There goes another one.
I have to admit that I this annoying. It would be one thing if these guys were just old and said enough was enough, but more often--particularly with Dorgan, John Tanner, Bart Gordon, and now Dave Obey, you just get a sense that these dudes don't want to actually fight for their seats. They never really had to in the past, of course. But I just find it a little appalling that these guys seem to have no stomach for political combat. When the going gets tough, they get going. In the short term, they're hurting the Democratic Party. In the long term, though, I have to believe that the party will be better off without all this deadweight.
The Republicans have had more retirements this year, of course, but they've done theirs the right way by pushing tired representatives to retire in what will probably be a Republican year, rather than in say 2012, when Barack Obama will be running for a second term.
