Virginia Governor's Race to Be An Experiment in Voter Turnout

Lott says he's genuinely torn over what to do. "It's very, very tough," he said. Among the factors tempting him to call it quits: His career in Congress has already crested, and Hurricane Katrina destroyed his family home -- which doubled as his retirement nest egg -- in Pascagoula. Lott has no personal wealth and is about to turn 64. If he serves another six years in the Senate, he may or may not have the energy for a lucrative stint in the private sector.

On the other hand, Lott's formidable legislative skills have never been more needed, as Mississippi tries to recover from the devastating storm. Nor is it out of the question that Lott could return to leadership, especially if Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), who currently holds the Senate's No. 3 GOP post, loses his reelection bid next year, as polls suggest he might.

FEC Clears Nader Campaign

The Federal Election Commission has rejected an ethics complaint regarding Ralph Nader's presidential campaign and a charity he created.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the FEC to investigate the relationship between Nader and the charity, Citizen Works, which leased office space to the campaign. CREW's complaint, after an article in The Washington Post last year, alleged that the arrangement violated campaign-finance laws.

Nader responded to the allegations with a letter and affidavits from staff, and the FEC said it found "no reason to believe" there had been any violation.

"Nader's response directly and completely refutes the complaint's allegations," the FEC said in a February filing that previously went unnoticed.

CREW also filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service alleging that Citizen Works breached prohibitions on public charities aiding political campaigns. Such investigations are not public under taxpayer-privacy laws, and the outcome is unknown.

Cillizza is a staff writer with washingtonpost.com. Washington Post staff writer James V. Grimaldi contributed to this column.