Recount

I have been very impressed with MN Secretary of State Mark Ritchie.  I have heard him in a number of interviews and reports and he comes across as very sincere and honest in his dedication to conduct the recount according to state law.  Anytime he is asked about anything that is not covered in those statutes, he says it is a matter for the courts if the campaign decides to take them there.  

I voted for Norm Coleman with the primary objective of voting against Al Franken.  Reflecting on that, I enjoyed this from the NYTimes Op-Ed Columnist Gail Collins. 

About Minnesota. Right now, the incumbent Republican, Norm Coleman, is about 200 votes ahead of the Democratic challenger, the former comedian Al Franken. In a race where 2.9 million votes were cast, Coleman is leading 41.99 percent to 41.98 percent.

You may notice that there are a lot of percents missing. They went to Dean Barkley, an underfunded Independence Party candidate who did rather well by running on a platform that boiled down to: 1) Not crazy 2) Not Norm Coleman and 3) Not Al Franken.

“We had a campaign in which both candidates came out with equally low favorable ratings. They were not well-liked,” said Larry Jacobs, a professor of political science and the director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota.

Since Barack Obama won Minnesota by 10 percentage points, it is probably fair to conclude that Franken underperformed. He worked hard and knew a lot about the issues. But it turns out — and people, you may be surprised to hear this — that being a stand-up comedian is not the best possible preparation for becoming a U.S. Senate candidate.

I wasn't particularly impressed with Barclay - despite MPR's recommendations to me - so I don't think I would have voted for him even if Coleman and Franken weren't polling so close.  It seems that whichever one wins, unless they save Minnesota from a freak earthquake, will be very vulnerable in 2014.