At the time of his death, Paul Wellstone had pulled far enough ahead in the polls (nearly 10 points and gaining) that it was looking pretty certain that Coleman was going down to defeat. Some Minnesota pollsters had already predicted he might win the race by as many as 20 points.

No, what put Norm Coleman in VP Cheney's seat he's occupying a lot these days at the dais before the US Senate wasn't a conspiracy to kill Paul Wellstone. It was a conspiracy between Republicans at the national level and in the Coleman camp, to exploit Paul Wellstone's death.

It was all about the memorial.