Retire???? None of these people want to retire, They want to live in the trough the rest of their natural lives and die on the job. Our founders never envisioned these as "lifetime" jobs. They were supposed to serve briefly and then go home and back to their real jobs. Today's politicians get a taste of the good life and all the bennies, and then there's no prying them out of D.C. Even the few good ones we elect get bitten by the greedy bug. Notice that even if they lose an election, even then they seldom go "home". They stay in D.C. as lobbyests. Want to bet Daschle will never again set foot in South Dakota and mingle with the "hicks"?