The Palin-watch

It didn't take Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin long to put the man who placed her on the ticket, John McCain, behind her. In a fiction-sometimes-becomes-truth scenario, the "Saturday Night Live" sketch where Tina Fey as Palin starts showing some "Palin 2012" T-shirts turns out to be not that far off. To be fair to the Alaska governor, she has in many cases been responding to questions from TV interviewers eager to get her to commit to the 2012 presidential race -- although there is indeed a movement among conservative Republicans that seems to be for real.

Now, however, with votes still being counted in the re-election bid of Alaska U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens -- recently convicted on seven felony counts of failing to report gifts -- Palin seems to be, well, winking at the seat.

She said something about considering the Senate if God gave her the opportunity and Alaskans wanted her in the job. First, of course, should Stevens retain his seat, fellow senators would have to decide whether to expel him. So whatever divine interventions were involved, a Democratic-controlled Senate would have to act, too. Some Republicans might see a contradiction.