This is an editorial by David S. Broder.

It is rare that a retirement announcement by a single back-bench member of the minority party in the House of Representatives sends shock waves through the whole chamber. But that was the reaction last week when Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois put out word that this would be his final term.

LaHood is not a familiar figure to most Americans, because he isn’t a Newt Gingrich or a Duke Cunningham. He has never occupied a leadership position or been involved in a juicy scandal — usually the only ways to stand out among 435 members.

But he embodies the characteristics that make the House work as an institution. He takes care of his constituent duties, he carries more than his share of the legislative workload, and — most important — he cultivates the kind of personal relationships that build trust across partisan and ideological lines.

In this era of polarized politics, fewer and fewer members of the House fit that description. So when LaHood, who is only 61, announced that he is leaving after seven terms, it signaled trouble for the House — if not for his Republican Party.

The central Illinois district he represents, stretching from his home city of Peoria south through rich farm country to the state capital of Springfield, regularly delivers solid GOP majorities. But no new Republican can really replace LaHood in the dynamics of the House.

This is a man so thoroughly schooled in the rules of procedure, and so trusted by both Republicans and Democrats, that he was the natural choice to preside over the House during the explosive days when it was debating the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

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