Dianne Feinstein's extremely awkward, very uncomfortable exit from the political stage

[douglas9]

LOS ANGELES — Several of her House colleagues are already running for her Senate seat. She isn’t raising real money. And it’s so widely assumed that Sen. Dianne Feinstein is on her way out that Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, felt free this week to publicly endorse a would-be successor — if Feinstein retires.

An extreme awkwardness has fallen over California political circles, where virtually everyone is acting as if Feinstein is done, but without her explicitly saying so. It’s the electoral equivalent of clearing the dessert from the dinner table as one guest sits there, nibbling at the main course chicken dish that had been served hours prior.

“God bless her,” said Garry South, a Democratic strategist who has worked on major statewide campaigns in California. “But the most pathetic part of politics is when somebody doesn’t know when it’s time to leave.”



https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/04/california-senate-2024-dianne-feinstein-00081166

[Scrivener7]

1. 3...2...1...

[Beatlelvr]

2. This is very sad

She should have retired a while ago.

[Mr.Bill]

5. it's going to be really sad

if she decides to run again.

[Rebl2]

3. The last sentence

seems to be the case for several people in congress. It’s as if they are addicted to running for reelection and being in congress. I do wish sometimes there was a limit to how long people can be in the house and senate.

[The Mouth]

4. Running for office is like running a marthon or an Ironman

It's utterly brutal, but there are some who really seem to be addicted to the challenge.

In my estimation, the two best *campaigners* of my lifetime were Reagan and Clinton. They *LOVED* the process. Obama was good at it, Trump was/is addicted to the applause and adulation, but Clinton and Reagan probably would have ran a third time if it was possible, for the same reason my 78 year old neighbor is trying to shave time off his next triathalon.

Plus, it's long been said that the Senate is the most exclusive club in the land, if not the world; hard to give that up even for rich and powerful people.