Almanac: At the Capitol

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.

I just sat down with Al Franken for a one-on-one interview about his financial problems. We'll have some clips tonight on Almanac: At the Capitol and more Friday on Almanac. He said "yesterday was the best day of the campaign" because his staff and supporters rallied. Franken says they contacted most of the delegates and virtually every one said the recent news was not a problem.

Franken is not ready to get out of this race and he'd be surprised if Walz or Ciresi gets in. He intends on winning the endorsement and the Senate seat. When I asked about word at the Capitol saying there's more trouble for Franken he squarely said "will there be some small error somewhere to surface, maybe" but he thinks they did a fast but thorough "scrub" of his financial records.

Overall, Franken was relaxed and funny off camera. He gave us a tour of the headquarters showing us where volunteers were working the phones furiously for him. Check out more on our air tonight (tpt17 7pm & tpt2 10pm).

There's a lot of talk about other Democrats who may enter the race to challenge Al Franken. The first obvious name is Mike Ciresi who could not be reached directly but his people and lots of others are chatting with him about re-entering the U.S. Senate race. Ciresi has money and infrastructure that wouldn't be too difficult to re-start.

The other big name is Congressman Tim Walz. Democrats love the idea of Walz for higher office, many were thinking governor could be the next step, but then they run the risk of losing the first district to Republicans. It's a risk some DFLers may be willing to take. They want the Senate race more than one congressional seat.

Time is a factor. The DFL State Convention is just a month away and delegates would like to leave squarely behind one candidate. Dems I've talked to are also privately outraged that Franken's campaign didn't scrub the record before launching such a major campaign. He certainly has the money. Word around the Capitol is that Franken's troubles are not over either. It it good that he's talking rather than getting in a bunker mode which campaigns can do under fire. I think Minnesotans like to see someone come clean, admit a mistake. But a week or two should reveal if Franken will survive or if other Democrats try to challenge him.

Other names that are being talked about include: R.T. Rybak, Tom Bakk, Tarryl Clark. Let us know what you're hearing.

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.

We in the press aren't exactly sure how to describe why Al Franken had a big rally at the Capitol today. It seemed to be what we call a "pre-act" — that is reacting to an event before it happens. The event he's pre-acting to is Sen. Norm Coleman's campaign kick-off tomorrow. Much of the speech was devoted to Coleman. The "re-launch" aspect seems to be him almost re-starting his campaign with Ciresi out of the way.

It was a half-an-hour address that felt a lot like a convention acceptance speech. It was a well-crafted and keenly delivered speech. The moment the cameras loved was his closing comments when Franken got choked up, held back the tears saying: "Paul Wellstone said, 'The future belongs to those who are passionate and work hard.' I am so passionate about what we can achieve together. Are you ready to work hard alongside me?"

Speaking of "pre-acting," Republican Party Chair Ron Carey was ready with a pre-act pointing out Franken's problems paying workers compensation and now disability benefits to staffers. Carey thought it was ironic Franken was "standing with working men and women ... when he doesn't take care of people who work for him."