Remember the disappointed, honorable Sen. Evan Bayh, who had
this interview with Ezra Klein?
Months can go by, and we're deliberating things, but we're not actually putting anything into effect, and for me, I just wanted a greater sense of satisfaction about making a difference every day. People come into public life for different reasons. None of us are ego-challenged, I think, or we probably wouldn't be doing what we're doing, so if anyone tells you that they don't like the sound of the applause and the ego gratification, I don't think they're being straight with you.
But at the end of the day, after a while, that's not what it's all about. If one of my boys was asking me if they should go into politics, I'd say there's only one reason to go into public life and that's to help people.... And I honestly felt as of this moment in time, given the way things are operating around here, maybe more in a micro way than a macro way, I could make a bigger difference in a different capacity. Between being governor and part of the Senate, one of the things I did was I held a chair at the business school at my alma mater, Indiana University. And I'd go to lecture the graduates, and I loved that, answering their questions. It was real, it was tangible, and it was making a difference every day.
So how did Evan Bayh decide he could best "make a difference every day"? Not for what you might call the sources of good in the world.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hired former Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) to participate in a regulatory reform "road show" of speeches, events and media appearances, according to a memo obtained by iWatch News.
"The Chamber's communications professionals, working closely with our federation and government affairs teams, have done an excellent job educating the public and policymakers about the regulatory overload the nation currently faces, its damaging impact on our economy and jobs, and the urgent need for change," President Thomas Donohue wrote in a June 2 memo to the Chamber's board of directors, supporters and friends. "I'm pleased to report that the Chamber has recently enlisted former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card and former Senator Evan Bayh who will carry a bipartisan message on regulatory reform out around the country."
....
"We don't see this effort as an 'us versus them' issue," [Tom Collamore, the Chamber's senior vice president for communications] said. "Having a Democrat of [Bayh's] stature gives the effort more heft and an important perspective."
That might be the only time the word "heft" has been applied to Evan Bayh. But could anything be more depressingly predictable than Bayh ending up in a "bipartisan" dog and pony show talking about the evils of regulation?