Sarbanes retirement

I have many qualifications to opine on the announcement of Senator Sarbanes that he will not run for re-election in 2006, to wit:

1. I live in Maryland.
2. I have a blog.

And here is my opinion: Rah.

Given Maryland's history of corruption (remember Spiro Agnew and Marvin Mandel?), this statement from a "longtime Maryland Democratic operative" should be reserved for Sarbanes's tombstone: "He never embarrassed us."