Bart Stupak has finally gotten (or reacquired) a spine!

If the reporting from Politico is right, he’s finally stood up to Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama!

He’s un-caved!

A little too late.

He’s decided, you see, not to run for re-election.

Politico reports:

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who had a central role in the health reform fight as the leader of anti-abortion Democrats, plans to announce Friday that he will not run for reelection, a Democratic official said. Without Stupak on the ballot, the seat becomes an immediate pickup opportunity for Republicans.

President Barack Obama called Stupak on Wednesday and asked him not to retire. Stupak, 58, also resisted entreaties from Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the dean of the Wolverine State delegation.

Now get this:

Friends said Stupak was not leaving because of the health fight but because of the exertion that would be required to hold his sprawling Upper Peninsula District.

Uh . . . right.

This guy is waaaay incumbent. He’s been in the House for 18 years (9 terms) and has never won with less than 57% of the vote—just three percent from landslide territory.

So tell us how this year it is different and it’s become much more difficult—but not because of the health care fight.

This year was shaping up to be a different story, with Stupak becoming a leading target on both his left and right flanks. Abortion rights supporters were rallying behind Charlevoix County Commissioner Connie Saltonstall after Stupak insisted on pro-life language being inserted in the health care legislation.

Er . . . so I guess he’s facing a fierce challenge from the other side—the right—that isn’t due to the health care fight. Right?

And Republicans have rallied around surgeon Dan Benishek, a Tea Party favorite, who received very little attention until Stupak voted for the health care legislation even without receiving anti-abortion language in the bill itself. Benishek is expected to raise over $100,000 this quarter, according to GOP sources, a large amount for a first-time candidate who had virtually no campaign infrastructure before Stupak received national attention over his health care positioning.

Urm. . . . okay! So Bart “Pro-Lifers like the Catholic bishops are hypocrites” Stupak plans to leave, but it’s not because of his EPIC FAIL in the healthcare fight.

Not because of that at all.

So now that we have that settled, I just have one question.

What’s your goodbye message to Mr. Stupak?