Sen. Harry Reid (D, Nevada) cuts and runs.

But… my birthday is tomorrow.

Mr. Reid, 75, who suffered serious eye and facial injuries in a Jan. 1 exercise accident at his Las Vegas home, said he had been contemplating retiring from the Senate for months. He said his decision was not attributable either to the accident or to his demotion to minority leader after Democrats lost the majority in November’s midterm elections.

See also the Weekly Standard, which has Harry Reid’s remarkably tin-eared attempt to spin his retirement into something that would be helpful for Democrats retaking the Senate. Only in the sense that Harry Reid will no longer be around to blight the long-term careers of red-state Democratic politicians: his tenure has had a remarkable amount of churn in that regard.  Also, Nevada just shot up the rankings on the Big Board: and if Governor Brian Sandoval decides to run for Senate, it pretty much goes off of the Big Board completely.

Moe Lane

PS: The Weekly Standard has the transcript to said video, if you don’t feel like watching Harry Reid justify himself.  And why would you feel like it, anyway?  It’s not like the man is going to be relevant for much longer.

PPS: Presumably Dick Durbin is the go-to guy, now.  I suggest that Senator McConnell start making that clear.

PPPS: Joe Cunningham beat me to it, over at RedState. And, frankly: as of this morning Harry Reid is just another retiring politician who isn’t worth more than a passing presence on RedState’s front page. So there’s no need for me to put this there, really.