Alaska Senator Warns Palin: Mitts Off My Seat

Sarah Palin may consider a 2010 Senate run as a stepping stone to a 2012 presidential bid—but the current occupant of said seat isn't about to make way for the GOP rock star. Fellow Republican and Alaska's newly senior senator Lisa Murkowski “can guarantee it would be a very tough election,” Politico reports. “I don’t think the way to the presidency is a short stop in the United States Senate,” she says.

A Senate position could bolster Palin’s credentials ahead of 2012. But Murkowski warns the governor that a loss in the GOP senate primary would be an embarrassment, while a win would make her a newcomer to an old-boys club—and she’d need to start campaigning for president right away. “You need to have this position being filled full time. And I think that’s what Alaskans will be looking to,” the senator said.