July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Is Coats right for challenge?
Editorial
Is this a candidacy that makes sense?
It's no surprise that Republicans see Evan Bayh as vulnerable in the 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. The centrist Democrat from Indiana has hardly set the world on fire with his service in Washington.
Like his two terms as governor, Bayh's senate record is marked primarily by its caution. His supporters would argue that merely reflects the center of opinion among moderate Democrats, but it still falls far short of awe-inspiring.
Republicans clearly think they have a chance to send Bayh into early retirement.
But that depends on who they send to battle him next November, and that's where things have suddenly gotten odd.
Out of nowhere, former Sen. Dan Coats has indicated he'd like a shot at his old job, befuddling the handful of GOP candidates who were setting campaigns in motion.
But does a Coats candidacy really make sense?
As a senator and as a congressman who represented this part of Indiana, Dan Coats developed a reputation for intelligence and personal integrity. Even those who didn't share his conservative political philosophy held the guy in high esteem.
But Coats left office in 1998, choosing not to run for re-election against Bayh, who was coming off his terms as governor and was riding high in terms of popularity with voters. Some argued at the time that Coats essentially surrendered the office.
Since then, Coats served with honor as ambassador to Germany and has had a lucrative career as a lobbyist for big banks.
He has also established a residence in Virginia, with a second home in North Carolina.
For more than a decade he hasn't been a resident of Indiana.
Democrats - and supporters of other Republican candidates - have been quick to target both the lobbying and the residence issue as undermining, if not disqualifying, flaws in any Coats candidacy. And rightly so.
Other GOP candidates may lack the name recognition of Dan Coats, but they lack the political baggage as well.
In 1998, a decision by Coats not to run made life easier for Evan Bayh. In 2010, a decision by Coats to run may have exactly the same effect by making the election not a referendum on Bayh's performance but on whether a Virginian/North Carolinian lobbyist should represent Hoosiers in Washington. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
It's no surprise that Republicans see Evan Bayh as vulnerable in the 2010 race for the U.S. Senate. The centrist Democrat from Indiana has hardly set the world on fire with his service in Washington.
Like his two terms as governor, Bayh's senate record is marked primarily by its caution. His supporters would argue that merely reflects the center of opinion among moderate Democrats, but it still falls far short of awe-inspiring.
Republicans clearly think they have a chance to send Bayh into early retirement.
But that depends on who they send to battle him next November, and that's where things have suddenly gotten odd.
Out of nowhere, former Sen. Dan Coats has indicated he'd like a shot at his old job, befuddling the handful of GOP candidates who were setting campaigns in motion.
But does a Coats candidacy really make sense?
As a senator and as a congressman who represented this part of Indiana, Dan Coats developed a reputation for intelligence and personal integrity. Even those who didn't share his conservative political philosophy held the guy in high esteem.
But Coats left office in 1998, choosing not to run for re-election against Bayh, who was coming off his terms as governor and was riding high in terms of popularity with voters. Some argued at the time that Coats essentially surrendered the office.
Since then, Coats served with honor as ambassador to Germany and has had a lucrative career as a lobbyist for big banks.
He has also established a residence in Virginia, with a second home in North Carolina.
For more than a decade he hasn't been a resident of Indiana.
Democrats - and supporters of other Republican candidates - have been quick to target both the lobbying and the residence issue as undermining, if not disqualifying, flaws in any Coats candidacy. And rightly so.
Other GOP candidates may lack the name recognition of Dan Coats, but they lack the political baggage as well.
In 1998, a decision by Coats not to run made life easier for Evan Bayh. In 2010, a decision by Coats to run may have exactly the same effect by making the election not a referendum on Bayh's performance but on whether a Virginian/North Carolinian lobbyist should represent Hoosiers in Washington. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]
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