Recalled Republican Rep. Paul Scott (R-Grand Blanc) has announced that he is stepping down as representative immediately and will no longer participate in votes even though he is not officially out of the Michigan House.

In an interview with the subscription-only newsletter Michigan Information and Research Services, Scott said he was taking the action because continuing to vote as the representative was “fundamentally un-democratic.”

Scott also said the vote likely had energized Republicans.

“I would issue a call to action to all legislators, with everyone in Michigan watching, to show we don’t allow special interests to bully and intimidate the legislature,” he said.

Ari Adler, spokesperson for Speaker of the House Jase Bolger (R-Marshall), said Scott had not notified Bolger of his decision, nor was he obligated to do so. He said Scott was merely speeding up the inevitable, noting that once the Genesee County Clerk certifies the election results, Scott is done with his position as state representative. Adler said that could happen as soon as Thursday.

Dr. Lawrence H. Summers, Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, announced his plans to return to his position as University Professor at Harvard University at the end of the year.

Dr. Summers is the chief White House advisor to the President on the development and implementation of economic policy.  He also leads the President’s daily economic briefing.

“I will always be grateful that at a time of great peril for our country, a man of Larry’s brilliance, experience and judgment was willing to answer the call and lead our economic team.  Over the past two years,  he has helped guide us from the depths of  the worst recession since the 1930s to renewed growth.  And while we have much work ahead to repair the damage done by the recession, we are on a better path thanks in no small measure to Larry’s wise counsel.  We will miss him here at the White House, but I look forward to soliciting  his continued advice and his counsel on an informal basis, and appreciate that he has agreed to serve as a member of the President’s Economic Advisory Board.”

Dr. Summers said “I will miss working with the President and his team on the daily challenges of economic policy making.  I’m looking forward to returning to Harvard to teach and write about the economic fundamentals of job creation and stable finance as well as the integration of rising and developing countries into the global system.”

Dr. Summers overseas the coordination of economic policy making across the Administration, leads the President’s daily economic briefing and has been a frequent public spokesman for the Administration’s policies.

Under Dr. Summers’s leadership, the National Economic Council has been at the center of economic policy making in the Obama Administration.  He served as an architect of the Recovery Act and other job creation measures and the Financial Stability Program.  As co-chair of the President Auto Task Force, he led the restructuring of the U.S. automobile industry.  He has also played a leading role in managing our international economic relationships including China, developing the President’s health care plan, opening the broadband spectrum, and in international climate negotiations.

Summers is the third major economic figure to depart the White House in recent months, following Christina Romer, the head of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Peter Orszag, the head of the Office of Management and Budget. More to come…

This morning the President accepted my resignation as Commander of U.S. and NATO Coalition Forces in Afghanistan. I strongly support the President’s strategy in Afghanistan and am deeply committed to our coalition forces, our partner nations, and the Afghan people. It was out of respect for this commitment — and a desire to see the mission succeed — that I tendered my resignation.

It has been my privilege and honor to lead our nation’s finest.

Update: On Twitter, Joe clarifies through Time Magazine that McChrystal offered to resign. Hasn’t actually tendered his resignation.

So it was odd to see the statement this morning from Rep. Mark Souder, the “family-values” Republican from Indiana found today to be not as committed to his family as he’d have us believe.

It’s not that he doesn’t start well:

It has been a privilege to be a part of the battle for freedom and the values we share.

But then he immediately moves on to imply that the strains of the job — and the sacrifices he’s made for his constituents — led him astray.

It has been all consuming for me to do this job well, especially in a district with costly, competitive elections every two years.

I do not have any sort of “normal” life — for family, for friends, for church, for community.

That’s followed by a brief shift back to humble-servant mode:

To serve has been a blessing and a responsibility given from God.

I wish I could have been a better example.

I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff.

But then he’s back to blaming external factors for the position he’s put himself in:

In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain.

I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process.

Diane and my family were more than willing to stand here with me.

Finally, he accepts responsibility:

But the error is mine and I should bear the responsibility …

I am so ashamed to have hurt those I love.

But that’s followed by the claim that his resignation is a heroic gesture designed to salvage the policies he advocated in Congress.

By stepping aside, my mistake cannot be used as a political football in a partisan attempt to undermine the cause for which I have labored all my adult life.

If there’s a message in all of this contradiction, he doesn’t make it easy to glean.

This tax-evasion revelation comes on the heels of similar scandals that have embroiled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and health czar-designee Tom Daschle. While Killefer’s post is not as high-profile as Geithner’s or Daschle’s, its central focus is fiscal responsibility. A lack of such discipline in Killefer’s personal life would reflect poorly on her integrity for the job.

If her case were an isolated one, she might be able to push through with an apology, as Geithner has and Daschle likely will. But now that a pattern has formed, she appears to be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

She is the second Obama nominee to withdraw her name. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson gave up his commerce secretary nomination amidst a federal investigation into his dealings with a California financial company contracting with the state government.

UPDATE: From the White House, here’s Killefer’s letter to Obama:

February 3, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

I recognize that your agenda and the duties facing your Chief Performance Officer are urgent. I have also come to realize in the current environment that my personal tax issue of D.C. Unemployment tax could be used to create exactly the kind of distraction and delay those duties must avoid. Because of this I must reluctantly ask you to withdraw my name from consideration.

I am deeply honored to have been selected by you and you have my deep appreciation for your confidence in me. You have my heartfelt support and best wishes for success in all your endeavors.

Respectfully yours,

Nancy Killefer

Last month, a Biden spokesperson said the vice president-elect intended to remain in the Senate long after President-elect Barack Obama stepped down from his own seat in Illinois in case he was needed for a “critical vote.”

Now that there seems to be little chance that an economic stimulus package will be ready for a vote before Inauguration Day, it doesn’t look like Biden will be urgently needed in the upper chamber before he takes his new office.

Update: MSNBC reports the resignation is effective Thursday. The headline has been updated to reflect this. Apologies for the omission.

President-elect Barack Obama believes that Gov. Rod Blagojevich should resign, his advisers said on Wednesday. “The President-elect agrees with Lt. Gov. Quinn and many others that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois,” Robert Gibbs, the incoming White House press secretary, said[...]

Gibbs said that Obama believes the Illinois general assembly should now take control of the issue of picking a new U.S. Senator for Illinois. The assembly is expected to reconvene next week to debate whether to hold a special election to fill the seat. The assembly should “consider the issue and put in place a process to select a new senator that will have the trust and confidence of the people of Illinois,” Gibbs said.

Granted, his judgment hasn’t exactly been stellar lately, but it’s hard to imagine, if Blagojevich has any concern at all for the well-being of his party, that he will exercise his authority to appoint someone to fill Obama’s vacated seat. Anyone Blagojevich chooses would likely be tainted by the scandal for the remainder of the term. With such shocking charges and damning evidence against him, Blagojevich’s only graceful move, at this point, is to resign.