Ted Stevens, who is the longest-serving Republican in Senate history, is running for re-election this fall. He is charged with seven counts of failing to list on his Senate disclosure forms goods and services provided by long-time associate Bill Allen that were used to refurbish the Stevenses’ family home. The trial has been accelerated at Mr. Stevens’ request, in hopes of obtaining a verdict before Election Day.

The main thrust of the McCain campaign has been to cover up his history of economic malpractice. Senator McCain has largely pulled it off so far, under the guidance of Steve Schmidt, a Karl Rove protégé. A Rovian political strategy by definition means all slime, all the time. But the more crucial Rove game plan is to envelop the entire presidential race in a thick fog of truthiness.

The Palins have long denied wrongdoing, and the governor initially said she would cooperate with the bipartisan legislative inquiry. Now that she is Senator McCain’s running mate, however, the campaign says the inquiry has become a partisan political circus. It has accused Alaska Democrats of using it to hurt the Republican ticket.

Sarah Palin has spent most of this month out of state, campaigning with Senator McCain, and has endorsed neither Senator Stevens nor his opponent. But that has not stopped both candidates from trying to benefit from her enormous popularity in Alaska, which has only grown since she joined the McCain ticket.

In a reversal of position, a key Democratic lawmaker said Wednesday he may convene the committee that is conducting the investigation into whether Palin dismissed her public safety commissioner when he would not fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce with her sister. This may be the first move in a push to delay the probe.

As the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin points to her management experience while deriding her Democratic rivals. But an examination of her swift rise and record as mayor of Wasilla and then governor finds that her visceral style and penchant for attacking critics contrasts with her carefully crafted public image.

Sarah Palin has refused to back off claims that she blocked the much-derided “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska, despite mounting criticism that the Republican vice-presidential hopeful is exaggerating her history of slashing wasteful spending. The Alaskan governor has made her rejection of the federally-funded bridge project, which would have linked a handful of Alaskans to an airport at vast expense, a key part of her stump speech.

Alaska’s economic well-being — sustained by oil and federal spending — has allowed Sarah Palin to avoid some of the tough budgetary choices vexing other governors. That raises questions about how much Ms. Palin’s experience is relevant to the rest of the nation and how much she can relate to struggling blue-collar voters.

For all the admiration in Alaska for Sarah Palin, her rapid ascent from an activist in the P.T.A. to the running mate of Senator John McCain did not come without battle wounds. Her years in Wasilla, her first executive experience, reveal a mix of successes and stumbles, with Ms. Palin gaining wide support but alienating some townspeople.

Aides to Senator McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Sarah Palin’s background. Sources said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice.