Out in the cold

ANCHORAGE — A federal grand jury in Washington indicted Sen. Ted Stevens on corruption charges Tuesday. The reaction in Alaska, four time zones away, was not so much "why?" as "why now?" After all, government prosecutors have been discussing the possibility for more than a year, and many Alaskans assumed that there would be no indictment in the run-up to the state's Aug. 26 GOP primary.

The FBI raided the Girdwood home of Alaska's senior senator last summer. His colleague, Rep. Don Young, is under investigation. The senator's son, former state Sen. Ben Stevens, is under investigation. A gaggle of state legislators, lobbyists and businessmen have been arrested and either pleaded guilty to corruption or been convicted at trial.

So the fitting room for new prison suits is crowded, and Alaskans are wondering if the 84-year-old Stevens, whom constituents had taken to calling "senator for life," will be joining those getting measured.

That doesn't mean he won't win the GOP primary. His six opponents are little known, and after all, Ted Stevens is a living legend.

Outside -- as Alaskans call the rest of the United States -- Stevens is known for supporting the "bridge to nowhere," calling the Internet "a series of tubes" and throwing tantrums on the Senate floor when he doesn't get his way. Here, he is known as the purveyor of endless federal financial largesse -- billions of dollars, not mere millions -- and for his role in shaping virtually every federal policy affecting his state for the last four decades. In Alaska, his fingerprints are like the snow in winter -- everywhere. His ability to deliver for his constituents has made him so popular that he has not had a serious election challenge since the early 1970s.

So Alaskans appreciate what Stevens has done for them, and their gratitude may be enough to propel him to victory in the Republican primary.

But not to victory in November -- not when the Democrats are about to nominate a man who stands in almost perfect contrast to him, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

Begich, 46, is a polished performer who has built a statewide reputation as an effective moderate. Politics is in his blood; he's the son of former Rep. Nick Begich, who disappeared in a 1972 plane crash while campaigning for reelection. Mark Begich is well-funded, and it's easy to imagine the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee sending him gunnysacks full of money now that Stevens has been indicted. The mayor's critics have complained about a couple of real estate deals he made, but their complaints have been largely ignored by the voters.