A political chronicler bids a sorrowful adieu to a "cherished" subject--a man who has proclaimed, "I am the troublemaker"--and we all feel the loss

If you've got a bugler handy--or a trumpeter, in a pinch--you'll want to have him/her sound "Taps" while you read this item from Al Kamen's Washington Post "In the Loop" column today:

Farewell, Weldon

Outgoing Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), a cherished Loop favorite, waxed eloquent at his last hearing of the House Armed Service Committee Thursday, going on for a good 20 minutes about how he and the committee can take credit for, among other things: a "normalized relationship" with Libya; two meetings with the North Koreans despite Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice doing "everything she could to stop us"; ensuring the unmanned drone "Predator would be armed"; developing "missile defense"; and, negotiating "the framework to end the Kosovo War."

"I am the troublemaker," he said proudly, maybe losing his seat because of his "pushing the envelope." Or perhaps it was those FBI agents searching his offices? "And God willing, I'll be going back to North Korea in the next two months to continue that dialogue," he vowed.

So the six-party talks will be seven-party talks?

Gonna miss him a lot.