Napolitano on the ticket. Probably not Senator Hillary Clinton; this video has Mitt Romney using her words twice to criticize Obama, while an Ohio Republican ad just came out featuring Clinton yelling "Shame on you, Barack Obama!" Not to mention the fact that the Clintons represent Washington-as-usual...

[Cross-posted at my personal blog.]

I have heard that quote from Barack Obama being lampooned as a sign of his alleged arrogance and elitism. The refrain runs, "who are we, some specially-privileged upper-crust?"
I always took that as an indication that we, the residents of the US and citizens of the world, need to take charge of our own affairs and our destiny. We can't wait for Government to fix problems; change begins from the ground-up. In other words, personal responsibility.
Now, that is not a mission usually associated with big government, tax-and-spend liberals, the alleged-champions of welfare kings and queens. That is supposed to be Republican territory, they who abhor affirmative action, government-controlled social security, and (I believe) Medicare.
Yet, in this election, it is the Democrat who says people need to stop relying on Government and instead, the common people should take measures to change the quality of their life. No wonder Republicans refuse to see this interpretation of the refrain (not unique to me), and instead try to paint it as a "we are better than you" theme.
I wonder if Obama should give a speech explaining what he means when he says "We are the ones we've been waiting for." He's good at that.

Cross-posted at my personal blog.