A Felon on the US Senate?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/us/politics/06alaska.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=alaska%20senate&st=cse&oref=slogin


A member of the US Senate, a felon? Most of us probably thought this was as likely to happen in our lifetime as a Black President being elected... Alaskan Senator, Ted Stevens has been convicted of seven felonies for which he failed to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations. He continued to run his campaign for re-election on the stand that he has not been "formally convicted" yet, and can still run for his 40-year position of Senator. He has somehow convinced the public that he is innocent until proven guilty, and is currently at 48%, leading his opponent Mayor Mark Begich by merely one percent. It is said that if he is elected and afterwards convicted, an emergency election would have to take place, in which Governor Sarah Palin would be a likely candidate.
My question for this article is: Why is this not more widely known? Without being a loyal New York Times reader or National Public Radio listener, you may never have heard more about this than "Something strange happened in the Alaska senate election." Obviously the election of President Barack Obama holds a high place in the political portion of people's minds, but shouldn't the public be aware of a potential felon contributing to federal decisions that affect their lives every day?
It could be attributed to a failure in the media. Or perhaps not a failure, but a purpose. The media plays things off as unimportant for reasons unknown to the public. More likely, however, it could be simply Lazy Americans. Maybe the Presidential election is over, and no one really cares about the rest. Many people don't realize how much actually happens on election day; laws are made, amendments passed, senate changes, etc. As our class is getting closer to being the "Political Elite" of Newfield High School, we are starting to notice how little people really know about politics. It is frustrating, and I think we can all relate to it.