I loathe the sob but I must admit he was effective. He makes McConnell look like a trained seal. I guess he's feathered his bed adequately by now and is ready for the rocking chair.

"WASHINGTON — Senator Harry Reid, the tough tactician who has led Senate Democrats since 2005, will not seek re-election next year, bringing an end to a three-decade congressional career that culminated with his push of President Obama’s ambitious agenda against fierce Republican resistance.

While not totally unexpected, his decision to forgo what would have been a difficult race still shook the Capitol on Friday and represented the first major transition in the Democratic leadership of the Senate or House in years. He endorsed Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York to succeed him in 2017.

Mr. Reid, 75, who suffered serious eye and facial injuries in a Jan. 1 exercise accident at his Las Vegas home, said he had been contemplating retiring from the Senate for months. He said his decision was not attributable either to the accident or to his demotion to minority leader after Democrats lost the majority in November’s midterm elections.

“I understand this place,” Mr. Reid said. “I have quite a bit of power as minority leader.”

He has already confounded the new Republican majority this year by holding Democrats united against a proposal to gut the Obama administration’s immigration policies as well as a human-trafficking measure that Democrats objected to because of an anti-abortion provision.

“I want to be able to go out at the top of my game,” Mr. Reid said. “I don’t want to be a 42-year-old trying to become a designated hitter.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/us/pol...tw-nytimes&_r=0

Oh, goody, he's endorsed Schumer as his successor. By mid-2017 we will be longing for the return of Reid.

w