MORE PRESIDENTIAL AMBITIONS

The St. Petersburg Times' political blog The Buzz notes this morning that St. Petersburg businessman Jeff Parker has signed on as a member of the finance committee for Indiana Democratic U.S. Senator Evan Bayh's presidential exploratory committee. Parker, an Hoosier native, has known the Bayhs for many years, and touts the senator's decidedly moderate leanings.

He tells The Buzz: "His reputation as a fiscal conservative who opposed higher taxes as governor, his moderate positions on foreign policy, defense policy and social policy make him very attractive to moderates of both major political parties...It will be difficult, if not impossible, to label him as a classic liberal."

Parker is not the only Tampa Bay resident boosting the former Indiana governor. Also singing Bayh's song is Tampa consultant Bob Buckhorn, a former candidate for mayor of Tampa and the Hillsborough County Commission. Buckhorn reportedly joined Bayh for an event in New Hampshire.

Bayh comes from a well known political pedigree. His father, Birch E. Bayh, II, served in the U.S. Senate from 1963-1981 and made his own presidential run in 1976, losing the Democratic nomination to Jimmy Carter. He chaired the centrist Democratic Leadership Council (of which Buckhorn is also a member), and helped found the New Democratic Coalition in the Senate.

There are plans to bring Bayh to the Tampa Bay area early next year for a fundraiser.