For Norm Coleman, today is a good day: President Bush shows up in Minneapolis and holds a fundraiser for the embattled Minnesota Senator, who will face the winner of an expensive Democratic primary next fall.

For those two Democrats, wealthy attorney Mike Ciresi and comedian Al Franken, today is a good day as well: President Bush shows up in Minneapolis to fundraise for Coleman. A new Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research (D) poll, conducted for the DSCC, shows just 24% of Minnesotans think Bush is doing an excellent or good job, while 75% say he's doing fair or poor.

"We hope this isn't the only presidential visit of the campaign," Ciresi spokeswoman Leslie Sandberg told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Ciresi, said Sandberg, would "like to see Norm next to George Bush every single day."

The DSCC's poll shows 37% would vote to re-elect Coleman, down from 40% in January, and that 49% plan to vote for someone new, up from 46% last time. 41% say Coleman's job performance is excellent or good, while 58% call it fair or poor.

The DSCC did not release horse-race numbers, indicating they're not hugely satisfied with how Ciresi or Franken match up with Coleman. But it's early, and both sides have room to grow. Better for Coleman to get the Bush visit out of the way now than when voters are actually paying attention later next year. Still, it's all but certain that mention of Bush's visit will show up in campaign speeches and advertisements from the Democratic side.

In Washington today, the National Association of Realtors offers its commercial lending indicator report. Many believe the recent rollercoaster ride that has been the stock market began with the credit crunch in the housing sector, and the report, out at 10 am Washington time, has the potential to dampen recent market gains yet again.

In happier news, if you're a senator on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, you're sunning yourself for most of the day today with just a brief stopover at the Oahu Veterans Center in Honolulu, where the committee is holding a field hearing on VA care and benefits in the Aloha State.

Today marks special election day in Los Angeles, where voters will replace the late Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, who passed away in April. State Assemblywoman Laura Richardson, who won the primary, is the heavy favorite in the Long Beach-based district, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1.

Finally, in campaign trail news, Washington Post's Perry Bacon reports that former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA), a perennial potential vice presidential pick and a one-time leading candidate for Secretary of State or Defense in the Clinton Administration, has met with Unity08, a bipartisan group seeking to nominate one Democrat and one Republican for a national ticket. The group has also met with Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE), and has flirted with New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg (D/R/I). (Side note: Speaking of Hagel, former Sen. Bob Kerrey, D-NE, says he is waiting on Hagel to decide what to do next year before jumping in the race to replace him)

The group, says Bacon, hasn't gotten the millions of fans and supporters it's hoped for, but it continues to get coverage around the country, thanks to the media-savvy political veterans of both parties who run it. Whether Unity08 actually gets on the ballot in all 50 states will be the true test, but the group could have at least some effect on the 2008 race, depending upon who they nominate in their online convention.

Unity08 co-founder Doug Bailey, a one-time top aide to President Gerald Ford, is known for another great accomplishment in Washington: He founded The Hotline, where this reporter got his start.

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