Some other reviews... from the Indy Star...

tinyurl.com/89yjc
Bayh woos party faithful in key state

In New Hampshire speech, senator bashes Bush for being
a 'divider'

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., helped
pack a hotel ballroom here Saturday night, slamming
President Bush in one of the most important speeches
of his nascent 2008 White House bid.

As proof that this speech mattered more than most,
Bayh's wife and his top supporters were by his side
for the first time since he began speaking to
Democrats around the country this year.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party's fall fundraising
dinner drew about 600 of the most active Democrats in
the state that holds the first presidential primary.

"I'd like to begin this evening by sharing some good
news with all of you," Bayh said, revving up the
hard-core, sellout crowd. "In just about three years,
the Bush era will be over. Done. Finished."

Bayh criticized the Bush administration for "needless
division, misplaced priorities and ineptitude" --
somewhat stronger language than he's been using
lately, even in all-Democratic settings.

"President Bush sought our nation's highest office
pledging to be a uniter, not a divider, and has
proceeded to divide this country more profoundly than
any time since the Vietnam War," Bayh said, eliciting
long applause.

He also said administration officials "don't have a
clue" about how to make the country secure.

The party activists listening to Bayh are used to
hearing from speakers like Bill Clinton, Al Gore and
Sen. John Edwards, all of whom have previously
headlined the annual fundraiser.

"It's the most hard-core activists from every part of
the state," said Nick Clemons, the state party's
executive director, who invited Bayh to speak.

Bayh traveled solo when he spoke earlier this year to
Democratic gatherings in Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio,
South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Iowa. But Susan Bayh
accompanied him Saturday, sitting at the head table
with New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch and many of the
state's top Democrats.

Bayh also brought in about 50 people backing his
political action committee, which is fueling his
exploratory campaign. The group included longtime
friends such as Indianapolis lawyer Bill Moreau and
George Wendt, a mutual fund manager from California
who said he likes Bayh's message that unites the
country more than divides it.

Moreau, who was Bayh's chief of staff during his first
term as governor and worked in the Senate for Bayh's
father, has raised $60,000 so far for Bayh. He used
his own money to fly to New Hampshire to attend
Saturday's dinner and a meeting of the political
action committee's supporters.

"I plan on spending a lot of time on Evan's staff over
the next few years, traveling like this, going to Iowa
or New Hampshire or Wyoming, if that's where we need
to go," Moreau said.

He and the New Hampshire Democrats got to see how Bayh
handled one of the early testing grounds for
presidential hopefuls.

His prescription for change -- unity, opportunity,
real security and accountability -- are four themes
the moderate Democratic Leadership Council is pushing
in a bid to reach beyond the party's liberal wing and
take back the White House and Congress.

Bayh headed the Democratic Leadership Council for more
than four years until stepping down this year and
turning the chairmanship over to Iowa Gov. Tom
Vilsack.

Bayh is not alone among potential 2008 candidates who
hope the council will boost their chances -- the same
way it boosted Bill Clinton's presidential bid.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York also has close
ties to Democratic Leadership Council leaders. She
recently was given a special role in the group,
heading an initiative to talk to people across the
country as part of an effort to shape a Democratic
Party agenda.

Although Clinton, who is up for re-election next year,
has not said whether she will run for president, she
tops national surveys in which Democrats were asked
whom they would back in 2008.

"I think the goal of every other candidate besides
Hillary Clinton right now is to convince New Hampshire
Democrats and Iowa Democrats to keep their options
open," said Dante Scala, a New Hampshire political
science professor who has written a book about the
state's presidential primary process.

Debbie Butler, a certified public accountant and
Democratic activist from Concord who supported Howard
Dean in 2004, said potential candidates don't need to
hit a home run at this point. They just need to be
viewed as a contender, as Bayh was after his speech,
she said.

"I don't think the crowd is walking out saying he's my
first choice," Butler said. "I think they're saying
he's on the list. When people come this early, they
run the risk of knocking themselves off, and he
absolutely did not do that."

Contact Star Washington Bureau reporter Maureen Groppe
at (202) 906- 8118 or at mgroppe@gns.gannett.com.