Farewell Ted Stevens!

Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska may be leaving the chamber in a cloud of ignominy—he was recently convicted on federal charges of corruption, before losing his reelection bid to Mark Begich—but Senate Republicans had nothing but love today for the longest serving senator in their party’s history. “Ted, I believe this cloud will be lifted from you and it should be,” said Orrin Hatch, apparently disagreeing with Stevens’ jury of his peers. “I have found Ted Stevens to be the most straightforward, honest senator that I have ever dealt with," Jim Bunning said of the man who was indicted for lying. Stevens himself was optimistic, saying “I still see the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me.” Read The Daily Beast’s piece for the full-on Stevens swooning.