VP Olympics: Pawlenty did not medal
The Fix goes through the winners and losers in Sunday's VP Olympics. Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine won the gold. Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh won the silver and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney won the bronze. Here's what The Fix wrote about Bayh's performance (he sat opposite Gov. Pawlenty on Face the Nation):
SILVER: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) on "Face the Nation -- Bayh is criticized -- usually fairly -- for his lack of flair as a candidate. Democratic insiders worry he is too nice to serve as the lead attack dog on the ticket and that his record -- voting for the war in Iraq, most notably -- is too different from Obama's to make him an effective surrogate. Bayh and his campaign team are surely aware of that criticism and yesterday's performance on "Face the Nation" seemed to suggest that there is more to Evan Bayh than first meets the eye. (The Fix: a poet and he didn't know it!). Bayh had the line of the morning -- "We are not all Georgians now" -- and repeatedly and aggressively went after not just McCain but also his foe on the show -- Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R). After Pawlenty attacked Obama for standing by his opposition to the surge, Bayh responded incredulously: "Tim, you opposed the surge....I read about it in your hometown newspaper." Pawlenty was rocked back on his heels, noting that he had said at the time that he was "skeptical" of the surge. Bayh even found a way to use the anti-Obama book by Jerome Corsi ("The Obama Nation") as a talking point against the Arizona senator -- noting that the "old John McCain" would have denounced it while the "new John McCain" embraces it. Did Bayh do enough? Who knows. But he acquitted himself quite well in what was widely being cast as a preview of the vice presidential debate.
Question of the Day: Fair characterization of the picks?
Update: Marc Ambinder picks up that a GOP blog in Ohio says McCain's camp is looking for a big Ohio venue for the day after Obama's speech. The sentence was later removed from the site.
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