Others say the feeling was more like Miller frustration or Miller angst, a sense that all he cared about was passing a bill legalizing slot machine gambling. The Senate of Maryland, as a result, was not the high-minded place it had been or could be.
Some senators were comparing him unfavorably with House Speaker Michael E. Busch, who enjoys considerable support and admiration from members of the House of Delegates. Some say his surprising willingness to kill a House-passed slot machine bill three years ago was done out of pique: He didn't want Mr. Busch, a slots opponent, to be the bill's putative sponsor.
In the list of matters leading the 65-year-old Mr. Miller toward retirement, there was also the feeling that the mood had changed, that the rules of Senate loyalty, even among Republicans, were fading. There were Republican senators who did not fit the Republican mold of years past when, unable to build much party power, they became yeomen workers for the issues they cared about. As the GOP became querulous, the Senate's old decorum was a casualty.
FOR THE RECORD - A column and photo cutline on Sunday's Commentary page ("Miller backs away from backing away; what's next?") misidentified state Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller's jurisdiction. He represents Prince George's and Calvert counties. The Sun regrets the error.
So, he made his immediately regretted announcement. He told me he felt a great weight had been lifted that he would now have time to spend with his family. Politicians always cite family when they're about to leave something they don't like as much, that isn't as profitable as something else - or if they can't win again. Mr. Miller, though, seemed to mean it.
It's not unusual for people, even those without power, to encounter deep separation anxiety when it's time to walk away. When you have enough power, you can change your mind.
If he runs, if his colleagues want him back as leader - and if he doesn't change his mind again - he could set some new priorities. He could start the process now. Almost anything other than slots might work.
C. Fraser Smith is senior news analyst for WYR-FM. His column appears Sundays in The Sun. His e-mail is fsmith@wypr.org.
