1993: Kay Bailey Hutchison runs for Senate and pledges only to serve two terms.
1994: Now Sen. Hutchison runs for her first full term (hey, specials don't count.)
2006: Hutchison runs for her third full term.
2009: Hutchison says she'll stand down after the march primary.
2010: Hutchison decides, nah, she'll finish out her term instead.

Yup, shocking no-one, this morning Hutchison backtracked on her earlier pledge to resign from the U.S. Senate whether or not she lost the March primary to Gov. Rick Perry.

It's not just because she has a remarkable track record on liking life on the Potomac. Nor is it because her resignation could have triggered a cascade of race-switching amongst her Republican replacement wannabes that would have caused carnage in the November elections. A week ago her congressional colleagues sent out a bleating lament that "there is no person more capable, more committed, and more caring to stand up with John Cornyn and fight Texas's fights in the U.S. Senate." Er, so committed that she was talking about resigning? Congratulations on the low water mark, guys.

In today's letter declaring her latest volte-face, Hutchison said:

On a personal level, this has been a most difficult decision, but after much deliberation, I have decided to complete my term. I will work alongside our great Texas congressional delegation to repeal and replace President Obama’s massive health bill, to stop cap and trade legislation and to cut the deficit the President is building that is putting our economy in peril.

So, here's the big question: What's more likely, the GOP getting a big enough majority in the midterms or in 2012 to pass a veto-proof repeal bill, or Hutchison announcing sometime in 2012 that she'll be running again?

Of course, the loser/winner in this situation is John Sharp, the Democratic candidate to run for her seat whenever she finally does go. Lose, because he has another two years to wait; Win, because that's a lot of undistracted campaigning and fundraising time.