Almanac: At the Capitol

Al Franken won the endorsement "by acclamation" and word is he would have won on the first ballot with 62%. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer made the motion in deference to Franken. That's just past the 60% needed for endorsement. A first ballot endorsement is big. It shows strong support for a candidate mired in trouble. JNP and Franken stood side by side.

Franken was emotional accepting the endorsement saying "it is with tremendous humility that I accept your endorsement." A standing ovation followed. He thanked the congressional delegation whom he said he learned so much, interesting that those are the people who questioned his endorsement. Franken said "I'm not a perfect person, but I will tell the truth." Franken focused on Norm Coleman, as he hopes the media will, saying Coleman doesn't work for average people, but big oil and big drug companies. Franken added "I will keep my spine and I will work for you" and promised the delegates they'd be proud of him in Washington.

Thanks for the early tip on the balloting from the sweet guys at MNPublius. They are doing a great job from the convention along with the must-read Michael at MDE. Republicans are on the spot too. They're planning a press conference right after the endorsement outside the arena. GOP Chair Ron Carey immediately issued a statement saying "With their endorsement of Al Franken, the DFL Party gave its official seal of approval to a candidate who failed to pay taxes in 17 states, failed to pay workers' compensation and joked about bestiality and the drugging and rape of a woman."

The demonstrations of support are over. The candidates have wrapped up their pitches. Now the voting begins. I'll update this blog post as the ballot counts come in.

Unlike the Q & A this morning, the controversy came up. In his speech, Al Franken told the crowd he's had a tough week and "it kills me, the things I said and wrote" and he went on to say "I'm sorry for that." He said some of his jokes were not funny and some "downright offensive."

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer said "we choose hope" and he concluded with a nod to Wellstone asking "When do we send another professor to Washington?"

Both Franken and Pallmeyer took on Norm Coleman. Both showed passion and emotion. Both got the crowd roaring. The applause, t-shirts, signs all seem pretty even here in the hall.

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.

We just got inside Al Franken's "war room" at the DFL State Convention in Rochester. In our interview I told Franken about Doug Grow's story saying Mike Ciresi is "likely" to challenge Franken in a primary. Franken reminded us that Ciresi got out because of lack of support and said he wouldn't challenge the endorsed candidate and Franken added "I hope he keeps his word."

Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer told us he is even with Franken on delegates and he thinks the momentum is on his side. Franken responded that that's just not true. Nelson-Pallmeyer begrudgingly admitted that some of his surge may have to do with Franken's troubles, but JNP says it's mostly about his message of hope and talk on the issues like the war and economy. Franken said he'd like to move on to those issues too and says Minnesotans will demand it. But when I asked how people focus on issues and Norm Coleman when Franken is associated with headlines with words like taxes, porn and rape. Franken says he is optimitic the media will move on to the issues, even though his book details how the media perfer to cover scandals because it's easier than issues.

Much more from the candidates and the convention tonight on Almanac.

The question I kept hearing all night at the Obama rally was "Where's Al Franken?" His rival for the DFL U.S. Senate endorsement Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer was there. Sen. Amy Klobuchar appeared and got big cheers. Congressman Keith Ellison also made the crowd roar. Many said they were waiting to see Franken appear, to shore up support, to rally the troops with 30,000 people in and around the X.

Franken's campaign tells me he had a previously scheduled event in the third congressional district with delegates in Eden Prairie. Ironic that is was a woman from Eden Prairie who was introducing Obama while the world was watching. It appears Franken is more concerned about delegates who will decide his fate in a few days than a huge crowd in St. Paul or a broad television audience.

Franken hasn’t taken a position publicly in the presidential race, but his spokesperson says "he knows both candidates personally and thinks they’re both extraordinary." Interesting he's still referring to two candidates. Franken's spokesperson writes even though he didn't attend the Obama rally "he is VERY excited about DFL enthusiasm in Minnesota." They seem optimistic about the convention in Rochester.

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.