Talk about a sign of the times. Whether it be the toxicity of Bush, the toxicity of the Republican brand or the acknowledgment that Republican incumbents in 2008 had better stay home and earn votes rather than attend the Republican convention, this really can't be good:

Nine of 12 targeted Republicans running in the most competitive Senate races this fall are either skipping the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minn., or have not decided whether to attend.

Among those who will not attend are Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, who is not close to presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona, and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is a McCain loyalist. Stevens and Collins will use the convention week to focus on their campaigns.

Also sending regrets is former Rep. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, running for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Wayne Allard.

Six others -- Sens. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, John Sununu of New Hampshire, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Gordon Smith of Oregon and challengers John Kennedy of Louisiana and Rep. Steve Pearce of New Mexico are still on the fence. Their spokesman offered responses ranging from "there are no plans yet" to "no decisions have been made."

Scratch that. Senator Dole is no longer on the fence.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina won't be attending the Republican national convention, which begins over Labor Day weekend.

Her spokeswoman, Katie Hallaway, said people shouldn't read too much into the decision -- either about the senator's support for John McCain, her party's likely nominee, or about how she views the security of her re-election in November against Democratic state senator Kay Hagan.

Oh, no, of course not. We wouldn't do such a thing. What's Dole's reasoning?

"She's got a busy week scheduled in North Carolina," Hallaway said. "When there are breaks in the Senate schedule, she spends as much time as possible in North Carolina."

Hmm, interesting, she found time for a prime time spot at the 2004 convention.

And here's Susan Collins' excuse:

"She is going to spend the time in Maine campaigning," said Steve Abbott, her campaign manager. "The conventions are too close to the election for a federal candidate to give up the time to attend, especially a current office holder who has to be in Washington for a busy legislative session for much of September."

Abbott would also like to remind us that Collins did not attend the '96 convention either. Of course, she wasn't in the Senate yet and she did attend the two subsequent conventions during her time in the senate, not to mention she's one of John McCain's campaign co-chairs. But other than that, really, it's no biggie that she won't be in Minneapolis to celebrate John McCain's acceptance of the 2008 nomination.

So, of the top targeted senate races, which GOP incumbents will be attending the festivities? Looks like McCain will be surrounded by Mitch McConnell and Norm Coleman, who lobbied to get Minneapolis to host the event. Wanna bet Norm is having second thoughts about that decision right about now?