Time for Big Daddy to go???

It is time for Sen. Byrd to retire

His 50 years are long enough

HIS friends won't tell him this, so maybe the one guy in West Virginia who is not a fan of Robert C. Byrd should tell him: It is time to retire from the Senate.

Fifty years is enough.

His is a remarkable story. Byrd's rise from the hardscrabble of Sophia in Raleigh County to being a couple of heartbeats from the presidency is a story that should live on at least in West Virginia lore.

After a nice run as Senate Democratic leader, Byrd became the chairman of the appropriations committee. It requires a nimble brain to select exactly where in the $3.2 trillion budget to park the Robert C. Byrd this and the Robert C. Byrd that.

The billion-dollar Byrd brain still works with Swiss-watch precision. He counted noses last week and realized he lacks the votes to remain as chairman.

They told him: It's time.

If I am following the law correctly, a retirement in February, so Byrd can bear witness to the inauguration of the new president on Jan. 20, would allow Gov. Joe Manchin to appoint a Democrat who would then have ample time to establish prowess as an earmarker and be rewarded with an election to a two-year term in 2010.

And the state can rename the state holiday on the day after Thanksgiving "Robert C. Byrd Day" in honor of his birthday.

Whatever it takes.

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