and the senator from alaska is...

Today, Alaska is closer to a resolution. After months of campaigning, early voting, election day and two weeks of wondering since that day, we found out who won the US Senate race. Maybe. Because with close races, there's bound to be a recount, though I do have faith in our voting system.

The contenders, in case you've been sequestered for the last year were: an incumbent, convicted felon, octogenarian (I have nothing against people in their 80s. My parents are in their 80s. But neither of them should be starting a six-year term in the Senate) who wishes he could spend more time with the grandkids; and the current two-term Anchorage mayor. Tonight, the local paper declared Mayor Mark Begich the winner.

Besides hoping for a new senator, I've been hoping I can hold my head high when I next visit the Lower-48. I mean, it was hard enough explaining Governor Palin to my sensible Midwest siblings. How would I have begun to explain Alaska politics had Stevens won? Just look at the numbers: he got 147,004 votes, while 150,728 went to Begich. Not a huge margin, but a win nonetheless. There are a few more out-of-state mail-in votes to be counted, but I think it's over.

It's a sad end to a long career and I even hope that Stevens skips the appeal and just asks W for a pardon. Isn't that what the last days of a presidency are for? Now the lesson for us all: don't accept gifts you don't want and be diligent with your paperwork.

Now, on to biking topics!

go ahead and ask

The excitement and decisiveness of Barack Obama's win on Tuesday was tempered locally by the continuing strangeness of Alaskan politics. I know, this blog is supposed to be about biking, so, yes, I did bike to the polls on Tuesday, then into work. Where I spent the early part of the afternoon alternating between working and hitting the "refresh" at NPR's election map before we hooked up a t.v. and started watching the coverage as it unfolded, flipping from NBC to PBS to Comedy Central. Later, we joined friends to watch more numbers come in.

So much has been said in the last couple days, what can I add but my voice with others around the nation to celebrate this victory. I'm happy about what it says about our country, that we can transcend a history of painful racial divisions to elect a man for the ideas he brings and (to use the words of Dr. King) for "the content of his character." I add my tears of joy to those of people from all backgrounds because now I feel we are united more than ever before. It is truly beautiful.

But, while watching the national returns lifted our hopes, the local results brought on a sense of frustration and disappointment. For those of you in the Lower-48 and the rest of the world, this whole Senate race isn't over yet. There are tens of thousands of early votes to count. There's still a chance that Mark Begich will unseat Stevens. And if he doesn't, I imagine you can chalk up a win for the Republicans after Stevens resigns and the special election puts our now world-famous governor into a Beltway position in the US Senate. (That's my unhappy prediction, shared by many others here.) Count every vote, I say, until we know who wins this race!