Senator Bayh

Indiana’s Democratic senator Evan Bayh announced his resignation on Monday, stating he will not seek re-election at the completion of his current term. Immediately, everyone in Washington began speculating that this was a sign the popular Democrat would be giving President Obama a run for his money in 2012.

Bayh, a moderate Democrat, had been ‘short listed’ as a candidate for vice presiden t by the Obama administration and many believe his announcement to remove himself from Washington was the first step in his long awaited dream of being president.

Bayh quickly wanted to dispel any rumblings of his possible run for president in the upcoming years. He urged people to simply take his resignation for what it was; he is tired of Congress, the lack of progress and the partisanship that has plagued this branch in particular, of the government. Bayh would not take questions so no one is sure if he is leaving politics altogether or for good.

With Bayh’s announcement of his departure, it leaves Democrats at an even bigger disadvantage in the House. They have already been scrabbling to recover from the latest ‘hit’ from the election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts who took over the long-held vacated seat left by Democrat Edward ‘Ted’ Kennedy. Brown’s appointment cost the Democrats the 60-seat super majority, this, by many accounts, puts in jeopardy President Obama’s top domestic priority – health care reform.

However, Bayh is not the first to ‘jump ship’ from the somewhat rocky Democratic Party boat – veteran Congressman Christopher Dodd, Conn.; Ted Kaufman, Del.; Rolland Burris, Ill.; and Byron Dorgan N.D. all see fishing by the lake or RVing with their family in the near future due to retirement plans. But the Republican Party is also throwing retirement galas at the end of this term for an equal amount of Senators – Jim Bunning, Ky.; Kit Bond, Mo.; George Voinovich, Ohio; and Judd Gregg, N.H.

In the House of Representatives, a total of 13 lawmakers have decided to call their government service careers complete and will not seek to renew their terms. The tally for these 13 lawmakers is eight Democrats and seven Republicans.

But perhaps what angered Democrats most, more than the fact that Bayh is resigning and leaving them as the under-dog in a now Republican stronghold, is the timing of his resignation. Bayh, either on purpose or on accident, chose to make his surprising announcement on the day before the filing deadline for the primary. It is highly unlikely there will be enough time for any Democrat to collect sufficient signatures to qualify for a ballot. This means the Democratic nominee will be chosen by the state party committee, if one is chosen.

In another statement Bayh did say he was considering altering his role as a public servant and could see himself running a university or college, a charity or creating jobs through a business venture.