Hawaii Democrat Daniel Akaka, who has served in the Senate since 1990, has announced that he’s not going to run for a fifth term in 2012. “It was a very difficult decision for me,” Akaka says in a statement. “However, I feel that the end of this Congress is the right time for me to step aside.” Akaka’s retirement forces the Democrats to defend yet another seat that would otherwise have been a slam dunk. Hawaii is an overwhelmingly Democratic state, but its last governor, Linda Lingle, is a Republican and is considering running for Akaka’s seat. You can’t blame Akaka though. The man is 86 years old and he lives in Hawaii, a land where the beaches are pristine, the sunsets are awe-inspiring, the pineapple juice is plentiful, and the women move their hips like this. That Akaka ever managed to leave that place for bleak, cold Washington, D.C., is some kind of miracle.
Daniel Akaka Retiring In 2012 [AP via HuffPo]
