Barkley as stealth candidate?

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE of the MSJ&T wrote Monday that their Minnesota Poll shows that Franken is catching up to Norm, but that Dean Barkley, while way behind, seems to be gaining from both.

I certainly am not ready to suggest that Dean Barkley be returned to the U.S. Senate, but there are things to be said for him.

He already lived here so did not have to move here just to run for office and he has demonstrated that he can return here when his service is over. Almost any other former Senator who can combine his former Senator’s floor pass with a law license stays around the District of Columbia and makes himself a lot of money, but Dean Barkley came back and drove a Metro Mobility bus.

Al Franken and Norm Coleman continue to throw a lot of dirt around. Earlier we were concerned with whether Norm’s wife actually lived in Saint Paul with him and later we got tied up in whether he was sleeping unscrupulously in Washington. Now we know that Al Franken uses foul language. I’m sure that Norm has used bad language too and I am certain that his love of a worker’s secret ballot is entirely feigned and know that Al cannot figure out where to send his taxes. [And note that his ad in defense only notes that he paid the state where he lived and does not mention which state that is.] And do we really think that Norm will end Social Security or that Al will stop Medicare.

And Dean Barkley seems able to stay above them. Maybe it is a long shot, but it may be a winning strategy.