Something Is Amiss in Mississippi

Why on earth would Trent Lott up and resign just a year into his new term? Something smells fishy about this ...

Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott announced Monday he will leave a 35-year career in Congress in which he epitomized the Republicans' political takeover of the South after the civil rights struggles of the 1960s.

Lott said he wanted to leave on a "positive note. He was first elected to Congress on the coattails of Richard Nixon's re-election landslide in 1972 - with 72 percent of the vote in Mississippi.

His decision to retire by year's end occurred five years after he was bounced as the leader of his party in the Senate over remarks praising a Senate colleague that were interpreted as endorsing segregation.

Lott rebounded a year ago, winning re-election to a fourth term in the Senate and narrowly defeating Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander for the party's No. 2 post lining up and counting votes as GOP whip behind Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

He can't leave on a positive note when his term is up? Something isn't right, I tell ya! I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

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