resign — To give up (a position, for example), especially by formal notification.
retire — To withdraw from one's occupation, business, or office; stop working.
That seems like an elementary distinction, but apparently there are some grownup people out there who don't get it.
Maybe Sarah Palin's decision to resign as governor of Alaska last summer is responsible for some of the confusion, but I'm inclined to think that is merely scapegoating. Palin definitely has her faults, but she isn't responsible for the fact that some words are treated as interchangeable, even when they are not.
The fact is that there are people — many of them, apparently — who are linguistically challenged.
A good example is AlterNet.org, which proclaims in a headline on its site today that "North Dakota Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan Resigns." (Note: This has been corrected, but you can see the original headline at the top of this post.)Dorgan did announce Tuesday that he will not seek re–election in November. His announcement seems to have caught many by surprise, even though, as the New York Times' David Herszenhorn reports, he "has been regarded for months as one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents."
As Herszenhorn observes, polls have shown that North Dakota's Republican governor (perhaps the most popular governor in America) probably would defeat Dorgan in the general election, but the governor has not yet revealed his plans for 2010. The speculation now is that Dorgan's decision makes it more likely the governor will seek the seat and that, whether he does or not, the Republican candidate will win it in November.
The idea that voters in North Dakota may vote for a Republican for the Senate in November is hardly a radical one. North Dakota has voted Republican in 11 straight presidential elections and has only voted for one Democratic presidential nominee since 1936.
Perhaps it seems contradictory that the state is represented by two Democrats in the Senate. But they are more centrist than many of their colleagues. If Democrats want to hold the seat, choosing a left–leaning nominee is not likely to accomplish that goal.
The situation is much different in the state of Connecticut, where Chris Dodd apparently has decided not to seek another term. The state's popular Democratic attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, appears poised to enter the race now, much to the relief of the state's Democrats.Connecticut is regarded as a Democratic state — it hasn't voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1988 — but the unpopular Dodd was increasingly viewed as a liability. With Blumenthal — or, frankly, just about anyone else — carrying the party's banner, Democrats seem ever more likely to hold the seat.
It's still early in 2010, and we have yet to learn what will become of other endangered Democrats, like Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, Harry Reid of Nevada, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Michael Bennet of Colorado among others. Some may seek re–election. Some may win. Some may lose.
And some may decide not to run for another term.
But let's get one thing straight before the deluge begins.
Deciding you aren't going to run for re–election is not the same thing as resigning.
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