Sometimes good things come in threes.

Senator Byron Dorgan.

Governor Bill Ritter.

Senator Chris Dodd.

All Democrats.

All announced yesterday that they would not seek re-election in 2010.

What does it mean? Well, Dorgan's seat has already been moved to lean Republican to safe Republican by most analysts.

Former Congressman Scott McInnis will now be favored in Colorado to win Ritter's Governor's office.

But Democrats did luck out when Dodd decided to retire. His likely replacement, the state AG, will be favored against Former Rep. Rob Simmons. Fortunately, this one is at least still a toss-up and Simmons still has an outside shot to steal one away from the Dems.

I'll use Marc Ambinder's analysis of the situation to sum it all up, as he nails the larger picture perfectly:

Bottom line: from a micro perspective, the GOP gains nothing from today. From a macro perspective, anytime three major Democratic party figures retire...ain't good for that party.

The biggest lesson from today is psychological. There are a lot of Democrats who want to retire, and their colleagues, in essence, are giving them cover to do so. That's what makes Democrats so nervous.

2010 keeps looking better and better.


h/t: Ace for the pic