(CNN) -- Yemen's President-for-Life Ali Abdullah SalehSaleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up.
| To be fair, there was the whole uniting the two Yemens thingie in the '90s, which led to an entirely different set of now-internecine violence. |
But recall that he said he wasn't going to seek reelection the last time, too, and was "drafted" by his party...
So he was obligated, obligated to take on a thankless job one more term. And then one more. What a selfless hero he is...
He won't install his son to replace him, he said.
I'm not even sure the rest of the world was aware he has a son...
He also has asked his political opponents "to re-engage in dialogue in hopes of reaching a sustainable and reconcilable political agreement," the Yemeni government said.
Kinda late for that, I'm guessing...
Saleh made the announcement as unprecedented protests sweep across North Africa and the Middle East. The demonstrations have forced Tunisia's president from office, and they prompted Egyptian geriatric President Hosni Mubarak to say Tuesday he would not run for re-election this year.
... since there's a real good chance he'll be living in Riyadh, or Gay Paree, or Olde London Towne...