Voinovich to Ohio: Gonzo should quit, but no confidence is just too political

Me to Voinovich: You're an idiot, wrong, and you're missing the boat to save yourself.

Establishing credentials as something of a maverick now could be the key to Voinovich's chances for reelection 2010. The Democrats dragged down DeWine, and countless other GOPers across the country, because they walked in lockstep with Bush. Despite the fact that he will no longer be president, Bush's shadow will hang around for at least a few years. After as many messes as he has made, it will take a few years at a minimum to clean most of it up. And if the Republicans hold the White House, then god knows what new messes will arise. If Voinovich continues to march arm in arm with his party and faces a young, energetic, and well-funded challenger, he will go down in much the same way DeWine did. But instead of doing the right--and incidentally politically smart--thing, Voinovich throws out this:

“If I were president, I would have asked Alberto Gonzales to resign as attorney general,” George V. Voinovich, Republican of Ohio, said in a statement. But he said, “Today’s vote does nothing to rectify the current problem or ensure it doesn’t happen again.”(emphasis mine)

I can't be the only one who has noticed that, for a Republican, Voinovich often has fairly good instincts. He'd be doing himself and the people of Ohio a favor if he actually acted on them. Knowing him though, he'll keep running to the right like he always does. I hope Tim Ryan and the rest of the farm team are taking notes.