Palin then Stevens, does Alaska make its Politicians Stupid?

I know Alaska is a secluded place, its cold, its dark half the time, and there's ice everywhere- but what's with Palin and Stevens? Being far away from humanity is not an excuse for the people that Alaska seems to generate. First it gave us Sarah Six Pack Palin and now there's Ted The Criminal Stevens. Did the cold get so bad that it messed with your brain Alaska? How do people like this get to become politicians in your state? Ohhh I haven't even graduated college and I'm only 21, can I be your mayor???

"Ted Stevens, who turned 85 on Tuesday, was convicted in October of filing false statements on his Senate financial disclosure forms. Prosecutors said Stevens hid hundreds of thousands of dollars in freebies from an oil-field services company in his home state." The surprising thing about this whole issue is that he was actually considered by Alaskans, who, in fact, put him in the lead for a big portion of the race. By Friday, when vote counting was stopped for the weekend, Begich had 47.37 percent of votes counted; Stevens had 47.02 percent. The two were separated by 1,022 votes out of more than 290,000 cast, according to the Alaska Division of Elections Web site. The man was in prison AND he is 85-years-old. Are Alaskans stupid or just really nice?

Perhaps distance from the "mainland" also means distance from vanity, greediness, and grudges. Although Alaskans are as American as the rest of us, they live a completely different way of life, experience a completely different culture, and maybe even different values. If Ted Stevens were to be running in New York, he'd probably get shot down in a matter of days- people are jaded, they don't have patience for odd balls, let along for 85-year-old criminals. Life is cut throat here, competition and money turning our heads in a million different directions. Maybe Alaskans, being so removed from our fast paced and stress-oriented lives, have different values. Maybe they're just nicer and more forgiving!

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/17/senate.election/index.html?iref=newssearch