Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist campaigned today against Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Reuters called it a “break with bipartisan traditions in the U.S. Senate,” because “Senate leaders have traditionally been reluctant to campaign against each other.”

The Senate historian’s office said it could not recall another case in the past half century where one Senate leader has campaigned against another on the rival’s home turf. However, things are different this election year.

They then declare that this is happening because the Senate is so closely divided, and the Republicans need to get to 60 seats to break the filibuster.

Actually, it’s happening because the minority leader is vulnerable, something which happens seldom if ever. I know of no tradition which forbids one leader from campaigning against the other; there is a good chance that Daschle will lose, and it’s Frist’s job to see to that. Don’t read anything goofy into this.