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December 2, 2008 8:49:52 PM CST


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 Alaska Senator 
 Warns Palin: 
 Mitts Off 
 My Seat 

Palin could make Senate run on road to presidency

(Newser) - Sarah Palin may consider a 2010 Senate run as a stepping stone to a 2012 presidential bid—but the current occupant of said seat isn't about to make way for the GOP rock star. Fellow Republican and Alaska's newly senior senator Lisa Murkowski “can guarantee it would be a very tough election,” Politico reports. “I don’t think the way to the presidency is a short stop in the United States Senate,” she says. More »

More about:  Sarah Palin Alaska senator Senate race

Stevens Won't Rule Out Pursuing Prez Pardon

Convicted senator may seek clemency from Bush

(Newser) - Even as Ted Stevens appeals of his seven-count felony conviction, the disgraced senator isn't ruling outthe possibility of seeking a pardon from President Bush, the Anchorage Daily News reports. "If I were counsel to him, I would encourage him," says Alaska's former US attorney, a Stevens supporter. "I strongly believe President Bush should pardon Senator Stevens." More »

More about:  George W. Bush Congress Republican Alaska corruption Ted Stevens senator pardon presidential pardon

 GOP Delays Vote 
 to Oust Stevens 

GOP senators wait for race to be decided

(Newser) - Senate Republicans will wait until Alaska announces a victor in the still-tight race for Ted Stevens' seat before voting on whether he will be allowed to keep it. The last batch of ballots in the race is expected to be counted today, as the longest-serving conservative senator—who trails by 1,022 votes—turns 85, reports the Anchorage Daily News . GOP senators have been split on when to vote on ousting the convicted felon. More »

More about:  Republican Senate Alaska corruption Ted Stevens senator

ANALYSIS

McCain Sees Comeback; Tightening Race More Like It

Broader, old-school attacks bringing some GOP voters back to fold, but that's no surge

(Newser) - As supporters get increasingly giddy about Barack Obama’s persistent lead in the polls, advisers to John McCain charge the media is ignoring a comeback by their candidate, writes Chris Cillizza in the Washington Post . The McCain campaign credits a return to a traditionally Republican tax-based argument for some recent figures showing Obama’s advantage narrowing from double to mid-single digits. More »

UPDATED

 Prosecution, Stevens Tangle 

Alaska senator's temper emerges under cross-examination

(Newser) - The defense rested in the Ted Stevens corruption trial this afternoon, and the famously feisty senator then submitted to cross-examination. After 5 hours of friendly guidance from his own lawyers, the lead prosecutor's rapid-fire questioning didn't sit well, Politico reports. “I’m not going to get in the middle of this game with you,” Stevens tartly told Brenda Morris. More »

More about:  Alaska corruption Ted Stevens senator corruption charges Bill Allen Federal Court

Powell Testifies to Stevens' 'Sterling' Rep

Ex-general, diplomat appears at senator's corruption trial

(Newser) - Colin Powell testified in Ted Stevens' defense today, characterizing the Alaska senator's reputation as "sterling" and saying he "was someone whose word you could rely on." On the stand in Washington as a character witness, the ex-secretary of state impishly said he had "dabbled a bit in diplomacy" and discussed his 25-year association with Stevens, whom he described as a "trusted individual," the Anchorage Daily News reports. More »

More about:  Alaska corruption trial Ted Stevens Secretary of State senator Colin Powell Army general

(Newser) - Ted Stevens' corruption trial will continue despite serious errors by prosecutors, a federal judge in Washington ruled this afternoon. Material that should have been turned over to the senator's defense team much earlier surfaced Wednesday, infuriating Judge Emmet Sullivan, the Anchorage Daily News reports. He declined to dismiss the case or declare a mistrial despite responding to the prosecutors' contention that the omission was "human error" by calling it "probably intentional." More »

More about:  Alaska trial Ted Stevens senator corruption charges

Oil Exec: Sen. Stevens Wasn't Serious About Paying Bills

Man whose company renovated Republican's home continues testimony

(Newser) - Ted Stevens avoided eye contact with onetime buddy Bill Allen as the former oil exec detailed his company’s renovations on the senator’s home, the Wall Street Journal reports. Allen says he received thank-you notes from Stevens saying, “You owe me a bill. … It just has to be done right,” but that a mutual friend dismissed them and said, “Ted's just covering his ass.” More »

More about:  Alaska trial Ted Stevens senator bribery Bill Allen Veco

Judge: Stevens Can Skip Court, But Jury Won't Know Why

Lawyers asked that Senate duty be noted

(Newser) - If Ted Stevens leaves court to attend to the current financial crisis, a federal judge warns he won't relay details to the jury, reports the Anchorage Daily News. Jurors in the corruption trial would simply be notified of the senator's absence and told that there is nothing wrong with it, the judge said today, adding, "I think it's possible that some jurors may think someone is too busy." More »

More about:  corruption trial Ted Stevens senator juror federal judges

  Biden's Story:
 Tenacity Born of Tragedy

Foreign policy heavyweight brings experience to ticket

(Newser) - Blunt, tough and seasoned, Obama veepstakes winner Joe Biden has a history of surviving both personal tragedy and political disappointment. Delaware's News-Journal details the story of the state's favorite son, who became modern history's youngest senator when elected at 29. His wife and baby daughter died in a car crash before he had even been sworn in. More »

More about:  Joe Biden running mate Democrat senator Delaware Senate Foreign Relations Committee

ANALYSIS

Biden Offers Foreign Policy Heft, Baggage
to Obama Ticket

But his DC insider status could undermine

(Newser) - Several of Barack Obama's potential running mates hit the Sunday talk show circuit yesterday. But Joseph Biden was in Tbilisi at the personal invitation of the Georgian president to discuss the ongoing military crisis. For the New York Times , Biden's weekend trip highlights the clout of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—but also his status as the consummate Washington insider. More »

Reid Takes
the Long View

Senate majority leader points toward 2010, looking to avoid Daschle's fate

(Newser) - Harry Reid has positioned himself among the Democratic elite in Washington, but that doesn't mean the Senate majority leader is taking his eye off of the 2010 election in his home state of Nevada, reports Politico. Reid is maintaining his power position in the Senate while discreetly launching a campaign to keep his seat and avoid the fate of Tom Daschle in 2004. More »

More about:  Republican Democrats Harry Reid Nevada senator Tom Daschle 2010 election

OPINION

 Nat'l Review:
 Stevens, Get Out

Indicted Republican senator 'disgraced himself and his office'

(Newser) - Newly indicted Ted Stevens should resign as soon as possible, write the editors of the National Review . The Alaskan senator, who is accused of seven counts of making false statements, legally “deserves the benefit of the doubt—but not from an ethical standpoint,” they note. “The facts that have emerged over the course of the federal investigation into his personal finances are damning enough on their own.” More »

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