All roads lead to Roemer in the discussion over Hoosiers who might be tapped to serve in President-elect Barack Obama's administration.

Former U.S. Rep. Tim Roemer is the first name out of county and state Democratic leaders when asked which Hoosiers could serve.

And he's "certainly being considered for high office in the Obama administration," said Lee Hamilton, a Democrat from southern Indiana who served in the House from 1965 to 1999.

Roemer represented the South Bend area in Congress from 1991 to 2003, serving on the Intelligence, Education and Workforce, and Science committees.

And like Hamilton, he's a former member of the 9/11 Commission, which investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States.

He also serves on a federal committee to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons and is president of the Center for National Policy, a Washington-based think tank.

But most visibly, he's been a vocal Obama supporter since primary season.

"Tim did some marvelous work for Obama throughout the campaign, not just in Indiana but in many places as well," Hamilton said.

Roemer campaigned for Obama in 11 states throughout the year. He said he's heard the rumors that he's being considered, but up until now, he's been "entirely focused and consumed" on the campaign.

"I have not looked one minute past midnight of last night," he said the afternoon after the election. "I would highly recommend Lee Hamilton and Evan Bayh."

Roemer served as a foreign policy adviser to Obama's campaign alongside Hamilton, who has a lengthy background in foreign affairs, including leading House investigations into the Iran-Contra scandal of the mid-1980s.

In 1988 and 1992, Hamilton was rumored as a vice presidential nominee, and when then-Gov. Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency, he was also on the speculation list as a secretary of state candidate.

Still, taking a position in the Obama administration isn't likely, Hamilton said.

"Oh, I think I'm too old," said Hamilton, who is 77. "I have a good relationship with Obama, but I'm not at an age where I can take over a major responsibility."

So what about Sen. Evan Bayh — a popular Democrat rumored to have been on Obama's vice presidential short list, and twice elected to the Senate out of the newly blue state of Indiana?

"He really does love his day job," said Eric Kleiman, Bayh's communications director. Bayh feels the cabinet is an important way to serve, Kleiman said, but he's looking forward to doing that as a senator.

"Senator Bayh serves on the Armed Services, Intelligence and Banking committees at a time when our country's facing two wars abroad and an economic crisis here at home," he said.

And then there's Sen. Richard Lugar, whose friendship Obama cited several times during the campaign. A large picture of the two senators taken during a trip to Europe hangs inside Lugar's Washington, D.C., office conference room.

Lugar's office said he will not serve in the Cabinet.

During a visit to the University of Notre Dame in October, students asked Lugar himself whether he was interested in Obama's cabinet.

"And I said, 'No, I'm not,'æ" Lugar said a month ago. "Because really, from the time that I came back from the Navy ... I've wanted to be my own boss, an independent spirit."

Staff writer Ed Ronco:
eronco@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6353