Medieval Washington, D.C.

Beau Biden's decision to forgo a Senate race in Delaware underscores the Democratic Party's challenge of holding onto Senate seats once held by Obama administration officials, including the president and vice president.

Biden, the vice president's son, had been widely expected to run by Democratic officials . . .

Instead, Biden announced Monday that he will seek another term as the state's attorney general, leaving the party without a declared candidate 10 months before a general election against Rep. Mike Castle, a popular former Republican governor. Sen. Ted Kaufman was appointed by the state's Democratic governor to fill Vice President Biden's seat and is not running.

Such appointments have hurt the party's chances of holding those seats . . .

Democratic governors made four appointments to fill Senate seats vacated by the administration: Obama, Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar of Colorado. Two of those appointees were caretakers who won't run for election and the other two could face strong primary or general election challengers.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-25-democrats-beau-biden-delaware_N.htm

This is America, not medieval Europe.

Don't expect to get away with appointing a caretaker to hold your seat until your son can inherit it.

And, don't do it after promising open honest government.