Senator Evan Bayh is scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention, tonight.  He had a shot at a better time slot — until Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate. 

Had Bayh been selected, he would have added to Indiana’s reputation as “the Mother of Vice-Presidents.”  I learned that when Dan Quayle was chosen as the running mate for the elder George Bush. 

Indiana’s link to the vice-presidency goes back further than a lot of people realize and reflects a time when the state carried more political influence than we’ve seen in recent history.  The Senate Historical Office says in “the thirteen presidential elections from 1868 to 1916, eleven of the national tickets boasted a Hoosier candidate, usually running for vice-president.” 

Thomas Marshall served during the Woodrow Wilson administration, although he was not a big fan of the job.  He said he could never blame parents for wishing a child becomes President.  “But, if I sought a blessing for a boy I would not pray that he become Vice-President.”

While Charles Fairbanks had presidential aspirations, he managed only to reach number two.  He served Teddy Roosevelt.  Roosevelt was not a fan of Fairbanks, however.  The Senate Historical Office uses the word “scorn” to describe TR’s feelings for Fairbanks.  He accepted the Hoosier senator in a partnership of political convenience.

Thomas Hendricks was, briefly, a vice-president for Grover Cleveland.  The Senate’s historians say Hendricks’ “constant availability in every presidential election since 1868 had devalued his candidacy … Hendricks was dismissed as a man of “inordinate ambition.”  The Cleveland ticket won in 1884.  Hendricks died in his sleep in November of the following year.

Schuyler Colfax represented Indiana in Congress, rose to be the Speaker of the House, and then Vice-President for Ulysses Grant.  As a result of his personality, he was nicknamed “Smiler”.  The Senate Historians also describe Colfax as a man who “could never say no to a gift.  He grew indiscreet in his acceptance of everything from sterling silver to free railroad passes.”  He was “dumped from the ticket in 1872.”

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