Bayh bows out of '08 presidential race

POSTED: 11:33 a.m. EST, December 16, 2006

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Less than two weeks after filing papers to set up an exploratory committee for a possible bid for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential race, Sen. Evan Bayh has dropped out of the running. "After talking with family and friends over the past several days, I have decided that this is not the year for me to run for President," the Indiana Democrat said in a statement issued Saturday. "The odds were always going to be very long for a relatively unknown candidate like myself, a little bit like David and Goliath," the statement said.

"And whether there were too many Goliaths or whether I'm just not the right David, ... the odds were longer than I felt I could responsibly pursue," Bayh's statement continued. "This path -- and these long odds -- would have required me to be essentially absent from the Senate for the next year instead of working to help the people of my state and the nation."

Bayh filed papers with the Federal Election Commission on December 5 to form a presidential exploratory committee. That same day, he said on CNN that he is capable of uniting Democrats, independents and Republicans in a "politics of common purpose."

"That's not happening today," he said. "But it's something I've demonstrated repeatedly an ability to do, and it's something I think we're going to need in the next president." This summer, Bayh said he knew a possible run against potential candidate Hillary Clinton would be tough, but he said he felt confident in his abilities and political experience. Over the past year, the former two-term Indiana governor has been a constant presence in Iowa and New Hampshire -- the states that traditionally open up the official presidential campaign with a caucus and a primary, respectively....