Shan Tsutsui didn’t just step down as lieutenant governor. He bolted.

There is no other way to describe an exit that is announced Monday and effective Wednesday.

That’s more than abrupt. That’s a scribbled note on the kitchen table, suddenly one less toothbrush hanging on the stand, a closet left with nothing but hangers and poles.

So much for a graceful exit and a supportive transition period to help the new sap get settled in the job. That’s not even enough time to pack up the desk trinkets, return the parking pass and let the staff take you to lunch at Yanagi Sushi. Despite the curly language and positive spin of a press release, such short notice has just one translation, and it isn’t polite.

But who can blame him? Nobody is wailing, “How could he do this? He’s abandoning us!” Nope. There’s been a collective head nod. Good luck, brah. Get out while you can.

Tsutsui is an ambitious guy stuck in a do-nothing job, having to sit on his hands and watch David Ige, the worst governor Hawaii has ever had, squander the opportunity to lead.

Yeah, I just called Ige the worst governor Hawaii has ever had. Before the debacle of the false missile alert, Ige seemed lame and ineffectual but basically benign. Now we know that he’s dangerous. Now we know he’s a liability. We know exactly what he’s like in a crisis, how useless he is at thinking on his feet, how little it meant to him that so many people were so scared. He knew right away it was a false alarm. What everyone in Hawaii was going through that morning didn’t seem to matter much to him. In the weeks since, he has done little to redeem his image.

Of course Tsutsui’s gonna bolt. Who would stay in that shameful mess? (Oh, sorry, Mike McCartney.)

It’s also totally understandable that nobody is jumping to take Tsutsui’s place. No amount of state retirement or paid parking would make that job attractive. Ron Kouchi was the first to decline. I’ll bet he was grinning when he said no thank you. Kouchi does not play second banana to anybody. Lieutenant governor is often seen as a steppingstone to higher political office, but with Ige such a liability, serving as his side is a step down. Way down. I imagine state department heads nervously pulling up the organizational chart to gauge how close they might be to the dangerous succession line, and lying awake at night whispering prayers that it not fall to them.

Good for Tsutsui for walking away from a bad situation. He didn’t say as much, but his actions speak volumes. On Wednesday afternoon, there was Tsutsui striding through the Daniel K. Inouye airport, heading to catch a flight home to Maui. He looked like a free man. Two airport employees commented as he passed: “He quit, yeah?” “Yeah.” And that was all. No judgment. No recriminations. They understood.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.