I like Jim Gerlach. He's been my Congressman for the past 7 years. I voted for him in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He's done a good job. I've met him on several occasions. He's smart and affable. He knows the issues and has done a good job taking care of his constituents. I'd vote for him for just about any political office.

Having said that, I believe Gerlach is making a huge mistake giving up his 6th District Congressional seat to run for Pennsylvania governor in 2010. It's not that he wouldn't make a good governor. He'd be a big improvement over Ed Rendell, the current tax-and-spend liberal occupying the governor's mansion. The problem with Gerlach's decision is that he has no chance of winning. He'll never make it past the GOP primary next spring.

Tom Corbett will be the Republican nominee for governor in 2010. Corbett has proven himself in two statewide runs for Attorney General. Gerlach is not known outside SE Pennsylvania and can't raise the kind of cash Corbett can to make a successful run for statewide office.

Gerlach may be testing the waters in 2010 for a future statewide run for governor or Senate, but in the meantime, he's is going to give up a Republican seat in Congress to a Democrat.

That's the part that bothers me about Gerlach's decision. The 6th Congressional District (parts of Montgomery, Chester and Berks counties) has been trending Democratic in recent years and only Gerlach, a fiscal conservative with moderate social views, can hold the seat.

Without Gerlach on the ballot, Democrats will have the edge in winning the 6th Congressional seat in 2010 ... and Republicans may never get it back.