Almanac: At the Capitol

Lost in the week's news of Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign kick-off and Al Franken's pre-act/re-launch was the fact there is still a legitimate candidate left on the DFL side: Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer. Franken's rally was politically smart, rallying the troops, looking like the sole strong candidate. But activists and young people who are propelling a candidate called Barack Obama are also excited about JNP. I talked to Jack today and he says he has something to say about Franken trying to walk away with this race. Pallmeyer says he campaign is "taking off like wildfire!" He also said he is picking up the former Ciresi supporters. When I pointed out that conventional wisdom is against him, he said "conventional wisdom is wrong." See more from the Senate contenders tonight on Almanac.

The room was hot and packed, but you never want an empty room when launching your campaign. In contrasting the Coleman campaign kick-off today to Franken's re-launch yesterday, here's some observations. Franken and Coleman spoke for almost exactly the same amount of time, 28 minutes. They both did a good job of engaging the audience and not reading their written remarks and burying their face in a podium. They both showed an impressive range of emotion: from sadness to joy. They both tried to prove they are "passionate." Coleman in a slightly more controlled manner and Franken nearly cried. They both had their wife and kids by their sides. There is certainly a formula for these things.

Here's where they differed: Coleman made time to do Q&A with the press after his remarks and Franken did not. Reporters literally chased after Franken, but staff ushered him out of the Capitol. We like the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. A lot of questions arise in a half-hour speech. Access is good. I understand there are tight schedules, but it's good for schedulers to schedule time for press after a speech, even if it's brief. We're tight on time too.