The fall of two political giants

Politely couching the electoral reality as gingerly as possible, The Birmingham News today runs a pair of stories observing that the political careers of former Chief Justice Roy Moore and former Gov. Don Siegelman are, for all intents and purposes, over after the stompings they took in Tuesday's gubernatorial primaries.

Still, if one of the two ever were to mount a successful comeback, I'd give Moore better odds, both because Siegelman now has lost two straight bids for governor and because, well, that whole federal corruption trial thing is still out there. Moore's resounding defeat means he's done as a serious gubernatorial contender, but I could see him snagging an appeals court seat in a few years if he plays his cards right and makes sure to leave the enormous granite decorations at home next time.