Another Dem Retires

Tennessee Rep. Bart Gordon announced he's not going to run in 2010, the fourth such announcement this month. And so another safe Dem seat now looks likely to flip. Dave Weigel writes:

There are going to be a number of deep red areas where, in 2010, prospective presidential candidates can happily stump for Republican nominees. In 2009, Republicans in New Jersey and Virginia were skittish about bringing Sarah Palin into their blue states. But Palin, a laughable figure among non-Republicans, would be a massive draw in a rural Tennessee district that went nearly two-to-one for her ticket. Come election night 2010, Palin and a lot of other 2012 hopefuls will try and take credit for any red state or red-district GOP gains.

That sounds about right to me, except for the bit about Palin being laughable (remember when they thought her assault on "death panels" was funny -- until it became clear that her criticism had resonated). These "non-Republicans" better yuck it up now, because come November 2010, I don't think they're going to have much to laugh about.