Good point, toadfrog. In fact, Wellstone's own popularity with the Minnesota voters may well not transfer to another candidate who espouses his political views, partly because it was Wellstone's warmth and character, in addition to his zeal and commitment, that won him votes. I think not only the voters of Minnesota (particularly the Democrats) have a stake in who runs in Wellstone's stead, but so do Democrats and moderate-to-left-leaning individuals all over the US. A Coleman victory could well throw the Senate back to the Republicans, and I shudder to think of the consequences of having right-wingers in control of Congress, the White House, and, partly by virtue of that, the Judiciary.

For those who focus on the differences between Mondale and Wellstone, I have to ask:
Which would you rather have, if you had to choose -- Mondale running and winning or Winona LaDuke (or another progressive populist) running and losing? I'm not suggesting that I know who would win and who would lose, only that the issue is not just who runs but, more importantly, who wins.

There well may not be time before this election to find a candidate who really shares most of Wellstone's views AND who has the name recognition and poplarity to win.

Right now, the focus should be on grieving the loss of this great statesman and the other lives lost in the plane crash. But in very short order, the public's attention needs to be on election strategy. That's reality, I'm afraid.



Genie