I, too, was surprised by Sen. Evan Bayh’s decision not to run for a third term. In an institution where members have a habit of hanging on until they leave the chamber feet-first–casting votes while attached to IVs, being wheeled in and out for quorum calls–it is always noteworthy when a relatively young senator voluntarily steps down. (At 54, Bayh is two years older than his father, Sen. Birch Bayh, was when the elder Bayh was defeated for re-election by Dan Quayle in 1980.)