Time For The Full Norwegian

But nothing too funny! During the long campaign, Al kept the jokes mild and infrequent. He should keep it that way until he proves that he is a "policy wonk and a pragmatist," says Ornstein.

Open a "transition office." It's expensive, and he is stuck, once again, in a nightmarish routine of raising money to fend off the Coleman legal challenge, but Al might want to set up an ongoing operation to follow the issues and seek the advice of Minnesota voters. It's a good way to get out of the townhouse.

Study Hillary. She wrote the instruction manual for disarming Senate enemies. Before Hillary Clinton arrived, she was regarded as Lady Macbeth in a pantsuit. But she gradually won over her critics by working hard, keeping her head down and behaving with unpretentious grace. And she benefited from low expectations. Al's are even lower: "His critics think he is a shallow, emptyheaded screamer," says Ornstein.

If Al can survive Coleman's last-ditch effort, he'll be a member of the real-life Senate soon enough. It's a story even he couldn't make up.

© 2009