National Affairs: Gesture for Fern

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Counting U.S. Senate seats that they expected to win this fall, Democrats underestimated the power of plump, matronly Fern Armitage Johnson, wife (for 47 years) of Colorado's Democratic Senator Edwin Johnson. Big Ed has never lost an election and seemed sure to win again in November. But after 18 years in Washington, Mrs. Johnson felt homesick for Colorado. Last week Big Ed announced: "Mrs. Johnson has developed a complex about living longer in Washington, so retirement is a must."

At 70, Ed Johnson is still healthy and hardworking. He sounded wistful about quitting the Senate, but Fern Johnson, squeezing his hand, was "just wild with joy." Republicans were delighted, too. Johnson's Senate seat, previously a Democratic cinch, is now open to capture.