Almanac: At the Capitol

The Senate was supposed to be taking up the big healthcare reform bill, but there's no sign of it so far. The official word from the Senate DFL caucus is that they were "deferring to the minority" over their concerns about the bill. But the word from some Senate DFLers is that there are not the votes to pass Sen. Berglin's bill. These Dems say the governor is also apparently not completely on board yet either. One senator told me Majority Leader Pogemiller has been threatening to bring the bill up yet tonight. Lawmakers' Easter break is supposed to start tonight and they are not excited about being forced to stick around. In our weekly briefing with leaders, Berglin just said the concern is with Senate Republicans who want a longer look at a complicated bill. She may even address the GOP caucus. But needless to say, there's trouble over what was supposed to be an important consensus item this year.

Move over Tim Pawlenty, Joe Gibson wants your job! Gibson is the Blooming Prairie teenager who helped get a bill signed into law today to lower the age requirement to give blood. Joe told Pawlenty he wants to be governor some day, so the governor turned the press conference over to the high school student who showed he has the chops to take the chief executive's job. Joe handled our questions with aplomb and when I asked when he's running for governor, he smartly responded "no comment." Then when Tom Hauser told Joe that John McCain wanted him for a running mate, Gov. Pawlenty grabbed the microphone and said "get in line man!" Even though he was joking, it was the first time Pawlenty has showed any acknowledgement or interest in being vice president. He may be grooming his successor.

Eric Magnuson is going from selecting judges to becoming the most important judge in the state. Magnuson chaired the Minnesota Commission on Judicial Selection since 2003. He didn't select himself for the job. Gov. Pawlenty didn't interview any other candidates. It's unusual for a chief justice to come from outside the Supreme Court, but Pawlenty said Magnuson is "so intimately familiar" with the high court.

After getting battered in the press last week, Pawlenty was jovial, amiable and hilarious today. When a reporter asked why the governor didn't select Magnuson before he said "we had better picks!" The room roared with laughter. In detailing all of Magnuson's accomplishments, Pawlenty mentioned the book "Minnesota Practice: Appellate Rules Annotated" and sarcastically called it good reading. Again more laughter. Being bitter and defensive is never the best way to weather tough times; today the governor turned on the charm and continued to prove personality is an essential part of his success.