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MANIFESTO

I know I sound like a broken record on this, but, damn, I'm tired of US senators who just refuse to retire.

New Jersey has its own version of this phenomenon with the campaign of 84-year-old Frank Lautenberg. The Garden State's senior senator (the double meaning is intended) is hoping to win his fifth term in the Senate, which would make him a nonegenarian when the upcoming term ends. That's not a willingness to serve; that's egomania. (I can understand US senators' reluctance to leave the womb of the Capitol: In their dotage they're certainly treated far better than they would be at any assisted living facility or comparable venue. I can understand it, but I don't have to like it.)

Unfortunately, the only way out of this ridiculous situation is for legislators to pass a bill providing for term limits. That obviously will never happen.

Meanwhile, the US Senate becomes more and more like the Mormons' superannuated Quorum of the Twelve, and that's not a compliment.