Evan Bayh Reads the Indiana Policy Review – COPY

December 4, 2005

(And He Would Be Wise to Keep Doing So)

Sen. Evan Bayh put aside his work in Washington to rebuke a constituent, an Indianapolis history teacher:

I read with interest (your suggestion) that my vote against promoting Dr. Condoleezza Rice to Secretary of State could not be based on principle, that I had changed my priorities on Iraq, that no serious policy errors have been made for which the decision-makers should be held to account and that my motives could only be a sign of larger political ambition. This must be a case of mistaken identity, because (your) assertions did not accurately reflect my motivation, my reasoning or my position on our mission in Iraq.

The senator, however, picked on the wrong constituent. Andrea Neal, in addition to her primary jobs as mother and teacher, is a member of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation's Writers Group and formerly an award-winning editorial page editor of the Indianapolis Star. Her observation that the vote against Rice fit a pattern of public posture designed to establish the senator as a presidential prospect rang true for many Hoosiers. Neal's column is distributed to 32 of Indiana's most influential newspapers with a combined circulation of an estimated 650,000 readers, enough at least to concern even a moderately ambitious politician.

Indiana editors and their readers value Neal's knowledge of state politics. Her father was a newspaper publisher and a state party chairman. She counts among her sources almost three generations of Indiana's most important political figures.

Earlier in Neal's career, she was a reporter for United Press International covering the Indianapolis Legislature and in Washington the Supreme Court. She holds a degree in history and Latin American studies, graduating with honors from Brown University, and is the winner of the National Historical Society Prize.

The other members of the group hold comparable experience and credentials, most of them with Ph.D.s. (Click the "Indiana Writers Group" button at left and follow the "More" link to the individual bios.) Your support for the foundation helps ensure that these knowledgable men and women will continue to keep ambitious politicians to their word. We thank you.

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