Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) narrowly squeaked by Norm Coleman in Minnesota's wacky US Senate election contest after months of legal maneuvering.  Smalley should have stuck with films and his SNL routine, where he was more amusing than he has been as a political activist and pundit.  

This joker's recent claim to fame has amounted to ad hominem attacks against George Bush, FOX, and Rush Limbaugh.  He's penned a few unfunny books, and hosted a radio show that helped Air America sink like a dead weight in the ratings.  Franken is headed to the Senate next week.  His vote, along with Arlen Specter's defection and two independent senators, could hand the Democrats a filibuster-proof Senate.  

If a few RINO senators vote with the Dems it will be very difficult to stop Pres. Obama's freight train toward regressive socialism.  However, if a few moderate Democrats (such as Evan Bayh) get sufficiently alarmed with Obama's spending spree, their fiscal sanity could keep the government from plunging over a cliff.  

Moreover, if Independents such as Jim Jeffords and Joe Lieberman vote "Yes" to apply the brakes to deficit spending, it could help GOP senators put forth their agenda of freedom and fiscal accountability.  On a positive note, the Senate is a more deliberative body than the House, and senators represent larger constituencies than their House counterparts.

Minnesotans might regret Franken's razor-thin victory because Coleman was well-liked as St. Paul's mayor, and as a senator.  He defended conservative values, free enterprise, and understood the need for a robust national security.  Conversely, as a liberal, it's likely that Franken will fall in line with the Dems nanny state vision on energy and healthcare.  No longer can he blame Bush, or the conservatives for the anti-liberty path that Obama is trying to take our great nation.