There may be no reform in Alaska’s pipeline: Indicted Sen. Ted Stevens won the Republican primary easily, beating Dave Cuddy, his nearest challenger, by 35 points. And although the results aren’t official, Congressman Don Young, who is also under federal investigation, is clinging to a 145-vote lead over Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. It’s unclear whether the closeness of the Young-Parnell contest shows that Stevens could have been beaten by a stronger primary opponent or whether the two GOP porkmasters were unbeatable. Neither of them is invincible in the general election, however — both are trailing their Democratic opponents, who have to be pleased by the results so far.

This just goes to show for all of Obama’s problems closing the deal with the American people and the surprisingly weak Democratic convention so far, the Republicans haven’t gotten the point yet. And they are going to face an uphill battle for Congress no matter what happens in the presidential election.