[BlackRazor]

"At this point he has to feel used and abused by an administration that called on him to leave his secure elected position in PA to take, what has turned out to be, a thankless job."

Secure, but also very temporary. Ridge was prohibited from running for re-election this year due to term limits. I'm sure he saw this current position as a means to increase his national exposure and further his future political ambitions. He may even have thought this could be a stepping stone to the 2004 VP nomination.

[leadpenny]

Ridge was prohibited from running for re-election this year due to term limits.

Thanks. That sheds some light on the subject.

I'm sure he saw this current position as a means to increase his national exposure and further his future political ambitions. He may even have thought this could be a stepping stone to the 2004 VP nomination.

Very insightful. As I remember, before W selected Cheney, Ridge was on the VP 'short list.' The talk back then was that W would have been intimidated by Ridge's physical size.