I wouldn't call it "blatantly anti-American" that she was appointed to the Senate seat, though it was ill-advised. It wasn't as though she was merely some housewife sitting in her apartment watching SoapNet when daddy called to offer her the job, she WAS in the leadership of the AK State Senate, so she did have the qualifications. Incidentally, Ted Stevens's son, Ben, is also in the leadership of the legislature, and is expected to succeed his father upon Ted's death.
The reason why Frank gave up a safe Senate seat for the Governorship was due to the ludicrous situation in AK that no Republican had won the Governorship since 1978 (and that was the maverick RINO, Jay Hammond, who incidentally endorsed the liberal 'Rat, Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, against Murkowski in the '02 election). He figured he'd cap off his political career with a nice run as Governor, and it seemed good enough, but it turned out serving as Governor was NOT his forte.
I do hope, however, Murkowski withdraws gracefully and preserves his dignity. However, if he chooses not to, it's quite likely he won't be renominated, regardless. Right now, it's about making sure the GOP holds the Governorship and prevents (what I believe is) Tony Knowles's attempt to get into the Senate through the side door, vis a vis his running mate, Ethan Berkowitz (upon Ted Stevens's death).
He'll be waiting a long time. Ted Stevens may be old, but he's strong as an ox.
Not commenting on his politics eithe way, but he's not dying anytime soon.