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U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens' indictment on federal corruption charges Tuesday should have surprised no one, least of all anyone who has known of the investigation into the man known for reeling in more federal dollars for his state than any other member of Congress ever has or likely ever will.

The lack of surprise notwithstanding, Tuesday's indictments still made for a bad day, a sad day, for Alaska and for Alaskans.

How ironic that Stevens, one of the most influential and longest-serving of U.S. senators, may now be best remembered for corruption charges stemming from his close ties to influential supporters, who, critics claim, paved the way to Stevens' personal wealth and benefited from political favoritism in return.

Stevens' political career is as storied as it is lengthy.

His political power and influence have allowed him to have an enormously positive effect on the state, and countless are the Alaskans - Alaska Natives in particular - who have benefited from his vision, his leadership and his willingness to fight for what he believed to be right and good for this state. Because of that, legions of Alaskans have been and will continue to be fiercely loyal to the man they consider to be their Uncle Ted.

In the lower 48 states and among other Alaskans, however, Stevens is seen as a public servant who wielded his political power to a fault. Many are those who will remember pork-barrel funding that never should have been: the proposed Gravina "bridge to nowhere" in Ketchikan and the Knik Arm bridge in Anchorage, projects that brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Alaska but which made little sense to opponents and those outside Alaska.

They also will remember the many political and financial dealings involving himself and family members, which have been scrutinized and criticized, and which ultimately led to Tuesday's indictments.

And, there are those who believe Stevens put himself in the very position he's in because of a sense of entitlement for his years of service and accomplishment.

Stevens for years has been a self-proclaimed tough talker and a man with a quick temper, particularly when being questioned, challenged or criticized. He's been a fierce defender of his home state and has seldom, if ever, made apologies for doing so. Don't expect him to make any apologies now.

Stevens finds himself facing seven federal indictments charging him with failing to report more than $250,000 in gifts and services from oil services company VECO Corp. and its executives.

Stevens is vehement in his denials of any wrongdoing, and that may soon translate into claims that the indictments are the product of a Democratic conspiracy to do him in and a conspiracy on the part of the FBI and the federal Justice Department. Oh, and the biased liberal media.

The real issue, however, is whether Stevens will, as conventional wisdom suggests, resign his post for the good of the Republican Party and for the good of Alaska. And, will Stevens soon be under pressure from his Senate colleagues to step down? Or, will he go down swinging because of his professed innocence, never saying "die" in the face of adversity?

Whatever Stevens' decision, the damage has mostly been done with Tuesday's indictments. Yes, plenty of supporters will urge him to fight to the death and, yes, Stevens is of a mind to do just that sort of thing, but the likelihood he'll manage one last re-election run is minimal at best.

Common sense holds that the national GOP can only distance itself from Stevens knowing he must fight federal criminal charges. Add to that the suspicion that U.S. Rep. Don Young and former state Sen. Ben Stevens, the elder senator's son, may face charges - both of them are also under federal investigation - and you have one serious recipe for disaster.

What a shame for Alaska that a man who has done so much good for so many for so long will have been so tarnished by these charges in the twilight of his career.