Senator Smalley?

<p><a id="cwp8" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Smalley" title="Al Franken">Al Franken</a> just got a little closer to the U.S. Senate. <br /><br />

<a href="http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3376">Mike Ciresi</a>, Franken’s main opponent in the Democratic primary in Minnesota, <a id="h3li" href="http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=4424646" title="dropped out">dropped out</a> of the race Monday. That leaves Franken as the challenger to Sen. Norm Coleman, the Republican incumbent.<br /><br />

The idea of the former SNL star taking his place on the Senate floor might seem like a bit of a lark. But <a id="lfsu" href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_senate_elections/election_2008_minnesota_senate" title="recent polls">recent polls</a> show Franken with a slight edge over Coleman. Don’t look for Coleman to <a id="hv4a" href="http://www.minnpost.com/stories/2008/03/10/1114/live_from_new_york_its_hillary_night_live" title="pull a Clinton">pull a Clinton</a> and make his case to the voters late on a <a href="http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3368">Saturday night</a>.</p>