REGULARLY intemperate -- most recently in his hyperbolic attacks on the Federal Reserve -- Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) is on his way to retirement, largely because his Republican colleagues have concluded that the 78-year-old former major league pitcher is a political liability. Mr. Bunning is not going quietly: His latest move was to put a five-day "hold" on a $10 billion bill to pay for extended unemployment benefits and other popular programs. Democrats, who control the Senate, had insisted the measure should be treated as an "emergency" bill exempt from pay-as-you-go rules. Mr. Bunning said "no." This was spectacularly bad politics -- Mr. Bunning is not the spokesman his Republican colleagues prefer, to put it mildly -- and so he ultimately...