Bayh announces support of Clinton’s candidacy

WASHINGTON – Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, who once aspired to be the Democrats’ presidential nominee, on Monday endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton’s bid for the White House.\n“I believe she will run a campaign that is both tough and smart when it comes to protecting our nation’s security,” Bayh said at a news conference with Clinton.\nBayh, former governor of Republican-leaning Indiana, is in his second term in the Senate. \nHe won re-election with 62 percent of the vote in 2004 and is considered a possible Democratic vice presidential choice for 2008.\nA colleague of Clinton’s on the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Bayh pursued a possible presidential bid until late last year, when he dropped out of the race amid evidence that Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois were building formidable campaign organizations.\nClinton said she agreed with Bayh, a centrist, that “Democrats should campaign everywhere in America.” \nHe was named a national co-chair of her campaign.\nClinton and Bayh traveled together to Iraq in January, just before Clinton announced she would seek the Democratic nomination. Bayh is one of several potential presidential contenders who have abandoned their own bids to endorse her.\nFormer Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack dropped his bid last winter to become the New York senator’s campaign chairman. \nLast week, retired Gen. Wesley Clark also announced he was backing Clinton.\n“Hillary Clinton is a seasoned, experienced leader who will be ready to lead this \ncountry on Day One,” Bayh said.