Sunday Morning Tidbits

Alaska: TPM offers a terrific video recapping Lisa Murkowski's recent sweetheart land deal scandal. It turns out that a "conservative-leaning" government watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Murkowski over the land deal, which "amounted to an illegal gift worth between $70,000 and $170,000." So, to try to weasel her way out of further incrimination, she sold the land back. Since the misdeed wasn't just owning ill-gotten land, but rather the original inappropriate "sweetheart deal," I trust that simply selling the land back doesn't absolve her. And the AK-GOP corruption train keeps on chugging.

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell let slip another gem recently:

"Our image is largely made by the president," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told reporters last week. "And the president does enjoy - suffer from, shall I say - poor standing."

Is this McConnell's way of easing Bush under the bus? Is McConnell trying to further lower GOP expectations in 2008? Or is this just a brief shot of realism? Keep in mind, McConnell also recently noted:

"It would take an extraordinarily good day to get back up to 50," McConnell said. "So our goal is to stay roughly where we are."

There's that Republican optimism I keep hearing so much about!

Alabama: Perhaps it's just wishful thinking, but it doesn't sound like Commissioner Ron Sparks has entirely ruled out a 2008 Senate bid against Jeff Sessions in his own mind, under the right conditions:

Lennox revisited the issue of Sparks future plans to run for another office. Sparks said he (the host) would be the first one to get a call when he decides. He said "I wish I could decide today" and mentioned Governor, Lt. Governor, U.S. Senate and Congress. He also talked about how unpleasant it is to make fundraising calls and how he wished the system was different, but those are the rules that you have to play by.

At no point in this interview did Ron Sparks rule out the Senate race. He talked again about not wanting to run in a primary. He mentioned that he had been assured someone else (we know that is state Sen. Vivian Figures) was going to run. He said he "wished he could decide today" but he didn't say anything approaching "I am not going to run for U.S. Senate."

There may be further conversations yet between Sparks and Figures.

Montana: The MT-Dems' annual convention is coming up and Senator Max Baucus is expected to headline the show, getting the Party faithful enthused for the 2008 election cycle. It shouldn't be too hard - this disgrace is Baucus' likely Republican opponent.