Reader response to the Dan Coats interest in running against Evan Bayh in Indiana’s Senate race is mixed.

One Washington Republican who is watching the Senate races closely says:

Obviously this is very good news. Democrats were not expecting a race here. This speaks to the political environment we are in. For all his advantages, Bayh hasn’t had a truly competitive race in years. Will be interesting to see how he handles a top tier challenger, especially after he was reportedly considering retirement not that long ago.

This Republican notes that Cook Political Report promptly moved the Indiana race from “Solid Democratic” to “Lean Democratic,” and that the GOP now has eight legitimate pick-up opportunities, in North Dakota, Delaware, Nevada, Colorado, Arkansas, IIlinois, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. Winning control of the Senate requires some momentum in two states (at least) out of California, Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and New York. A challenge, but not impossible.

The incontrovertible point is that when old senators who last sat in elected office 12 years ago are thinking of running for their old seats, it means word of this year’s GOP tidal wave has reached the retirement homes. Okay, that’s not entirely fair, as Coats is only 66; let’s just say word has reached Berlin (as Coats was U.S ambassador to Germany for much of George W. Bush’s first term). In other words, even if Coats doesn’t get the nomination, a guy who has every incentive to keep enjoying post-elected life sees vulnerability in Bayh.

One reader is getting an uninspiring “Frank Lautenberg” vibe:

Dan Coats is a good conservative, but do we really need to dust off old senators (ala Mondale and that new jersey senior citizen) to beat these guys? I know we’d be better of with a fresh young face – with Pence out, don’t know who that’d be though.

Yes, Coats is registered to vote in Virginia and is a registered lobbyist. (No word on whether he’s ever landed a helicopter on Staten Island.) Still, it will be interesting to see the Democrats argue that a man who represented the state in Congress for 18 years is somehow not a genuine Indianan.

Another reader is underwhelmed:

Sorry, I don’t view this announcement with the same pleasure as you do. I remember being disgusted in 1998 when Coats decided to “do a Trible”* and not run for re-election to his Senate seat because he was sure Bayh would beat him. It is true that Bayh would probably have won anyway, but as an incumbent with no scandals hanging over him, Coats was the one person who might have held the seat for his party.
You have been gently mocking those Democrats who have been retiring this year in face of a looming GOP wave and I don’t see that it is any great reason to celebrate when one of our own who did exactly the same thing twelve years ago has now decided to share the light of his countenance with us once again now that the road seems easier for him.
* This refers to the classic example of this, when in 1988, GOP Senator Paul Trible of Virginia retired (like Coats) after one term because then wildly-popular Governor Chuck Robb was going to run against him. Trible was even more egregious than Coats, however. After retiring ostensibly to “spend more time with my family” he ran for (and lost) the GOP nomination for governor the very next year.

A reader across the river in Louisville, Kentucky, observes:

Indiana is not the state that voted Obama. It is the state that elected Pence. Bayh, for all his good qualities, comes across as nothing more than a Democrat vote. Only in times of Democrat despair, does he show his “moderate” stripes. He’s never been a great voice for anything. There are plenty R’s like that too. If things continue on this pace, Coats could win easily.