Black Box Report

Se sanseacabó (trans. "it's over").

They called him the Tanc. They also called him a demogogic bigot and one-note wonder who tried to drag his party to the far-right on immigration, and credit where credit's due, he succeeded:

Before Tancredo, the GOP presidential candidates didn't take the anti-immigration sentiment they heard on talk radio all that seriously. After Tancredo, it sometimes seems as if it's the only they issue they do take seriously. They scramble to out-Tancredo each other; any hint of sympathy for the undocumented worker is now verboten.

Of course, the Tanc's exit is a bad day for unhinged immigration opponents everywhere. Michelle Malkin offers her salute and promises the Guardians Against ¡Reconquista! will continue the struggle:

Tancredo (will) continue to play an important role in American life, perhaps in the U.S. Senate. Because of his relentless crusading for secure borders and restoration of the rule of law, immigration will not disappear from the presidential race's radar screen after his exit-despite the GOP elite's fervent desire that the issue die down and noisy activists go away.

And of course, by "GOP elite," Ms Malkin means "the majority of Republican voters":

As all of us try to make sense of the current immigration debate and how Tancredo's total rejection by Republican primary voters fits in let's consider these two figures: 1% and 62%. 1% is the share of the Republican vote Tancredo has been receiving. 62% is the share of Republicans who support an earned path to citizenship, according to a new LA Times poll taken two weeks ago. Taken together it appears that Tancredo's approach to immigration, "Deport Those Who Don't Belong, Make Sure They Never Come Back" has been overwhelmingly rejected by even Republican voters, and is just one more example of how the GOP's investment in the immigration issue has failed time and again to produce the results they had hoped for.

But it's not just the jingo-loving nativists that will miss the Tanc. Some of us will miss that certain CUCKOO! CUCKOO! that he brought to the campaign:

He was always fun to watch; kind of like the whacky neighbor on a sitcom who's always good for comic relief when the plot bogs down. I guess that means that Alan Keyes gets to have the lunatic fringe all to himself.

Now we're talking. With Tancredo done sucking all the crazy out of the room, my man Alan Keyes can show us what crazy really looks like!