As much as I agree, these comments would have more impact if Voinovich weren't about to go from nearly irrelevant to completely irrelevant in eighteen months' time.
He's definitely going to retire into the obscurity of a former Senator. So you're right, Joe. But I wish it were different. A guy who was a successful mayor (credited by some with saving Cleveland), an excellent governor and a thoughtful senator deserves to be considered relevant. Alas, in our culture, holding office is everything. Unless you are a former President, being a "former anything else" assigns you to the scrap heap.
I have to think if former Republicans like Howard Baker, Nancy Kassebaum and Alan Simpson had been considered "relevant", their party might not be in the hands of the very mouth-breathers Voinovich is concerned about.
