Other blogworthy news items...

Outgoing Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is running for president and here is an article on his campaign.

Vilsack also emphasized the nexus between oil dependence, national security and the economy, saying he would give high priority to weaning the nation off foreign oil and promoting alternative energy.

"Energy security will revitalize rural America," Vilsack told more than 500 cheering backers in the small town where be began his political career as mayor. "Energy security will allow us once and for all to remove and reduce our dependency on foreign oil from foreign countries that do not like us."

Taking aim at President Bush, Vilsack said: "We have in the White House a president whose first impulse is to divide and to conquer, who preys on our insecurities and fears for partisan gain."

Instead, Vilsack, the first Democrat to formally enter the race, vowed to have "the courage to create change" and resist the "endless partisan debates."

Energy independence is an issue that I could rally behind no matter who our eventual nominee is. Evan Bayh also believes in energy independence.

For more on Gov. Vilsack, I suggest reading the Political Forecast.

As we all know by now, Senator Mitch McConnell has pretty much given Ernie Fletcher the slap in the face by not endorsing his campaign for re-election.

"I'm not ready to endorse anybody right now," said McConnell, the chief architect behind the Republican rise to power in Kentucky. "There's obviously a lot of flux going on. It looks like there's going to be primaries on both sides. I may have more to say about that later, or I may not."

Robbie Rudolph, Fletcher's running mate and secretary of his executive cabinet, said he was with Fletcher when the governor spoke to McConnell a few days before last month's election.

"They talked about the '06 elections," Rudolph said in a statement from Fletcher's spokeswoman. "Anything else they discussed is between the governor and the senator."

Rudolph congratulated McConnell on being selected as the Senate's top Republican leader in the next Congress, but didn't respond to McConnell's lack of endorsement for the governor on Friday.

Joe Gershtenson, director of Eastern Kentucky University's Center for Kentucky History and Politics, said potential Republican gubernatorial hopefuls might see an opening in McConnell's public silence.

"One thing it doesn't do is scare off other Republicans," Gershtenson said.

Still, he cautioned not to "read too much" into McConnell not tipping his hand.

Silvestre Reyes, a Congressman from Texas, has been selected to lead the Intelligence Committee in the House of Representatives.

Pelosi signaled weeks ago that she would not elevate the panel's top Democrat, Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), to the chairmanship and announced this past week that she would also pass over Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D-Fla.), who could not overcome the stigma of his 1988 impeachment and 1989 removal from a federal judgeship.

Reyes, a five-term House member from El Paso, is a well-liked Democrat. And now, as a key party spokesman on national defense issues, he becomes perhaps the most visible Latino in Congress.

"Congressman Silvestre Reyes has impeccable national security credentials," Pelosi said. "When tough questions are required, whether they relate to intelligence shortcomings before the 9/11 attacks or the war in Iraq, or to the quality of intelligence on Iran or North Korea, he does not hesitate to ask them."

Reyes signaled that he will use his post to confront the Bush administration on national security and intelligence issues that he said Republicans have shied away from.

"On warrantless tapping, on their policy on detention and interrogation, their policy on secret prisons, all of those have undermined our position in the world," Reyes said in an interview yesterday. "And we have been complicit in Congress by rubber-stamping everything the administration has proposed."

"It's a good, solid appointment," said former congressman Timothy J. Roemer (D-Ind.), a member of the bipartisan commission that examined the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

But Reyes has been linked to past controversies. The inspector general of the government's General Services Administration looked into the serious failures of a $239 million network of cameras and sensors along the Mexican and Canadian borders, an investigation that focused in part on the contractor's employment of Reyes's daughter Rebecca.

Here is Maureen Groppe's article on Senator Evan Bayh after the announcement that he would form an exploratory committee.

Bayh plans to file Federal Election Commission papers next week creating the exploratory vehicle, said the source, who did not want to be named because Bayh has not made an official announcement.

Bayh is scheduled to appear Sunday on ABC's "This Week With George Stephanopolous" at 11 a.m. to talk, in part, about the race.

Dan Pfeiffer, a spokesman for Bayh's political action committee, declined to comment on Bayh's intent.

"He'll have more to say about this Sunday," Pfeiffer said.[...]

Bayh is scheduled to be in Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus, on Monday. He will speak at a luncheon in Des Moines and meet with Democratic activists. He will travel next weekend to New Hampshire, another state that votes early in the presidential nominating process.[...]

Bayh has said he would not make a final decision until after the holidays. But an exploratory committee would allow him to raise and spend money for a bid before making an official announcement.

Bayh already has more than $10 million in his Senate campaign account that can be transferred to a presidential campaign. Over the past two years, he has been meeting Democratic activists and contributors and working on a potential campaign message. He has made five trips to New Hampshire and 12 to Iowa, paid for by his political action committee.

Bayh's political action committee has had an employee in Iowa for the past eight months, and Bayh's team has looked at office space in Iowa in case he officially runs.[...]

In addition to their low poll standings, Bayh and Vilsack share other characteristics. Both represent Midwestern states. Both were elected governors in their states after long periods of Republican rule. Both have headed the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Leadership Council, a group of moderate Democrats. Both have less-than-exciting speaking styles. And both have similar campaign themes. In his campaign announcement, Vilsack emphasized national security, the need to reduce energy dependence and to unite a divided country. Bayh hits those same notes.[...]

One advantage Bayh has over Vilsack is a claim to foreign policy experience from his service on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees. But that also means he has more to answer for when it comes to the Iraq war. In addition, the path to the presidency historically has been easier for governors than for those running from the Senate.

In a recent interview with Gannett News Service, Bayh said his decision will be based on whether he believes he has the experience and capability to lead an agenda for renewed national greatness, whether practical matters like fundraising indicate he has a chance to win the nomination and whether it's personally the responsible thing to do.

"I'm fortunate. My wife is a wonderful mother, and she's a great wife to me, and my kids are doing well," Bayh said. "But I think that's the final hurdle for me to cross."

Congressman-elect Joe Donnelly is making the transition by naming Joel Elliott as his Chief of Staff.

On Thursday Donnelly announced his choice for the position of Chief of Staff, the person who will take charge of transition duties as Donnelly moves into his new position, as well as staff hirings, and setting up offices in Indiana's District Two and in Washington.

Joel Elliott, an Indiana native from Grant County, will handle those tasks and others, and Donnelly said the man is well-suited for the task.

"Joel is a true Hoosier. He shares our ideals of family, community and hard work," said Donnelly. "He has the experience and the know-how to make sure we hit the ground running on January 4, and the work ethic to be a tireless advocate for the people of the 2nd District."

Carroll County and part of White County are included in Donnelly's district.
Elliott's experience includes about five years spent working for U.S. Senator Evan Bayh.

From 1996 to 2001 he served as a Governor's Fellow, as research director for Bayh's 1998 campaign, and later as legislative assistant, where he focused on labor and transportation policy and helped manage constituent services.

Elliott later served as Congressman Baron Hill's legislative director for two years, managing legislative operations and directing constituent services.

He returned to Indiana to serve as Lt. Governor Kathy Davis' Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director, overseeing communications, policy development, and several major projects.

State Rep. Dennis Keene has pulled out of the race for Majority Whip in the state house.

"I think I might have a better opportunity to do some things for Northern Kentucky, possibly opportunities that I don't want to not take advantage of," the Wilder Democrat said Thursday.

Earlier this week, Keene and other Northern Kentucky Democrats said his name has been mentioned in political circles as a potential lieutenant governor candidate.

When asked if he was open to that possibility, Keene said: "I'm not ruling out any possibilities. I'm keeping all my options open."

The Iowa Democratic Party has declared that they are open to all potential candidates for president.