The St. Petersburg Times has a simple message for Ted Stevens' colleagues in the U.S. Senate: Expel him.  The paper's editorial board sees no reason to wait:

Sen. Ted Stevens is nothing if not tenacious. Even after the 84-year-old Republican senior senator from Alaska was found guilty of seven felonies last month, he pressed his bid for re-election. This would have been a perfect opportunity for Alaskans to show Stevens the door. But benefiting from peculiar voter loyalty and his own tenacity, Stevens holds a small vote advantage in his race against Democrat Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage, and may well be re-elected.

Getting the final result could take weeks, but Stevens should not set foot in the Senate chamber again. As a public servant, Stevens violated the trust of his office, and the Senate should vote to expel him later this month. There is no need to wait for court appeals.

Stevens' claims that he has "not been convicted of anything yet'' is self-delusional and deceptive.

Expel him.