Norm Coleman, Al Franken's opponent has grown a conscience.
On the WAPO "The Trail" Blog As McCain Goes Negative, a GOP Senator Makes a Positive Turn - By Peter Slevin
Falling behind in a sheaf of polls amid one of the nastiest campaigns in the country, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) announced today that he will unilaterally disarm: He will pull his negative advertising and urge his supporters to do the same.
(Emphasis mine)
In recent GOP parlance this guy is a Surrender Monkey. The Freepers will not take kindly to this.
While I've been enthused about this race. Franken really doesn't have much business being this close to the incumbent. This isn't any ordinary year.
A McCain Battleground:
Unlike another state beginning with Mi, McCain wants a fight to the death in Minnesota, and thinks he can swing the NRA loving, fairly conservative state his way.
Whats really happening here?
Coleman is clearly worrying about his negatives. The only time when you can effectively push a negative message hard is when you have some likability capital to spend. You push your opponents likability down, and your own negatives up a bit with it. The aim is to increase churn.
This is really a tactic for when you're behind or ahead by very small margins, in a race.
Coleman however is caught between a rock and a hard place. He doesn't have the likability capital to spend, but he needs to change the structure of the race. It's a problem. He needs a hail mary. We've seen this of course before
What does this mean nationally, for Minnesota?
Well... its tough to say. McCain and the RNC will likely continue to run negative ads, they will no longer have a unified message, between them and Coleman. I think its actually a bigger hit for McCain: in battlegrounds there is probably a larger percentage of "local" political advocacy ads than national. McCain needs to sell the "evil liberal" message in Minnesota, and its no longer consistent.
All-in-all, I think moves like this tell you more than is actually being said. Frankens candidacy is real. It might be a joke to some Democrat insiders, but Franken is a necessity for a super majority and that's something all Kossack's should welcome.
Update:
some numbers...
The other two guys are Democratic comedian Al Franken and Independence Party candidate Dean Barkley. Three recent polls show Franken taking his first lead after trailing, sometimes badly. The numbers ranged from a 43 - 34 - 18 split in a Minneapolis Star Tribune poll released last week to 41 - 37 - 14 in a Minnesota Public Radio/Humphrey Institute sounding released Wednesday.
This week's poll attributed the sharp reversal in Coleman's numbers -- he had been 9 points ahead of Franken -- to the economy.
and
Coleman is THROWING MCCAIN UNDER THE BUS...
Coleman told reporters that he would not be appearing at a planned rally with McCain this afternoon. Could it be McCain's sliding polling numbers in Minnesota? His attacks on Obama? Coleman said he needs the time to work on suspending his own negative ads.
"Today," he said, "people need hope and a more positive campaign is a start."
(My emphasis and gleeful laughing)