I'm saddened and somewhat surprised to see Mel Martinez step down 16 months early. Disappointed, too. He was just starting to find his true voice, even it had taken almost five years in the Senate and eight years in Washington. Or maybe we were just now hearing the voice of a man freed from party orthodoxy after announcing last December that he wouldn't run for reelection. Well, free at last, free at last, gracias a Dios, Mel is free at last.

On the publication of his autobiography last year -- a lovely and remarkably ego-free account of coming to this country alone at age 15 as a Pedro Pan -- Martinez told me that he sorely missed seeing his teenage son, Andrew, play high school basketball in Orlando, just as his own father had missed his athletic career. He missed his two older kids, too, and his charming wife, Kitty, who had remained in Orlando. When most politicians talk about leaving office to spend more time with their family it's usually so much hot air. With Martinez, he means it.

He also spoke about being disillusioned with Washington and, implicitly, the Senate. After Obama's victory and the ascendency of Democrats in the Senate -- they hold 60 seats -- Martinez evidently saw himself as a second-string player in the minority party that was moving increasingly to the right. Also as a Cuban American, he saw himself as a one-man minority within the GOP Senate caucus.

That Hispanic credential was why George W. Bush dragooned him into being chairman in 2007 of the Republican National Committee; it was an unhappy experience because Martinez's support for immigration reform made him persona non grata with the party's conservative base. It must have been deeply satisfying for Martinez to cast his last vote to confirm Sonia Sotomayor.

Having spent seven years as a reporter in Washington I understand Martinez's disillusionment with the place and process. Bright, talented people go there believing they can make a difference, then discover that the Capitol's entrenched powers will not only brook no change, but will punish anyone who tries.

As the writer Michael Herr said in Dispatches, one of the best books about Vietnam, I went to cover the war and in the end it covered me. Mel Martinez, I suspect, felt covered by Washington. I sympathize, but would point out that he should have known that could happen when he asked Floridians to send him to the Senate. They did, and now he's bailing. Not pulling a Sarah Palin, but close. It's a matter of degree, not kind.

Avoiding criticism

So who will Charlie Crist pick to replace Martinez? Never himself. Charlie's far too shrewd a politician for that. Doing so would have started a chorus of justifiable criticism about putting personal ambition above his responsibilities to the people of Florida what with record unemployment, a stalled economy, falling tax revenues, etc., criticisms that will be rehearsed anyway before the Senate election in November 2010.

``I will not appoint myself,'' the governor said in Tampa while promising that the selection process would be ``very thorough, very comprehensive and very complete.'' Mostly, it will burnish his credentials with GOP conservatives, whom Crist has been wooing like crazy.

There's no short or long list, the governor says, but there are several attractive candidates, all of whom (Democrats need not apply) could do the job quite nicely. Former Sec. of State Jim Smith appears to be the frontrunner and says he'd be thrilled to end his career in the Senate.

Former House Speaker Allan Bense, another competent if very conservative politician, could do the job, too. So could two able Coral Gables law partners, Bobby Martinez and Dean Colson, both of whom have worked at various times as unpaid advisors to the governor. Or how about Helen Aguirre Ferre, the savvy editorial page editor of Diario Las Americas? Other names being mentioned include the governor's former chief of staff, Fort Lauderdale attorney George LeMieux, and Crist's current chief of staff, Eric Eikenberg. He was also the last chief of staff for the person I'd pick, former Rep. E. Clay Shaw of Fort Lauderdale.

We need a pacesetter

Shaw is smart, ethical, honest and knows his way around Washington, having spent 24 years there as a member of the House. Shaw has had some health issues, but thankfully has overcome them. He would surely give Crist his word not to run when his interim term is up, a requisite condition for whomever the governor appoints. The governor says he'll announce his choice before the Senate reconvenes after Labor Day.

Florida needs a pacesetter for the next year and a half, not a placeholder. Sen. Shaw? Has a nice ring, doesn't it?

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