Al is a smart guy. He will make a fine, progressive senator.

Well spoken, but dull. I can't help thinking all that smarmy good 'ol 'merican stuff is aimed at a populist demographic that won't vote for a progressive in any case.

Well, I've got to agree with Al when he talks about the role of government as providing support for the poor and the middle class. People *do* need help getting boots if they are to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

Like Al's mother-in-law, Fran, my family held it together in the late '60's and '70's with Social Security Survivor's Benefits after my father died at the age of 40. Mom had three sons to raise all by herself.

And a few years later on, when the time came to put myself through college, it was Pell Grants and those same Soc Sec checks that closed the gap between what I could make working part-time and the cost of tuition, books, shelter and meals.

My point? These kind of circumstances, families that are struggling, are increasingly common in today's America. The need to help people find their way through is even greater than it was when I was a boy. I agree with those who say we shouldn't just give people a handout. What we should do instead is to give them a hand UP.

I wish Al the best of luck. He (almost) makes me want to move to Minnesota!

I place his odds of taking a seat in the Senate at 50/50.