has accomplished that and quite frankly he said it became a chore to go back to his district and meet with his constituents and work with them and get to know their problems doing what members of congress have todo. that being said, it ll set off an absolute sprint to try and get a qualified democratic candidate to run in this district. republicans have been targeting it from the beginning. why? it voted for george bush in 2000, 2004, obama won by two points in 2008, charlie cook, the political handicapper we all so love and admire has said now it will go from solid democratic leaning to a complete toss up. going to be very interesting to see what happens there in november. democrats want to hold this seat. republicans will go 110% to try and bring it into the red state column. jack? nbc s luke russert following all the latest for us in washington. luke, thanks. take it easy. now to new orleans where republicans have gathered for the southern republican leadership conference at a