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Among Friends |
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| The second great Alaska earthquake The first great Alaska earthquake occurred on Good Friday, March 27, 1964, when the most powerful temblor ever recorded in the United States caused the earth to vibrate, triggering 10,000 aftershocks and permanently altering Alaska's natural landscape. The second great Alaska earthquake occurred on July 29, 2008, when a federal grand jury in far-away Washington, D.C., returned seven felony indictments against 84-year-old Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, setting off aftershocks that could shake up Alaska's political landscape for years to come. I have known Stevens for 34 of the 40 years he has served in the Senate. We met when I was a 26-year-old Anchorage bureau chief for the Associated Press, and he was a 40-year-old politician in a hurry. Soon after I met him, I witnessed Stevens' now-famous volcanic temper and refusal to suffer fools. But I soon realized his sharp tongue and obvious ambition frequently were offset by a quick intelligence, authentic patriotism and the unrelenting hard work that delivered results to his constituents. I especially admired his wife, Ann, the mother of their five children and a dedicated community volunteer whose charm could disarm a polar bear. The couple had accepted an invitation to my wedding shortly before Ann and four other passengers were killed in a Learjet crash during a blizzard at Anchorage airport in December 1978. Stevens was one of two seriously injured survivors. In the intervening years, the senator and I had frank professional exchanges, disagreed in lively off-the-record conversations during infrequent encounters in Alaska or Washington, and grew to like and respect each other. I ceased to be an Alaska voter long ago, but Stevens always took time to answer my journalist's questions and explain his views, and he was quick to offer the help of his efficient staff. Following his indictment, to which he has pleaded innocent of all charges, I agreed with his loyal Senate colleague and powerful Democratic counterpart, Hawaii's Sen. Daniel Inouye, who said: "In our legal system, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. ... As far as I am concerned, Ted Stevens remains my friend." But I am sorry and sad that his four decades of public service may well be punctuated by what could become an ignominious, and even criminal, end. I am also disappointed, angry and left wondering whether Stevens' prestige -- as president pro tempore of the Senate from 2003 to 2007, he was third in line to the presidency -- seduced him into believing he was above the law. Had he become such a powerful political force that he began to think the rules didn't apply to him? Because he'd brought billions of federal dollars to grateful Alaskans who nicknamed him "Uncle Ted," did he delude himself into thinking he was entitled to a little extra for his own family? When his accelerated trial begins on Sept. 24, whether in Washington, D.C., as the Justice Department wants, or in Alaska, as Stevens' attorneys have requested, many questions will be answered. Between now and then, Stevens' sixth child, Lily, whose mother, Catherine, he married in 1980, is to become a bride in an elaborate, long-planned Labor Day weekend celebration. That will surely be a bittersweet occasion. Stevens' indictment wasn't a complete surprise. A year ago, the FBI and IRS raided his home in the Girdwood ski resort area south of Anchorage as part of a federal probe into public corruption in Alaska. The resulting felony charges accuse Stevens of failing to disclose "things of value" he allegedly received from Veco Corp., a now defunct Alaska-based oil-services and construction company. Its former chairman, longtime Stevens supporter Bill Allen, pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal charges involving corruption. For Stevens, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as an Army Air Corps pilot in the China-India-Burma theater during World War II, and who has participated in every major Alaska event since statehood, July 29th was "one of the most difficult days of my life, and I know it was hard for some of you, too." On that, those who care about "Uncle Ted" can agree. |
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