Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the Republican incumbent who was convicted of corruption two weeks ago, fell behind Democratic opponent and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich in the latest vote tally in their neck-and-neck race.

After counting 60,000 absentee, provisional and early ballots on Wednesday, Begich grabbed an 814-vote lead over Stevens, the U.S. Senate’s longest-serving Republican. Stevens had held a 3,257-vote lead after a count of regular ballots cast on Election Day.

There are nearly 40,000 uncounted ballots, with a large portion classified as provisional “questioned” ballots, said Gail Fenumiai, director of Alaska’s Division of Elections.

The intriguing part would be the consequences of Stevens somehow manages to win reelection:

But the more dramatic impact is on Sarah Palin’s presidential hopes. The presumed scenario was that Stevens would be elected, then expelled from the Senate as a convicted felon – perhaps pardoned by George Bush – triggering a special election that would send Palin to Washington as Senator for Alaska. It now seems evident that is not going to happen. Since no newly elected incumbent is likely to surrender a cherished Senate seat to Sarah Palin, that will leave her to serve out her term as Governor of Alaska.

Keep your eyes up to the northwest a little longer (you know, that place just outside the windows of Russia) to see what happens next.

She was speaking before her starring role at a conference of Republican governors in Miami where she was to discuss future policies in a move seen as building her national profile and possibly setting up a run for the presidency in 2012.

“‘I believe I have a contract with Alaskans to serve. I have two more years in my term at this point … as Governor,” she said. “If something changed dramatically and if it were acknowledged up there that I could be better put to use for my state in the US Senate, I would certainly consider it.”

The Senate route worked for Barack Obama. In fact, all the candidates in the past election were senators except Palin. It would appear she is already laying the groundwork for 2012:

She told FOX News over the weekend that she’d be delighted to “serve in a greater capacity.”

She said she’d “plow through that door” in 2012 if the opportunity presented itself.

And on Wednesday at the Republican Governors Association conference in Miami, she said a woman would be good for the 2012 Republican ticket, adding, “I would be happy to get to do whatever is asked of me to help progress this nation.”

Palin’s Thursday address could amount to her first public step toward re-building her profile ahead of a 2012 presidential run.

You have to admire Palin’s determination. Most people would crumble under the weight of criticism and scrutiny she had endured over the past few months. One thing is certain; Sarah Palin is not going away.

We’ve all heard the stories about Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe, but how that wardrobe was purchased sheds additional light on the incident and Palin herself. As reported in the NY Times:

On Wednesday, two top McCain campaign advisers said that the clothing purchases for Ms. Palin and her family were a particular source of outrage for them. As they portrayed it, Ms. Palin had been advised by Nicolle Wallace, a senior McCain aide, that she should buy three new suits for the Republican National Convention in St. Paul in September and three additional suits for the fall campaign. The budget for the clothes was anticipated to be from $20,000 to $25,000, the officials said.

Instead, in a public relations debacle undermining Ms. Palin’s image as an everywoman “hockey mom,” bills came in to the Republican National Committee for about $150,000, including charges of $75,062 at Neiman Marcus and $49,425 at Saks Fifth Avenue. The bills included clothing for Ms. Palin’s family and purchases of shoes, luggage and jewelry, the advisers said.

Sorry, but this sounds like an episode of the Beverly Hillbillies. “Todd, get out of that cement-pond and load-up the truck. We got us a blank check and we gona shop in the big city! Gona get me some luggage and clothes for the young’uns.”

But wait, there’s more.

Fox News reported Wednesday that Palin’s lack of knowledge on some topics also strained relations. Carl Cameron reported that campaign sources told him Palin had resisted coaching before her faltering Katie Couric interviews; did not understand that Africa was a continent rather than a country; and could not name the three nations that are part of the North American Free Trade Agreement — the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Africa as a country? Ouch. If you missed the Palin/Katie Couric interview (because they didn’t have electricity in your cave), here is a taste.

It hurts just watching that again. I still can’t make any sense out of those incoherent ramblings. Clearly, she could have benefited from some serious preparation from staffers who knew what they were talking about. After all, this does appear to be her first rodeo. Perhaps the staffers were distracted:

The disclosures are made in “How He Did It, 2008″, in Newsweek’s Special Election Project, a behind-the-scenes account of the presidential election produced the day after the polls closed.

The magazine also claims that at the GOP convention in St. Paul, when aides Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter went to her hotel room to brief her, Ms Palin walked into the room wearing only a towel, with another on her wet hair. She told them to chat to Todd, adding: “I’ll be just a minute.”

This story just gets better and better. What is really freighting is she appears to be the best candidate the Republicans have to offer in 2012. Clearly, this is the time for some serious change.

McCain’s appearance drew a rough estimate of 12 million viewers Saturday night, while Palin’s appearance was watched by more than 15 million when she appeared on Oct. 18.

In the end, both scored well, but Palin came out on top. You can watch them both here by using the SNL topic link and judge for yourself.

Hurry, get your Joe Biden doll while supplies last!

TORONTO (AP) — Sarah Palin unwittingly took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday.

“Maybe in eight years,” replies a laughing Palin.

The Republican vice presidential nominee discusses politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy’s “beautiful wife,” in a recording of the six-minute call released Saturday and set to air Monday on a Quebec radio station.

Ouch. She is not the first one to fall for something like this, but with her recent history, this is not going to help to her image.

You can listen to the call your self on tindeck.com.

ChadMichael Morrisette, a professional window display designer who set up the life-size mannequin of Palin, said Wednesday evening that he had met with West Hollywood Mayor Jeffrey Prang and decided it was best to remove the decoration.

“There was a huge mob scene,” Morrisette said of the onlookers — and protesters — the display attracted. “The whole thing became a life of its own.”

Steve Whitmore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, said that Morrisette and his partner invited Prang into their home for a “heart-to-heart” about the display after a man parked in front of their home, his black truck bearing a male dummy wearing a noose and T-shirt that read, “Chad, how does it feel?”

Earlier in the day, about half a dozen residents went to the home on North Orange Grove Avenue and held up light blue sheets, trying to block the mannequin from the view of passing motorists, Whitmore said. Morrisette said his neighbors were mostly concerned that the Palin effigy would cast a bad light on the city’s gay community. The display includes a mock-up of presidential candidate John McCain sitting in a chimney surrounded by paper flames.

Sounds like the price of fame just got too high. I know this display was considered an extension of the First Amendment, but it was in poor taste and I’m glad it is down.

Despite all the criticism, she has many supporters among Republicans who see her as bright, tough and a star in a party with relatively few on the horizon.

“She’s dynamite,” said Morton C. Blackwell, who was President Ronald Reagan’s liaison to the conservative movement. Mr. Blackwell described vying to get close to Ms. Palin at a fund-raiser in Virginia, lamenting that he could get only within four feet.

“I made a major effort to position myself at this reception,” he said, adding that he is eager to sit down with her after the election to discuss the future. Asked if the weeks of unflattering revelations and damaging interviews had tarnished her among conservatives, he replied, “Not a bit.”

Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”

We’ve seen a number of headlines lately that give the appearance of a campaign that is not pulling in the same directions. Add to that the belief by some that the Republican Party needs to be shaken a bit and the land could be ripe for a different face for the party:

“I do think we need a more diverse group of messengers,” [Former leader of the Republican Caucus in the California State Legislature Jim] Brulte says. “Too many Republican candidates tend to look at lot like me and guys like John McCain. And I think we need more messengers like Sarah Palin and more messengers like Abe Moldinado, who is a young state senator who spoke at the national convention.”

Of course, much damage has been done to Palin’s image in the current campaign. While some see her as the new face of the party, others are more skeptical:

“She’s an idiot. A politically immature woman, A complete idiot who just doesn’t get it. It is a joke that she is running for vice-president,” [Dan Simon] said.

Simon, a human resources manager who is attending the Human Society for Human Resource Management’s Diversity Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, is from South Dakota, a state known for backing Republicans in presidential elections.

Well, that’s one man’s opinion. I don’t believe she’s an idiot in the sense used above, but I agree that she’s politically immature. However, political immaturity is exactly what I was looking for in a candidate. I was hoping we would get a true non-Washington candidate with some common sense. Someone who thinks about their actions for more than, “will this get me reelected” or “how much money can I get if I decide in favor of this?” I’m so fed-up with politics and the games being played.

Will someone please set-up and take some responsibility for the mess we are in? Will someone please actually lead this country? Leadership is making the hard decisions DESPITE the ramifications. Frankly, I just don’t see that happening with the current batch of candidates. Time to start hoping for better in 2012.

Gov. Palin’s nomination clearly alters the landscape for Alaskans as we survey this race for the presidency — but it does not overwhelm all other judgment. The election, after all is said and done, is not about Sarah Palin, and our sober view is that her running mate, Sen. John McCain, is the wrong choice for president at this critical time for our nation.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, brings far more promise to the office. In a time of grave economic crisis, he displays thoughtful analysis, enlists wise counsel and operates with a cool, steady hand. The same cannot be said of Sen. McCain.

The article goes on to say they like Palin, just not McCain. This can’t be good news for the McCain/Palin ticket and the pro-Obama fources are already having a field-day with this one. Personally, I think it’s questionable for “news” papers to support one candidate over another. How can a news agency be viewed as impartial or balanced in their reporting when they come out on one side of an election or issue? I guess we have the answer, people don’t seem to care.

a mannequin has been outfitted to look like Palin — with glasses, a beehive wig and a red business suit — and is hanging from a noose outside a WeHo residence.

The display also depicts a devilish John McCain emerging from flames.

“We see people stopping and taking pictures, and the tour buses are stopping and slowing down … people reach out and take pictures,”display creator Chad Michael Morrisette said.

I don’t care how you feel about a given candidate, hanging someone in effigy like this is akin to a death threat and these people should be arrested.