Ailing, in love, upbeat, Marc Basnight quits Senate

RALEIGH (BY MICHAEL BIESECKER, NewsObserver.com) - With Republicans taking control of the state legislature, the Democratic political boss many considered the capital's most powerful politician says it is time for him to fade from public life.

First elected to his Senate seat in 1984, Marc Basnight served the last 18 years as president pro tempore, a position that allowed him to set the agenda for new laws while bottling up bills he didn't like.

In a hastily called sit-down with reporters in his office Tuesday morning, Basnight cited his declining health and burgeoning love life as the reasons for his departure.