Almanac: At the Capitol

Now the ground staff will line up the votes for endorsement. After rallying their troops earlier this morning, DFL U.S. Senate candidates took questions from delegates for an hour at the DFL State Convention in Rochester. The questions were pre-selected and pre-screened and thus predictable.

Yes, they'll abide. Yes, they'll reach out to Republicans and Independents. Yes, they'll work to stop global warming. Yes, they'll roll back tax cuts and create "investments." Yes, they're proud to be Democrats (Franken was a Republican as a boy and JNP always a Dem). Yes, they want more and better healthcare. Yes, they want to welcome immigrants with "compassion." Yes, they'll get troops out of Iraq. Yes, they're passionate and have written some books too. Franken took credit for helping get people elected to state House and Congress.

The biggest news is what didn't come up in the questions and what everyone is really talking about: Franken's troubles with taxes and potentially offensive jokes. Franken made reference to his years on Saturday Night Live where he said he "wrote a lot of satire." We'll see if that issue surfaces through the ballot results later this afternoon.