As many some you may or may not recall, I tracked Norm Coleman for two whole years during the Minnesota Senate race (MN-SEN) at a thing I call the Norm Coleman Weasel Meter. So it was with great excitement that I greeted the credible rumors that he was going to join the 2010 Minnesota Governor's race (MN-GOV).
I even un-mothballed the Weasel Meter. Alas, it wasn't to be. We won't have Norm to kick around.
He posted this statement last night on his Facebook page:
I love Minnesota and I love public service, but this is not the right time for me and my family to conduct a campaign for Governor.
Timing is everything. The timing on this race is both a bit too soon and a bit too late. It is too soon after my last race and too late to do a proper job of seeking the support of delegates who will decide in which direction our party should go. The commitments I have to my family and the work I am currently engaged in do not allow me to now go forward.
At the moment, I am tremendously energized by the work I am currently involved in to create a positive, center right agenda for this country. Anger on the left and anger on the right will get us nowhere. In Minnesota, we face a jobs deficit, a budget deficit and a bipartisanship deficit. We must all put aside the bitterness and sniping and remember that behind every job loss and every home foreclosure is a Minnesota family losing hope and confidence.
I think I can be part of recreating a more civil and respectful politics, a politics that better expresses the will of the vast majority of people. I will continue my efforts to work with Republicans, Independents and moderate, common sense Democrats across the country to advance the values of fiscal responsibility, entrepreneurship, effective government change, national security and respect for life. That’s where America is philosophically and we need well-thought-out policies that express it.
My thanks to the many folks who encouraged me to run, but I’ve learned there are lots of ways to serve without an official position. Dr. King said everyone can be great because everyone can serve. We all need to seek out how our service can do the most good, and at this moment in my life, I’ve found mine.
Thanks. God bless you.
I won't bother to parse the Norm-speakTM. I mean ... there are a few distortions of reality in there, but they barely register on a Bachmann/Palin-o-meter scale of truthiness.
So long Norm, been great kicking your shins...