Minnesota Editorial Boards Agree: We need a Senate race about the issues
Posted in News Clips on June 18th, 2008
This is a battle of two smart and energetic candidates. It should be a campaign of ideas and philosophy and direction of the country. Each should be called to explain himself, but the opposition researchers who spend their days staring at computer screens should not run this campaign.
The two men have different ideas about those issues. Minnesotans will have a clear choice. As the campaign unfolds in the next two months, voters will have many opportunities to gauge the candidates’ stances and judge accordingly before Election Day.
But make no mistake about it: A campaign that gets pummeled into the ditch by Coleman partisans who are more interested in Franken’s comedy writing than his public policy positions would be a disservice to Minnesotans.
If they see Franken talking about the issues that really matter to them this year, while Coleman runs around waving Playboy, it could be a tough November for the incumbent senator.
Jeers to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman’s campaign for dragging up old work by DFL-endorsed opponent Al Franken. As a longtime comedian and satirist, Franken has compiled a wealth of material that can be used to make him look bad.
We suppose that’s fair game, but it would be refreshing to see a real debate on the differences between the two candidates and there are plenty, from income taxes to universal health care to the war in Iraq.
Coleman and Franken are both good, decent men. Picking apart Franken’s work as a comedian only clouds the serious issues. Minnesotans deserve better.
Franken is also an intelligent, articulate man who is passionate about the issues. He apologized Saturday for things he said and did years ago, and is ready to focus on the issues at hand.
Republicans had best be ready to do that, too. There is plenty to differentiate between Franken and Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.
The media and people critical of him for making the comments need to move on the real issues. That’s what voters want to hear in the race between Franken and incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman.
We’ve already seen some potential for distraction, but we urge the candidates and their supporters to not wallow long in that direction, but rather give us spirited campaigning on the major issues of the day.
If this Senate race is going to be about policies instead of personalities, we believe Franken has fresh proposals that will be a welcome departure from Coleman’s legislative agenda. While Franken’s offensive jokes might not have a place in the political arena, they pale to Republican scandals under two Bush Administrations and, more importantly, they should not interfere with
policy-making decisions.
