2008…Another Year for the Minnesota History Books

[This story first appeared in the 31 December 2008 edition of the Weekly Report.]

One of the reasons we love Minnesota politics is that there’s hardly
ever a dull moment (except during those brief dog days of summer in
non-election years).

But 2008 turned out to be a series of big moments, becoming a year for
the history books. Once-in-a-lifetime events, like holding a national
political convention in our state or watching President-Elect Barack Obama
give electrifying speeches at the Target Center (when he was merely an
exciting candidate) and then months later, at the Xcel Center(when
he was inevitably going to be the Democratic nominee). Or the story of
a state politician who almost made national good, when GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty came within a skirt-length of becoming the GOP Vice Presidential contender.

All that 2008 Minnesota political history became just that when our
U.S. Senate contest went into recount mode. Decades hence, in Minnesota
political lore, it’s the recount that will be the top story of this
year, and so it is ours, as well.

In order, then, the top political stories of 2008:

1. The U.S. Senate Recount

Yes, it’s the number one story. No, we don’t have any more insight.
Find us on the street if you want an off-the-record prediction, but
we’ve never seen anything quite as up in the air. The gems will live in
memory forever