Almanac: At the Capitol

After losing the lead in polls, Sen. Norm Coleman says he is "ending all negative campaign ads for the remainder of the Senate campaign."  People have had it with all the negative ads, whether they come from the campaigns or outside groups.  For weeks it appeared the negative ads were hurting Coleman and Franken, but now after the bailout vote a couple of polls put Franken slightly ahead of Coleman.

Franken's "Franni" ad where his wife talks about how Al stood by her through her struggles with alcoholism was a move in the positive direction.  After seeing Laurie Coleman open up and show some real depth in our interview aired last week, many have said Laurie could be better used on the campaign trail for Coleman too.  Laurie talked to me about how she grew up in a very politically active family (her mom was a leader in the pro-life movement and dad ran for office) so politics is not new to her.  Now their daughter Sarah is back in another ad.

In our interview you'll see some of tonight on Almanac as part of our upcoming Big Three show, Franni was hilarious, especially talking about their early life together.  She is the smart and funny big personality many were expecting to see from Al Franken.  In a long and emotional interview, you'll not only see Al fight the tears, but he loosens up and we get to see the sense of humor he's been keeping under wraps to appear serious in the campaign.  Many average folks I've talked to have been disappointed Franken hasn't been funnier.  Granted these aren't funny times, but people show up at a campaign event to see a former comedian and expect a bit a comedy.