Finally, some press!

In reading today's Courier-Journal's Notes from Washington by James R. Carroll, I was surprised to read the following paragraphs.

On the Web
Evan Bayh hasn't officially said he will run in 2008, but he hasn't slowed those who want it to happen.

Americans for Bayh has a Web site, americansforbayh.com, though the site is quick to say it's not a formal organization. There's also a blog connected to the same group.

I post on that blog. A Yahoo group is also connected with it as well. It's finally time that we got the press we deserved. No, I did not email James Carroll.

Mr. Bill's quits a campaign. Clinton was unavailable for comment. In all seriousness, the character's creator pulled out.

Saturday Night Live icon Mr. Bill is saying a resounding "Nooooo!" to further appearances in a public awareness campaign aimed at saving Louisiana's wetlands.

In recent months state residents have watched as Mr. Bill, the animated clay character of 1970s TV fame, lent a hand to ads for the America's Wetland campaign.

But now Mr. Bill's creator, Walter Williams, is yanking his character, saying he believes the campaign is selling out to big oil companies -- the very people accused of having a hand in destroying wetlands.

Bayh is priming it up for 2008. He may not say it orally but you know he is running.

Although he has said he won't make a decision about whether to run until after the 2006 elections, Bayh has acknowledged that he's laying the groundwork.

He has spoken to groups of Democrats in the potential swing states of Wisconsin, Ohio and Colorado. He addressed Iowa business and civic leaders meeting in Washington last week and in August will head back to the state, which has the nation's first presidential caucus. He likely will go later this year to New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first presidential primary.

"I'm doing some of the practical things that you think would be necessary to make that decision (to run) when the time comes," Bayh said, "if it's the appropriate thing to do."

He told about 1,000 Democrats at the Park Plaza Hotel and Convention Center on the banks of the Fox River that lawmakers are embroiled in "constant acrimony and fighting" rather than focusing on ensuring children get the education they need, senior citizens can afford health care and workers aren't losing their jobs to unfair foreign competition.

"All too often, Washington just doesn't operate the way we do in Wisconsin or Indiana," he said. "I can't tell you how often I get up in the morning and go to work and wonder if in fact I'm not really an ambassador to a foreign country."

Bayh's appearances are "what you do," said Chris Gates, the former chairman of the Democratic Party in Colorado, where Bayh spoke in March. "You make friends. You meet people and you make sure you've got a good staff person with you that can collect cards from everybody."

"I guarantee you, if Senator Bayh is the candidate, he made a lot of friends when he came here this early," said Dan Gattermeyer, chairman of the Democratic Party in Butler County, Ohio. Bayh spoke at a May party fundraiser to a crowd of 300, double last year's attendance. "And there'll be more people working for him harder because he did it."

Why so early?

One reason the 49-year-old senator and other potential candidates are gearing up so early is that the 2008 election could be one of the most wide-open in recent history. For the first time since 1952, the job is expected to be open without a vice president in pursuit of it.

More than a dozen Democrats and Republicans are viewed as potential candidates, and many are traveling the circuit. Wisconsin Democrats, for example, earlier this year met with Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, who is considering a bid, spoke before Bayh on Friday and got a standing ovation when he said: "Who knows? One of the speakers tonight might be the next Democratic president of the United States."

Former California Governor Gray Davis admits errors. Didn't they buy from Enron?

Davis would not comment on Schwarzenegger's performance, but noted his successor has eclipsed his old record for campaign fund-raising from special interest groups. Davis was roundly criticized for his fund-raising while in office.

"I always knew those criticisms that I was a world-class spender would be eclipsed by someone, and it was eclipsed by Arnold," Davis said. "I'm delighted someone has passed me."

Even the guy that she replaced hated Hilary. It's the Clinton ambitioness if you ask me even though I respect the former President.

The late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan may have endorsed Hillary Clinton to succeed him in the Senate.

But he and his wife privately hated Clinton, according to a new book on the presumptive 2008 presidential candidate. Edward Klein's "The Truth About Hillary: What She Knew, When She Knew It, and How Far She'll Go to Become President" will be excerpted in the July issue of Vanity Fair.

The New York Post reported last week that according to the excerpts, Moynihan's wife, Liz, told a friend that Hillary is "duplicitous."

"She will say or do anything that would forward her ambitions," Liz Moynihan reportedly said.

A Clinton spokesperson said the senator will always be proud at having had the support of the Moynihans.

You have questions, they've got answers. Where does Evan Bayh stand on issues important to you? Click the link now.

On partisanship: "All too often, Washington just doesn't operate the way we do in Wisconsin or Indiana. Constant acrimony and fighting rather than focusing on progress...I can't tell you how often I get up in them morning and go to work and wonder if in fact I'm not really an ambassador to a foreign country."

Another article dealing with the Wisconsin visit.

Question: How does this speech help Bayh if he wants to run for president?

Answer: It gives him exposure to Democratic activists, generates media coverage, hones his speaking skills and helps him test themes.

In sports, great-nephews of a few Hall of Fame ballplayers were drafted last week by the St. Louis Cardinals. Coach Red Schoendienst's nephew, Jesse Schoendienst, and Mickey Mantle's nephew, Blake King. Joe Torre, who returned to Busch Stadium this weekend, used to play and coach there.

Every player on the Red Sox 25-player roster has played at Wrigley Field now. In their 100 years, the Red Sox have played at 59 ballparks.

Back to Evan Bayh in Wisconsin...

Bayh, a Democrat from Indiana and that state's former governor, said politics in Washington has become so obsessed with idealogy that the country has become as divided as it was during the Vietnam era.

"I am desperately concerned if we don't change the path we're on, the country our children will inherit from us will be less than what we inherited from our parents. We must not let that happen," Bayh said to applause.