Evan Bayh, Iran Hawk

Things come around, don't they? When I last interviewed Evan Bayh, in early 2007, he had just ended his campaign for the Democratic nomination for President; he had been going nowhere, not only because he was charisma-free, but because he was too hawkish for the Democratic base. Now, of course, he's in contention to become Barack Obama's running mate.

Here is what he told me about the Iraq war, and about the threat from Iran:

"You just hope that we haven't soured an entire generation on the necessity, from time to time, of using force because Iraq has been such a debacle. That would be tragic, because Iran is a grave threat. They're everything we thought Iraq was but wasn't. They are seeking nuclear weapons, they do support terrorists, they have threatened to destroy Israel, and they've threatened us, too."

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2008/08/evan-bayh-iran-hawk/8692/