Replacing McCain in the Senate?

Matt Lewis | February 15, 2008 8:46 AM

Rumors are swirling that Sen. John McCain might pull a "Bob Dole" and step down from his Senate seat, to focus on running for president (he says he has no current plans to do so

).

As McCain has noted in a recent blogger call I participated in, the analogy isn't perfect; Dole was the Majority Leader in 1996, and thus, his responsibilities were greater. Still, an interesting possibility.

Of course, in a perfect world, McCain would be elected president, and Republicans would retain his seat. Either way, the prospects of replacing McCain with a Senator John Shadegg or a Senator Jeff Flake, would probably be welcome news to many conservatives ...