I'm usually not one who feels the way to make a point is to bash the media ... though sometimes they/we certainly deserve it.

But the ongoing speculation that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would challenge Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the 2010 Republican primary seemed to be a media creation/fantasy from the start. Palin never even hinted she would mount a challenge, and I never saw anything from her people that it was even a possibility. Nonetheless, the rumors continued.

Until now.

 

Palin plans to raise money for Murkowski's campaign, hoping to "end speculation she might challenge" her next year. That, according to Sean Cockerham of the Anchorage Daily News.

Palin, of course, came to the governorship in 2006 by knocking off the incumbent, Frank (Lisa's dad) Murkowski, in the GOP primary. Why not, suggested the breathless rumors, now do to the daughter what she did to the father? More from the Daily News account:

"The governor has no intention of running for the senator's seat in 2010," Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton said Tuesday. "(Palin) thinks the senator is doing a great job and that's why she's looking forward to hosting a fundraiser for her." ...

National coverage of Murkowski has repeatedly brought up the possibility that Palin might challenge Murkowski for the U.S. Senate.

Just one example is a story from last month by the Associated Press asserting that "even with her climb to power, Murkowski is dogged by an unspoken rivalry with Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP's vice presidential nominee in 2008 who defeated Murkowski's father in a hard-fought primary in 2006. Murkowski is up for re-election in 2010, and pundits from Washington to Alaska have focused on a possible primary challenge by Palin, a possible presidential contender in 2012."

Fueling the speculation is the fact that Palin's term as governor is up in 2010, and she hasn't said if she plans to run for re-election.

Anchorage pollster and political consultant Ivan Moore said this should put Murkowski-Palin talk to rest. "I can't imagine anyone raising money for someone they are going to turn around and run against," he said.

If Palin is interested in the U.S. Senate, Moore said, a more plausible scenario would be her running for governor in 2010, serving a second term, and then challenging Alaska Democratic Sen. Mark Begich when his term is up in 2014.

That's assuming, of course, that Ted Stevens — his felony convictions thrown out by an angry Judge Emmet Sullivan this week — doesn't seek redemption by running against Begich that year. Stevens will be 91 in 2014.

Another media rumor!

Tags: On The Ballot