Begich, who was losing after election night, now leads Stevens by 814 votes -- 132,196 to 131,382 -- with the state still to count roughly 40,000 more ballots over the next week.

The state Division of Elections tallied about 60,000 absentee, early and questioned ballots from around the state on Wednesday. The ballots broke heavily in the Democrat's favor, erasing the 3,000-vote lead the Republican Stevens held after election night Nov. 4. [...]

The state still needs to count at least 15,000 questioned ballots and an estimated 25,000 absentees. With all the absentee votes coming in, this will be one of the biggest turnouts, if not the biggest in terms of ballots cast, the state has ever seen. That's despite questions in the media and on blogs about why turnout appeared low on Election Day.

Most regional elections headquarters will count their remaining ballots on Friday. But the most populous region, based in Anchorage, won't count its ballots until either Monday or Wednesday, state elections chief Gail Fenumiai said.

The real benefit to a Begich victory is that it would keep Sarah Palin out of the Senate, since Stevens will be kicked out by his fellow Senators if he wins. Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are anxious to have a convicted felon in their midst. Two thirds of all Senators are required to expel a member under the Constitution and the Senate Rules, but my guess is that a resolution to kick Hulk Stevens out would easily muster that many votes in its favor.

That would then set the stage for a special election in Alaska in which Palin would likely be a candidate. It seems she has developed a taste for the national stage, and the media spotlight that comes with it, now that she isn't under the thumb of McCain's handlers. She's given more interviews since Election day than during the entire campaign. I don't know if Begich could turn out as many votes against Palin as he did against Stevens, even with the suspicion that Stevens' had "help" from the electronic voting machines and his political machine in amassing his current vote totals.

So let's all pray that God doesn't open any more doors for Sarah Palin right now. Begich would be a reliable vote for much of Obama's agenda. Palin would just be another distraction for the Beltway media, a new toy to play with. They have enough of those already. And even though it would make Mittens cry, that's not enough of a reason to wish Senator "I can see Russia from my Front Porch" on America right now.