Martinez Wants Out of the RNC

Sen. Mel Martinez was always an imperfect choice for chair of the Republican National Committee. An unimpressive campaigner and a clumsy Senator, the only thing recommending him above sharper minds like former Maryland Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele was his ethnicity and his close relationship with President Bush.

Well, it looks like Martinez won't even last a full cycle.

Less than a year after his appointment, Martinez is preparing to step down, according to conservative columnist and Washington insider, Robert Novak.

Martinez' tenure has been marked by a failure of the GOP's national committees to recover from the shock last November's defeats and the personal embarrassment over the refusal of all the leading candidates for the presidential nomination to debate on Spanish language television.

Novak writes that Martinez will step down after the nominee is determined, which is likely to be sometime in February.

Democrats are no doubt worried that a competent chair will be installed in his place. This writer will be pleased to see Martinez adopt a lower profile, thereby reducing the embarrassment he causes Florida.


_______________________________________________

On another note, it appears that former Speaker Newt Gingrich will not run for president after all. After stepping down from the speakership in relative disgrace, Gingrich has effectively rehabilitated his image and this writer, for one, is disappointed that he will be denied the pleasure of seeing him run intellectual circles around several of the intellectual lightweights currently vying for the Republican nomination.