Source: Bob Graham Won't Seek Re-Election

[Freddie Stubbs]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Sen. Bob Graham, who dropped his bid for the Democratic nomination for president last month, has decided not to seek re-election to a fourth Senate term in 2004, a source close to Graham said Monday.

Graham, a former Florida governor, said there were other things he wanted to do, the source said. The source said Graham had pledged to help the Democratic Party keep the seat in Democratic hands.

Graham is considered one of the most popular politicians in Florida, where he has served in the Senate since 1987.

Five Democrats - former state Education Commissioner Betty Castor, U.S. Reps. Allen Boyd, Peter Deutsch and Alcee Hastings, and Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas - declared for the Senate seat but vowed not to challenge Graham if sought re-election.

more: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/7171645.htm

[Noordam]

1. I am so glad

Education Commissioner Betty Castor is a very well liked Democrat and has my vote.

[Freddie Stubbs]

3. But Graham would have been a safer bet for reelection

[piece sine]

4. I'm not so glad

Graham was a shoo-in for relection. Now we have to defend a key Senate seat in an intensely competitive and contested state. Like Edwards, Graham is doing our party no favors by abdicating a Senate seat and moving it from SAFE to CONTESTED. Damn!

[topdog08]

32. I'm not so glad either

We need more Democratic leaders like Graham. Oh well.

[tsipple]

2. Florida Dems: Is This Good?

To an outsider, it seems like this is bad news.

[TSIAS]

6. At first glance, this is not positive

Our chances of keeping the seat have definitely fallen. It's already been a very NASTY fight between Alex Penelas and Peter Deutch. I don't like to see this type of division early. I think Castor would be a solid candidate.

I still think we can hold on to the seat. McCollum, if he wins the primary again, is a beatable candidate.

[Orangepeel]

7. there's a silver lining

Graham would doubtlessly have backed off bush-bashing if he were running, because it was hurting him in the polls. If he fades away now, it is all bad news. If he keeps speaking out, it's a silver lining.

Thanks, Bob and Go, Betty!

[Dookus]

5. I think this is awful....

not only because he was sure to win re-election, and now the seat's up for grabs, but also because of his work on the Intelligence Committee. Graham was in a position to stick it to Bush should he win reelection. Sigh...

Good luck, Sen. Graham, and thanks for all you've done. We'll miss you.

[aldian159]

20. agreed

It looks like the only seat we're gonna take is Fitzgerald in IL. Graham was a shoo-in, and now he's out

[hang a left]

8. I wonder if he thinks he might get picked for the VP slot?

[piece sine]

9. over Edwards dead body!

Edwards has Dean's VEEP practically tatoo'd to his forehead.

[tsipple]

10. There Are Some GREAT VP Choices Available

Regardless of the eventual Democratic nominee. Here are some:

Max Cleland (my personal favorite)
Jean Shaheen
Wesley Clark +
John Edwards +
John Lewis
Andrew Young
Bob Graham
Bob Kerrey
Gary Hart ++
Richard Durbin ++
Evan Bayh ++
Zell Miller +++

+ if unable to win the nomination.
++ longshot.
+++ just kidding.

[Racenut20]

12. I LIKE Richard Durbin for 08. Hope he is active on the trail this year.

[aldian159]

23. linving in IL, its hard not to like durbin

[davidinalameda]

11. Edwards might be Dean's VP pick

but what good is that going to do since Dean is not going to win the nomination

[tsipple]

18. Wish I Could Be So Certain of Everything

I know the sun will rise tomorrow, though.

[aldian159]

22. I'd vote dean over kerry if edwards is the VP

n/t

[jiacinto]

13. How could he do this?

I am very mad at him right now.

[SoCalDem]

14. He's 66 years old

He had a bypass this year.. Maybe he is ready to play with his grandchildren and let the craziness go..

Between being Gov and being senator, he has spent enough time in public service.. There would never be a "good" time for him to leave..

[Democat]

40. He was running for President!

That excuse doesn't fly.

Graham is a great guy and I wish him well in whatever he does, but the health issue is hard to argue when he was running for President.

[SoCalDem]

42. Maybe it caused him to realize that "his time has passed"

or maybe he's just pissed because people did not warm to him :shrug:..

Who knows why he's leaving?? ..

People change their minds all the time :)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. I can't say I blame him

The man has offered up a HUGE portion of his adult life to public service. I don't anticipate him going quietly into the night. He will surface somewhere where it supports us.

[dolstein]

16. You've got to be kidding, Jiacinto

I can understand being disappointed -- but ANGRY? Methinks your anger is misplaced.

[lovedems]

17. Maybe now that he doesn't have to worry about reelection

he will come out with his gloves off and tell the country what they really need to know that "career politicians" are afraid to tell. Hopefully some good can come out of this.

[AndyTiedye]

21. Another Republican Seat in the Senate

Gotta win by more a landslide to beat the machinez (Ask former Sen. Cleland).
Only Graham could possibly do that. (Though it is possible that he gave up because
the electoral process in Florida is so blatantly rigged that he realized that even he
could not win).

This is very, very bad news.

It isn't a question of how many Senate seats we might win anymore, it's how many
we will lose.

The 2004 Senatorial elections look more like a battle to keep our ability to filibuster.
If we lose that, we're finished, and so is the country.

[aldian159]

24. just one year ago

WE were in control of the Senate...

How sad that we're gonna be down even more seats.

[madfloridian]

19. He said he could help more from the private sector.

He feels he has a lot to say that can't get said during a campaign run. Also, and I agree, there are good Democrats running for his seat. Don't underestimate the power of some of them.

[DarkNite]

26. Unfortunate.

I think his presidential run and heart surgery took a lot of his energy out of him. That's what it looked like to me the last couple times I saw him on C-Span. It's still yet another Senate seat the Dems are forced to defend now, but I wouldn't rule him out for VP, especially if Dean wins the nomination.

Whatever he does with his life from here on though, I wish him well. He has had a long and distinguished career in public service few can match. He's earned his retirement.



-DN-

[tlb]

25. Edwards and Hollings seats are almost sure to go republican

and now Graham's I'd think will lean republican, though not so much as the first two. Shapes up as a very bad year for Daschle. I wonder if he will himself run for re-election now.

[gauguin57]

27. heart

If Graham had some sort of epiphany when he had a major health crisis in his life, he wouldn't be the first. He has faced his own mortality in crystal-clear terms; maybe he really does want to do something else with his life.

A pundit on CNN (I believe) this morning talked about how the Senate isn't a fun place to work anymore; he said it has become extremely dysfunctional. He said not to be surprised if other long-time senators decide to bail for that reason.

Bob Graham is a good guy. I'm sad he won't be in the next race for his seat. We need all the good-guy Democrats we can get. But it's his life. And it's not like he hasn't given many years of his life to his party and to public service.

Enjoy your R&R, Sen. Graham.

[jsw_81]

28. Don't forget Georgia

That seat is probably gone too. This is terrible news.

[CounterCoulter]

29. Folks, the time for worrying about...

Regaining the Senate is long gone. The goal is to retain 41 seats and keep the filibuster in play...Thanks Greens, for allowing Bush to set the agenda for the last 3 years! The Right couldn't have done it without you!

[truthseeker1]

30. 3/5 required?

Please fill me in on the filibuster rule. From your comment, I'm guessing that if one side has 3/5 the other side loses its right to filibuster? Is that right?

[jsw_81]

31. Yes

If the Republicans get 60 votes they can shut down the filibuster and there won't be a thing we can do about it.

[Voltaire99]

38. Golly, CounterCoulter, you're welcome!

And allow me to thank you for helping the GOP pass the Patriot Act, enact the tax cuts that drained the surplus, and invade Iraq - Bush couldn't have done it without such brave Democrats!

[CounterCoulter]

43. Well Gee,

After you accused Al Gore of being no different than Bush and the neocons, where were Dems supposed to go? It sure as hell wasn't a move to the Left because for the yippies on the Left, voting Green isn't an ideology, it's a fashion. If yippies knew anything about stuff other than tibet, pilates and obscure pieces of foreign culture, perhaps they would have realized that voting Green in 2000 would significantly push the Democratic party to the right.

[NewJerseyDem]

33. This sucks

This seat is now a tossup and our democratic candidates are absolutely awful. Thankfully, the republican candidates are also quite bad but I really think that this is a very very big blow to our hopes in the senate. And if Breaux retire, as most think he will, I don't know if we have any chance.

[Orangepeel]

35. Betty Castor isn't awful n/t

[economic justice]

34. This is Ridiculous!

I would normally think that it's fine for someone his age to give it up and live. BUT, this guy was running for * president *!!!!! If he was running for president and prepared to be in public life, why not the senate? This reeks of "President, or nothing!"

[Snellius]

44. What a whiney, pathetic exit to such a distinguished career

He can justify it any way he wants, but Graham went out like a bitter loser not a fighter. The prospects for Democrats look worse and worse but at least, when the time comes, we will be true to what we believe.

[goobergunch]

36. This makes it really difficult to win back the Senate

Here's what it's looking like right now:

• 37 seats SAFE DEM and not in play
  
• 4 seats SAFE DEM and in play (WA, NV, AR, WI)
  
• 2 seats SAFE DEM/possible LEANS DEM (CA, IL)
  
• 1 seat LEANS DEM/possible SAFE DEM (SD)
  for a total of 45 seats trending Democratic.
  
• 45 seats SAFE GOP and not in play
  
• 2 seats SAFE GOP and in play (CO, MO)
  
• 1 seat SAFE GOP/possible LEANS GOP (GA)
  
• 1 seat LEANS GOP/possible TOSS-UP (PA)
  for a total of 49 seats trending Republican.
  

The 6 toss-ups are AK, FL, NC, OK, LA, and SC. The Republicans need to win just one or two of these to keep the Senate. We need to win five or all of these. It's possible, but not very.

The Political Report should be up late tonight.

[Voltaire99]

37. Taking bets: when will Katherine Harris announce?

I'll say in time for Christmas.

[goobergunch]

39. The sad part: You're not joking. (n/t)

[dolo amber]

41. For what it's worth

Today on Crossfire when discussing Graham's decision not to seek re-election, Novak said something to the effect that it was a shame, Graham was a really great guy and would have/would be a great choice as VP. Begala even thanked him, saying that it was good to hear him say something nice about a wonderful Democrat. Not that having Novak sing your praises is necessarily a good thing, but having him say it on nat'l tv is bound to resonate with the brain dead repugs...who knows...:shrug: