A plea for compassion

Ted Stevens convicted on all seven counts

I have to admit, I'm a bit conflicted about this. For all his faults, Stevens' popularity is deserved - he's done good things for this state in his long and storied career. That said, it's been time for him to retire for a goodly while now - I mean, the "series of tubes"? Demonstrating so thoroughly that you don't understand the technologies you're in charge of regulating is a good sign that it's time to go, especially when you're an 80-odd year old man.

Frankly, at this point I pity him more than anything else. He's 86, his best friend sold him out for a reduced sentence, and his political career - his life's work - is tumbling down around his ears. While he theoretically faces up to five years per conviction, if I were the judge I think I'd be lenient. Partly for political reasons (he still has many friends in Alaska, and while they probably wouldn't be seen to be helping him overtly, they could still cause trouble), but mostly just out of sheer compassion. Sure, there's an argument to be made that he should serve time, especially given our culture's distressing tendency to give the rich and/or famous a free ride, but the man is eighty-six years old - he's not going to live much longer, and he probably wouldn't even survive long in a prison environment. Slap him with a fine, and let him retire in peace. Assuming he can keep himself out of the limelight for a while, once the hullabaloo dies down people may very well remember him for the good he did for this state, which I'd guess is what he probably wants most.

A plea for compassion

Ted Stevens convicted on all seven counts

I have to admit, I'm a bit conflicted about this. For all his faults, Stevens' popularity is deserved - he's done good things for this state in his long and storied career. That said, it's been time for him to retire for a goodly while now - I mean, the "series of tubes"? Demonstrating so thoroughly that you don't understand the technologies you're in charge of regulating is a good sign that it's time to go, especially when you're an 80-odd year old man.

Frankly, at this point I pity him more than anything else. He's 86, his best friend sold him out for a reduced sentence, and his political career - his life's work - is tumbling down around his ears. While he theoretically faces up to five years per conviction, if I were the judge I think I'd be lenient. Partly for political reasons (he still has many friends in Alaska, and while they probably wouldn't be seen to be helping him overtly, they could still cause trouble), but mostly just out of sheer compassion. Sure, there's an argument to be made that he should serve time, especially given our culture's distressing tendency to give the rich and/or famous a free ride, but the man is eighty-six years old - he's not going to live much longer, and he probably wouldn't even survive long in a prison environment. Slap him with a fine, and let him retire in peace. Assuming he can keep himself out of the limelight for a while, once the hullabaloo dies down people may very well remember him for the good he did for this state, which I'd guess is what he probably wants most.