Evan Bayh

Mayor Pete eats and greets in Iowa. *burp*

Birch Bayh was born in Terre Haute in 1928, just before the start of the Great Depression. From the beginning, his life was marked by a mix of national and local, agriculture and ambition.

Overlooked in the indignation over job exportation—which thrashed between sincere and synthetic—was the Hoosier State’s steadily growing reliance on job importation.

“I told the president I’d decided not to seek reelection. He was surprised. He asked if I was 100 percent sure, and then I made a mistake. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I’m 98 percent sure.’”

Starting now, Hoosiers will mark two centuries of Indiana history with a yearlong party. But what, exactly, are we commemorating?

Via @1070Bruno: “Seriously, they should hang banner for this #Pacers team this week. It would have to be a quilt, with loose threads everywhere. But still.”

In a chamber where one party enjoys a thin majority, Indiana’s junior senator has garnered disproportionate influence as one of a handful of Democratic legislators from red and purple states who hold swing votes.

To understand the chasm currently separating Indiana’s political parties, all you need to do is picture their election-night celebrations. On November 6, the Democrats chose a sedate ballroom at the Downtown Marriott. The Republicans, who were marching toward supermajorities in the House and the Senate, chose the end zone at Lucas Oil Stadium.