Serious work ahead for Bob Corker

photo FILE – In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, Republican U.S. Sen. Bob Corker speaks to civic groups in Columbia, Tenn. Corker had been widely expected to consider a run for Tennessee governor in 2018, but the GOP takeover of the Senate has put him in line to become chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations committee, which could make a return to state politics less likely. (AP Photo/Erik Schelzig, file)

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the former businessman and mayor of Chattanooga who has a reputation for speaking his mind and working for sensible solutions to America's problems, said this week he will not seek the United States presidency in 2016, and that's too bad.

It's too bad because, probably more than any other politician who has made overtures toward seeking the Republican nomination, he offers a worthy combination of experience, candidness, open-mindedness, honesty and a sense that getting the job done is more important than political posing.

Corker hadn't made any overtures about running, but his name was inevitably mentioned when the subject of serious candidates was brought up. A nonsensical poll released Friday indicated he would have the support of only 11 percent of state voters for a presidential bid, but the poll said a plurality of 46 percent was undecided. He made his feelings about the presidency clear in a statement Monday.

Now 62, he will be 64 when the 2016 election is held, 68 at the end of a potential first term of any winning candidate and 72 in 2024. If he had an interest, the next presidential cycle probably offered his best chance.

The presidency aside, our state's junior senator has serious business in front of him in the roiling world as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. And should a Republican with whom he feels comfortable win the presidency in 2016, he should certainly be considered as a candidate for secretary of state or with his experience as mayor and as Tennessee's onetime commissioner of finance and administration, secretary of the treasury.

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