"Sit back and watch"? I wanna point & laugh!

Sounds like Rep. Bereuter must hate America.

Seriously, it looks like Bereuter made a principled decision, and better late than never. If the GOP machine tries to attack the former Vice Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, they'd better be loaded for bear. Especially considering how much attention the (now-former) Chairman is getting.

And kudos once more to Rep. Nick Smith (the not quite so brave as Rep. Bereuter). There's certainly an ongoing tradition of getting a little something off your chest when you cash in your chips, but I'd certainly love to see more people take the statesman's option. There's a reason we've all heard of the "military-industrial complex" (see section IV) and the "Iron Curtain". (Thanks to Mr. Saturday for a Churchill reminder.)

Is retirement the last, best hope of an American politician growing a backbone? I'll take what I can get!