Time: Why the center is the new place to be

Joe Klein's cover story in this week's Time suggests that the 2006 midterm elections were "the end of George W. Bush's radical experiment in partisan governance" and the beginning of pragmatic politics. He continued:

The architects of the Democratic victory, Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Rahm Emanuel, had calculated with cold-eyed efficiency which candidates the party would support, regardless of the extent of their orthodoxy.

Schumer and Emanuel were pragmatic and they took several victories from swing or conservative states and districts.

Conservative Indiana took three new congressional seats, in part, because of Evan Bayh, according to The Washington Post's Chris Cillizza. Cillizza wrote:

Bayh spent from his political capital in the Hoosier State to help elect Democrats in the 2nd, 8th and 9th congressional districts. It paid off. All three seats went for Democrats -- providing Bayh with a nice talking point in Iowa, New Hampshire and beyond about the success of his brand of moderate politics.

Predictions

Senate
D 48
R 50
I 2

Dems +5

VA: Webb D
MO: McCaskill D
TN: Corker R
PA: Casey D
RI: Chaffee R
MD: Steele R
CT: Lieberman I
MT: Tester D
OH: Brown D
NJ: Menenedez D

House: D+23
D 226
R 209

KEY RACES TO WATCH
AZ 01 Hayworth R
AZ 08 Giffords D

CT 04 Shays R
CT 05 Murphy D

IL 06 Duckworth D
IN 02 Donnelly D
IN 08 Ellsworth D
IN 09 Hill D

KY 04 Lucas D
NC 11 Shuler D
OH 02 Wulsin D

PA 08 Murphy D
TX 22 Lampson D

NPR: Bayh and Young Voters

Senator Bayh was mentioned on NPR's Morning Edition today. The interviewer asked author Joe Trippi why Senator Bayh was engaging young people on social networking websites. Trippi said

Evan Bayh can create thousands and thousands of friends...mostly young people. It's important and it's a new way to reach people. It's a new channel. And some of the smarter candidates are understanding that they've got to join these communities to get involved in the conversation.

Hoosiers Want Bayh to Run

According to a new Indiana poll, 57% of Hoosiers support Evan Bayh's White House aspirations. The traditionally red state carries 11 electoral votes.

Toss-Ups and Likely D's

According to Larry Sabato, professor at the University of Virginia, Tom Reynolds is locked in a toss-up. Sabato changed this race from "likely R" to "toss-up" this week, in part due to Reynolds position as NRCC Chair during the Foley scandal. Nobody could have every predicted that Jack Davis would engage the Republicans' own campaign chair in a fight to hold onto his seat.

Also becoming a toss-up today was OH-02, the seat currently held by Republican Jean Schmidt, who infamously dubbed House Democrat John Murtha "a coward" for his "cut and run" policy. Her opponent, Wuslin, is gaining momentum and putting this race in play.

That makes 16 toss-ups for Sabato and another 12 seats where Democrats are likely to replace a Republican.

Tim Roemer on Bayh

On Monday, I had the opportunity to talk to former Congressman Timothy Roemer about Evan Bayh's potential presidential campaign before a lecture at The Catholic University of America, entitled "Safeguarding America : National Security in the 21st Century."

Roemer, an Indiana Democrat, member of the 9/11 Commission, and a candidate for DNC Chair in 2005, engaged students in a lively and inspiring presentation about our failure to implement the 9/11 commission's recommendations. Bayh just recently called on Congress to move forward with implementing these reforms.

When I asked Roemer about Bayh, he said:

Evan and Susan are my great friends. And noone has done a better job at articulating the center of American politics than Evan Bayh. I thought after Warner dropped out that Evan would take in a lot of his ground, but I see that Barrack Obama is really stepping forward. It may turn into a situation where Obama and Clinton attract all the attention away from Bayh. I would say this, if I were to give Evan some advice. Take off your coat. Roll up your sleeves. And start speaking from your heart about what midwest values mean. That's how he can win that election.

Warner Out, Obama In

Senator Barack Obama today announced that he will not uphold his promise to serve a full term in the Senate and will indeed consider running for the presidency in 2008. Obama was on Time's cover this week with the title, "Why Barack Obama Could Be the Next President." A similiar story ran in The Washingtonian. Obama is currently on tour promoting his latest book, "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream." When asked about his inexperience, Obama said, "I'm not sure anyone is ready to be president before they're president.