Governor Who Appointed Stevens Says He Should Resign

The man who gave Ted Stevens his Senate job 40 years ago is now advising his protégé to step down.

Bloomberg News, reporting from Anchorage, tracked down former Alaska Gov. Walter Hickel for a story about Stevens' Alaska corruption case. Here's what Hickel said:

"He has served Alaska for 40 years, but his time is over," Hickel told Bloomberg. "... We were a young state, and I learned we needed seniority, and Ted was a survivor ... . Now it's time for a change. He's just doing what those big economic interests want done. I don't care if I appointed him. That was a long time ago.'' 

This is surely bulletin board material for Alaska Democrats, who are already circulating the story to the national and local media, and it can't help Stevens' case just two weeks from the GOP primary and six weeks from the beginning of his corruption trial in Washington.