[speedgibson] Speed Gibson: Is Norm Coleman Done?

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Posted by Speed Gibson:
Is Norm Coleman Done?
http://speedgibson.powerblogs.com/posts/1246420350.shtml


   First, we all owe Norm Coleman our thanks for sparing us six years of
   Walter Mondale and six months of Al Franken in the U.S. Senate. He was
   mostly a good Senator, always strong on defense, and points for that.
   And points for conceding gracefully now, something Al Franken never
   would have done.
   But let's face it, he made a few too many liberal votes for his and
   our own good. That's been his style, to reach across the aisle to
   moderate Democrats, only they no longer exist. He gained nothing while
   losing the confidence of enough Republicans to cost him the election.
   Has he learned his lesson, like Pawlenty apparently did this term?
   I don't know. I think most of those liberal votes were political
   calculations, not principled stands. I will therefore be wary of any
   return to a firmly Conservative domestic policy. As such, it would be
   easy to declare his political career over. He failed to generate much
   heat in his run for Governor in 1998. One could argue that Wellstone
   Memorial is what put him over the top in the Senate race of 2002. His
   2010 prospects for Governor or Senator (vs Klobuchar) look no better.
   But I think he's got one strike left.
   That would be the Fourth Congressional District that includes St.
   Paul, his old Mayoral stomping grounds. Incumbent Betty McCollum would
   normally be safe, but she could also get caught up in President
   Obama's wake of economic destruction. The right candidate could have a
   chance. Well-known in St. Paul as a former Mayor, Norm Coleman might
   be that candidate. His liberal dalliances may actually prove valuable
   here among voters ready for a change but not ready for a Conservative.
   The irony has been that Coleman has defeated traditional, dogmatic DFL
   candidates like Walter Mondale and Skip Humphrey. It's populist road
   apples like Jesse Ventura and Al Franken that make him look clueless.
   That won't be the case here in the Fourth District assuming McCollum
   seeks re-election.
   So run, Norm, run, where you're needed, where you're known, and where
   you can win. It'd be good for St. Paul.