The fact that terrorist suspects are being arrested after they enter the country through the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport might have something to do with his attitude.

Also, St. Paul is the more blue collar of the twin cities, IIRC.

The article might mention this but Norm Coleman, currently the GOP Senator from MN, used to be the Democrat Mayor of St Paul.
This could be an aberration or the tip of the iceberg of a solid Bush win.

Wonder if the timing is significant. I.e., is it a coincidence that he waited until after Kerry's abysmal speech to make his plug? Or was he willing to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt, and waited to see if Kerry really was as unserious as he appears.

Undeniably terrible news for Kerry. Just a bit more news like this and the big show could be over. I am among those who believe that this election will not be close, even as I can not predict the outcome. Kelly's move could signal the beginning of a trend. There are still three months to go, however. This time, events will have a decisive impact on the election results, IMHO. And never forget that the campaigns will create some news themselves, especially considering the dem's propensity lately for 11th hour surprises, such as Bush drinking arrest revelations, and the Torricelli affair.

St Paul is the German Catholic side of the Twin cities. Treebeard went to church yesterday morning to a black church about 40 mi west of here. The local fish rap says:

"After brief remarks that drew several "Amens" and a few "Hallelujahs" from the audience, Kerry sat down for the remainder of the 90-minute service, listening intently to an animated sermon on "A Season of Preparation" by the Rev. Ronald Logan, a former Motown musician.

Logan acknowledged that he and his wife received several phone calls — "negative stuff," he called it — from concerned church members and others after they learned that Kerry and U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, Kerry’s running mate, would be attending yesterday’s service.

He said some people questioned welcoming the Democratic duo because of their positions on abortion and same-sex marriage. Both men support abortion rights and, while they do not support same-sex marriage, they oppose a U.S. constitutional amendment.

There were clearly mixed feelings on the subject. One young man came into the church carrying a sign saying, "It was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

"I don’t believe in same-sex marriage," Logan said, "but if two gay men came into this church, I will minister to them."

Nevertheless, when the church got into a spirited gospel version of Celebration by Kool & The Gang, Kerry and his gang sang along and clapped."

Robert--

St Paul is more Irish than German.

And these days perhaps more Hmong than either of those.

St Paul is a one-party town, btw, which means there is a more conservative faction of the Democrats there. Randy Kelly is a member of that faction, and was endorsed by Coleman.

St Paul also has most of the Jewish population of the Twin Cities. Minneapolis was a decidedly anti-semitic town even up to the 1960's. Kerry's Euro ties can't be helping him with the Jewish vote.

Robert--

You think St Paul's Jewish population is really higher than that of, let us say, St Louis Park? That's where most of the old North side Jewish population went.

Kenwood has plenty of Jews too.

They'll still mostly vote for Kerry, judging by the Jews in my family. So will the majority of the Highland Park (St Paul) Jews.

PS Minneapolis was definitely anti-semitic at one time. But it did elect (and then re-elect) a Jewish (Democratic) mayor, Arthur Naftalin, in 1961.

Brian,
I bow to your superior ethnographic knowledge. I live in the exurbs - Prior Lake.

Commenting from a conservative-ish university within St. Paul (U. St. Thomas if you're interested)

St. Paul's a lost cause as far as GOP votes go, there's a few to be had on the west side of town, but the east side (kelly's home turf) is solid blue, no way around it. Kelly's endorsement might swing a few people in St. Paul, or at least make them listen to both sides, but the majority of the effect is likely to be in the east suburbs, they're practically part of St. Paul, and a lot more open to debate. I'd look for Kelly's endorsement to move voters in Woodbury, Roseville, Mendota Heights etc. to the right.

Also, as to Kelly's motives, he's likely to not run for a secons term as mayor, he just destroyed all contacts with the DFL (Dems), but he swears he's staying a democrat himself. I'd look for him to move into either a state or federal appointment after his term is up (assuming Pawlenty and Bush are still in their respective offices)