Re: Another GOP Senator Gone
Certainly, I have a bias; Senator (then Governor) Bond is the man who gave me my start in politics back in 1986 in his first run for the US Senate. He was willing to trust a 19 year old college sophomore with conducting his opposition research against a very formidable opponent, Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods. As a boss, back then and through the 90's when I worked for him in a variety of capacities, he's always been fair, funny and kind -- plus being smart as a whip.
As a senator, particularly in recent years, no one has been more attuned to the intelligence needs of the country as we fight the war on terror. He is a true American patriot, and a Missourian to his core.
As long as the GOP gets its act together in some minimal way, there's every reason for optimism that Senator Bond's seat will remain in Republican hands. Recall that Missouri actually went for John McCain this year, against one of the strongest Democrat tides in recent memory. The election of a Democrat to the governorship says more about internal state discontents with the sitting governor than about trends generally (the governor-elect, Jay Nixon, has lost statewide several times before).
What's more, Senator Bond will do everything in his power to ensure that his successor will be a Republican. That's just the kind of person he is -- and he will be missed.