Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.

A lot of Republican pundits have said they wished he had been re-elected so he could resign and allow Governor Palin to appoint a Republican successor, but unlike most states Alaska law calls for a special election within 90 days; a legacy of Alaskans being pissed off at then-Governor Murkowski appointing his daughter Lisa to his vacated Senate seat on his election to the governorship.

Full disclosure: Senator-elect Mark Begich was a friend of several friends of mine back in high school, although we only met once or twice at most. Also, Ted Stevens was my dad’s attorney back the the ’60s before Stevens entered politics. (Thus I am two degrees of separation from pretty much everybody elected to national office since 1972, which degree of separation will continue.)