The Minnesota Supreme Court held a hearing this morning on the appeal by Norm Coleman over a lower court's ruling that Democrat Al Franken was the winner of the 2008 Senate election, as he led at the conclusion of the recount.

From the Star Tribune:

Five justices heard an hour of arguments on whether problems with absentee ballots justify reversing a lower-court ruling that declared DFLer Al Franken a 312-vote winner over Republican Norm Coleman. [snip]

Justice Alan Page concluded the hearing saying only that a decision would be forthcoming, offering no indication when that might be. However, a ruling is expected from the court sometime this month.

If the court were to uphold the lower-court ruling, that could end the protracted struggle and allow Franken to join the Senate, giving Democrats 60 votes and the ability to fend off Republican filibusters.

So, the wait continues. It's still unclear how much longer the wait will be, including after the Court releases its decision.

"The bottom line is Al Franken got more votes and that is why Al Franken won the election, why Al Franken won the recount, why Al Franken won the election contest, and why he should soon prevail in the Minnesota Supreme Court," Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said following the hearing's conclusion. "We have always said Norm Coleman deserves his day in court, but the Minnesota court system should be the end of the road for former Senator Coleman."

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) announced this morning in Tulsa that he will in fact run next year for a second term, mulitple news outlets report. A practicing physician known to despise the free-spending ways of Washington, it had been rumored Coburn was leaning toward retirement.

"This decision has been difficult for me, my wife and our family," Coburn said. "I don't like being away from Oklahoma and my medical practice, nor do I like asking my loved ones to make sacrifices. I also don't particularly like Washington, DC."

His decision to run may dissaude some high-profile Democrats, not to mention Republicans, from running for the post. All eyes will likely remain, though, on Gov. Brad Henry (D), who's term-limited and the Democrats' best chance at defeating Coburn.

A recent PPP survey found Coburn with a 59 percent approval rating and leading Henry by 12 points.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is once again targeting Republicans who voted against the economic stimulus package. The committee began running radio ads this morning that will continue for a week, and it's also unleashing robo calls and e-mails to paint the GOP as the "party of no."

Of course, every single House Republican voted against the bill -- twice, even -- but the DCCC is focusing on the districts of six Members: Brian Bilbray (CA-50), Charlie Dent (PA-15), Peter King (NY-03), Thaddeus McCotter (MI-11), Tom Rooney (FL-16) and Don Young (AK-AL).

"We are once again going district by district to hold 'just say no' House Republicans accountable for voting against thousands of jobs for their constituents and against middle class tax cuts that would immediately help ease the economic crisis for families struggling to make ends meet," DCCC Executive Director Jon Vogel said in a released statement. "In these tough times, middle class families who are worried about keeping their jobs want action in the form of middle class tax cuts and economic recovery, not the House Republicans' 'just say no' obstruction."

Here is text of a radio ad: "Did you know Congressman King voted against the Economic Recovery Plan? He opposed an $800 tax cut and opposed creating or saving 215,000 New York jobs. Tell King to put New York first." [followed by disclaimer]

And here is text from the robo calls: "I'm calling from the DCCC to tell you how disappointed I am in Congressman Thad McCotter. He keeps voting “no” on everything. Congressman McCotter even voted against the economic recovery plan, which is at work now to create or save over 109,000 Michigan jobs. He voted “no” on transportation projects that mean good jobs right here – like widening Canton Center road. He even voted against an $800 tax credit for Michigan couples. I hope you'll join me in calling Congressman McCotter to tell him to stop voting “no,” to stop standing in the way of getting the economy moving again."

A round up of content from all the RealClear sites this morning:

New Jersey Governor's Race Preview - Sean Trende, RealClearPolitics

Obama: Idealism in Word, Pragmatism in Deed - David Paul Kuhn, RealClearPolitics

Wither the Dying Newspaper Business? - Bill Frezza, RealClearMarkets

Europe's Paradoxical Parliament - Giles Merritt, RealClearWorld

Nadal's Stunning Departure Unprecedented - Tim Joyce, RealClearSports

I hold a lifetime membership in the Paul Krugman fan club, but sometimes even The Great One gets an incomplete.

Today's column is objectionable not for what it says, but for what it doesn't.  Writing of the S&L collapse of the 1980s, Krugman accurately notes:

The immediate effect of Garn-St. Germain, as I said, was to turn the thrifts from a problem into a catastrophe. The S.& L. crisis has been written out of the Reagan hagiography, but the fact is that deregulation in effect gave the industry — whose deposits were federally insured — a license to gamble with taxpayers' money, at best, or simply to loot it, at worst.

Krugman should have elaborated: At Democrats' insistence, the legislation raised coverage by federal deposit insurance to $100,000 per account from $40,000. Had that not happened, taxpayers would have been far less on the hook, and depositors would have cared where their money was being “invested.”  In other words, the law of moral hazard would have greatly slowed business at the casino.

Of course, Reagan signed it.

Postscript: The recent financial crisis prompted another increase in the FDIC insurance limit, from $100,000 to $250,000.