No Second Term for Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski; He Came In 3rd in the GOP Primary

Murkowski, who retired from the Senate in 2002 to become Governor of Alaska, then appointed his daughter to fill the vacant seat caused by his own resignation, was "stung by accusations of arrogance and stubbornness" in his loss, according to the report by Matt Volz for AP. He also purchased a jet, even though his request for the aircraft was denied by both the federal government and state Legislature. Then there was the "partial shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, where production was cut in half earlier this month because of leaks and corrosion." And Murkowski's insistence that state government should not be in the business of physically monitoring the company's facilities. But the poor guy was "stung" by the accusations. Murkowski, when in the Senate, sat on the committee investigating the suicide of Vince Foster. He made a big photo-op deal of waving around Foster's briefcase, implying - but conveniently never specifying - that some dastardly covered up evil deed had been perpetrated against Foster by the Clintons - the incident duly reported with breathless accusatory tone by Mikey Isikoff, in Newsweek.