Domenici's Going To Go

Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico is retiring at the end of his term.

He becomes the fourth Republican senator (not including Larry Craig, whose own political plans remain very much in the air) to decide against running for another term in 2008. And many of those seats could switch over to Democrats.

In Domenici's home state, for example, popular Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, could quite probably win the seat if he decides to abandon his campaign for the presidential nomination -- and if he decides he doesn't want to be Hillary's running mate.

The Republicans hold 22 of the 34 Senate seats that are up for election in 2008. Four of those Republicans are retiring. Four more face challenges that could threaten to capture those seats for the Democrats.

At this point, it appears that only one Senate Democrat, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, faces a significant challenge in a re-election bid.

Clearly, Republican hopes for winning back the majority in the Senate have taken a major hit lately.

By the way, has anyone noticed that these Republican seats were won in the election just before the invasion of Iraq? Some of them had been won before that, but some of the Republican victories in 2002 were clearly the result of the Administration's bogus drum beating that linked Saddam Hussein with the 9/11 hijackings.

Including the shameful Republican campaign that slandered Georgia Sen. Max Cleland, a distinguished veteran of Vietnam who lost both legs and an arm in service to his country.

If Saxby Chambliss, the Republican who defeated Sen. Cleland six years ago, loses his re-election bid, there's only one thing to say.

Those who live by the sword shall perish by the sword.