Anti-incumbency: The new black?

His creepy chumminess to Bush and Rove, and his refusal to reconsider his support for the Iraq war were part of the reason that Joe Lieberman lost the CT Dem primary earlier this month, but part of it is a mood of "throw the bums out" that seems to be settling over a lot of voters--both Democrats and Republicans.

Just ask soon-to-be-former Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski:

Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, stung by accusations of arrogance and stubbornness, lost his bid for a second term Tuesday after polling last in a three-way GOP primary.

Sarah Palin, a former Wasilla mayor, won the Republican nomination for governor after capturing 51 percent of the vote. Former state legislator John Binkley came in second with 30 percent and Murkowski polled just 19 percent.

"We expected to win, we didn't win, so we'll support the nominee," Murkowski said after arriving at election headquarters to concede. […]

Murkowski, 73, sought to make the primary a referendum on his proposal to build a $25 billion natural gas pipeline to Canada, calling the project "the greatest significant event since statehood."

His approval ratings have skidded over the past four years because of much-criticized decisions such as appointing his daughter to his U.S. Senate seat and purchasing a state jet after his request for the aircraft was denied by both the federal government and state Legislature.

In the campaign's final days, Murkowski also was stung by the partial shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field, where production was cut in half earlier this month because of leaks and corrosion. The governor's opponents accused his administration of allowing the oil company BP PLC to go years without proper maintenance of its facilities.

Kos makes a couple of barbed observations on the subject over at DailyKOS.

Remember, though: Murkowski may have gotten stomped, but he deserves credit for actually conceding when he lost fair and square--a basic skill Republicans (both natural and synthetic) are increasingly unable to master.