01:00 AM EST on Sunday, November 14, 2004

I applaud Sen. Lincoln Chafee's choice to remain a Republican.

Now, may I respectfully suggest he please shut up.

His flirtation with bolting the party -- and, more especially, his decision not to vote for George W. Bush and instead write in the name of the president's father -- has been an excruciating episode that has done the senator no good in Rhode Island or in Washington.

He has been in these matters the picture of indecision, and his dithering has been a distraction that has needlessly punctuated political conversation.

Overall, I admire the senator. I have known him and his family forever. His late father, GOP Sen. John Chafee, was a model public official.

I am impressed that Lincoln Chafee, 51, speaks his mind and often parts company on the Senate floor with a conservative, strident Republican Party, especially on such social issues as gun control, abortion, and gay marriage. It is ironic that the liberal Rhode Islander's skepticism of big tax cuts, which he sees as leading to dangerous deficits, should be so out of fashion in the Bush era; in other days Chafee's attitude would have been considered GOP orthodoxy.

Chafee is one of only a handful of Republican moderates remaining in the Senate. Yet this small band has a valuable role to play as a conscience within the caucus and as a bridge to Democrats who are willing to reach for consensus.

In an increasingly polarized nation, and in the increasingly divisive politics of Washington, history will honor those who shunned extremism and instead were voices of reason.

In my book, Rhode Island is best represented by a congressional delegation in which neither party has a monopoly and the state has a foot in both camps. (Surely journalists are better off when they can seek information and comment from pols on both sides of the aisle!)

I also believe heavily Democratic Rhode Island would be better served if the political system here were more closely balanced. Chafee has worked with Governor Carcieri to try to strengthen GOP ranks. True, they have had little success so far, but the rebuilding effort continues. It will take years to pull off, and the party can ill afford to lose one of its top stars.

In Washington, any real attractiveness that a party switch might have for Chafee had to have disappeared when it became apparent that leaving the GOP still would not make the Democrats the chamber majority -- in other words, where would his leverage be, and what would be the point? On Nov. 2, the Republicans bolstered their control; they will now occupy 55 of the Senate's 100 seats. Under those circumstances, Chafee would have to be a complete dope to jump.

So last week came the big announcement, after days of speculation in Rhode Island and in the national news, that -- duh! -- Chafee is staying put. Though often an outcast, he now said, "My Republican colleagues have let me know that they want me in their caucus. They value the voice I bring and they have made it very clear to me that they respect and want that voice to be heard."

By the same token, he said he knew he must work hard to smooth ruffled feathers in Republican ranks and wanted better relations with President Bush.

Chafee never would have been in this situation had he not episodically agonized publicly over the years about bolting the party. True, he usually dismissed such talk, but he had an odd way of doing it. For example, in 2001, after Vermont's Jim Jeffords left the GOP, became an independent, and briefly put the Democrats in charge of the Senate, Chafee confirmed he had been thinking of jumping himself when Jeffords's move relieved the pressure. Chafee, who hoped Democratic control would slow down some of the more conservative initiatives of the Bush administration, told me he was no longer thinking of leaving but that if the Republicans somehow regained the majority he would think about it anew.

When the GOP eventually did regain control, Chafee stayed put. In a New York Times story last month, he insisted he had no intention of defecting. But when asked if he went to bed at night wondering how he could remain a Republican, he said yes.

His party affiliation sway-pole act was overshadowed only by vacillation over how he'd vote for president this year. Sometimes he signaled he was for Mr. Bush; at other times he backed off.

A spectacular low point came on the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention. (He would make only a brief appearance on the New York scene.) Chafee said he supported Mr. Bush's reelection but wouldn't commit to voting for him. He looked ridiculous, and Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey, more conservative, more combative, and a possible challenger in a 2006 Senate primary, could barely contain himself, asking in an interview:

"What does that mean? Usually, the people you support you vote for. Would you vote for one you wouldn't support? Or is he saying he supports two people?

Then Chafee, distancing himself further from the president but also wanting to stay away from Democrat John Kerry, hit upon the solution of writing in the name of the president's father, an old family friend whose policies he like better.

But, in declining to choose between candidate Bush and candidate Kerry, Chafee didn't make a decision, he avoided a decision. Citizens look to leaders to lead. Chafee is often accused of wanting to have things both ways. This time he outdid himself.

True, Rhode Island was going to be a walkover for Kerry no matter what Chafee did, but the symbolism of his move left him open to ridicule, and, one might say, retaliation. I was struck by a letter to the editor from Edward Smith of Providence:

"When Lincoln Chafee runs for re-election to the U.S. Senate, I will write in his father's name."

And then, in an Election Day interview geared to his actually going ahead with his write-in strategy, Chafee compounded his problem by saying he might leave the GOP if the president won a second term.

All Chafee ever had to do was say, "Despite differences we have over the Iraq war and other matters, I am after all a Republican and I'm voting to reelect the president," and let it be.

"Of course," people would have said, "what else would one expect?" and nobody would have said another word about it.

Even last week, as Chafee announced he was staying in the GOP, he left the door slightly ajar, saying he could not pledge to remain a Republican "forever." So speculation likely will still flare from time to time.

Interestingly, the day after Chafee's announcement, Bush strategist Karl Rove indicated that the White House eyes conciliation with Chafee and other moderates and that the president was not irritated by the Rhode Islander's write-in move. Rove spoke understandingly of Chafee's independent streak and the challenge of being a Republican in such a Democratic state.

It would be nice to think that any move by a victorious Mr. Bush to reach out to Chafee represents more than fleeting puffery and instead a new, lasting generosity of spirit. Certainly there will be issue clashes -- perhaps a Supreme Court confirmation -- that will severely test their relationship.

Meanwhile, it was bizarre to read Republican state chairwoman Patricia Morgan's take on Chafee's long-running musings about whether he would support Mr. Bush and remain with the GOP. She told the Providence Journal's John E. Mulligan, "The media forced him to make statements that were contrary to how he actually views his role." She declared, "You guys backed him into a corner and he wasn't adept enough at dealing with the media to sidestep the issue."

If I were the senator, I would not rush to take media-relations courses from Morgan, who often stumbled in her unsuccessful race for the Rhode Island House. More importantly, Morgan's comments are an insult to Chafee. No journalist makes this guy say anything. In fact, for a veteran politician, he is unusually cautious. That is, while he is very candid, he speaks at his own pace. He says exactly what he wants to say, and on his own timetable.

He is who he is, not the most polished operator, but a bright guy, an honest guy, moving as best he can through the political jungle. He has plenty of interests in life, and he and his wife, the former Stephanie Danforth, have a ton of money, and he is very competitive, but he doesn't need this job, and when he's through, or when voters decide he's through, he'll find something else to do.

In the meantime, Rhode Islanders have no choice but to appreciate his strengths and hope he can function effectively.

M. Charles Bakst, The Journal's political columnist, can be reached by e-mail at mbakst [at] projo.com