Uncharted waters

In a perfect world, the residents of MN Congressional District 4 (THIS MEANS YOU, MOM!!!) would wake up and say "My goodness, Betty McCollum is a lousy representative. Thank God for a candidate like Teresa Collett, for whom we can cast a vote." Of course, in a perfect world, Betty would have never been elected to Congress in the first place.

But I digress.

Even in an election year that is heavily leaning Republican, CD4 will be a tough nut to crack. But if it's ever going to happen, this year is the best opportunity we've had in a long, long time. Entrenched Democrat candidates like McCollum and Jim Oberstar have never really had to participate in a serious campaign. It's pretty obvious that Oberstar, an 18-term Congressman, is in the fight of his life against GOP upstart Chip Cravaack. And if Oberstar's body language is any indication, he's rather annoyed that he has to work so hard this time around.

Then there's McCollum, who agreed to debate Collett last week. Given that Betty hasn't had to participate in many debates over her 10-year Congressional career, it's apparent she needs to hone her skills in that department.

To wit:



A typical political gaffe is when a candidate or politician accidentally tells the truth about how they feel. I have no doubt McCollum actually believes that Al-Qaeda is no longer a threat. But I guess it's now up to the voters in CD4 to decide how important that is to them.

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