The meaning for conservatives of Sen. John Warner's announcement that he will not seek re-election

I'd say the guys at Powerline about sum it up for me: "This means that the Senate will be losing one of its biggest windbags, and that the Republican caucus will be losing one of its least steadfast conservatives. Warner generally voted as a conservative, but on big ticket items he seemed to believe it was statesmanlike (or at least made for good sound-bites and good press) to take a moderate or liberal line. "